Coolmore stretch to €2.3 million to bring in well-related Wootton Bassett colt in Deauville
Coolmore and Amo Racing were among the major players who engaged in a seven-figure arm wrestle during day two of the Arqana August Yearling Sale on Sunday evening. The heavyweight tussle duly concluded at a gasp-inducing €2,300,000 (approx. AU$4.12 million).
The yearling in the crosshairs was the Wootton Bassett (Iffraaj) colt out of High Celebrity (Invincible Spirit), whose four winning siblings include the Aidan O’Brien-trained Highbury (Galileo), who was beaten into second by stablemate Illinois (Galileo) in last year’s Queen’s Vase (Gr 2, 1m 6f). The colt was bred by Jean-Philippe Dubois and consigned by Haras des Capucines.
The earlier stages of the bidding saw a three-way struggle between the rival camps of Amo and Coolmore and an online participant. It seemed as though the deal had been sealed at €1.8 million (approx. AU$3.22 million) when, after a lengthy deliberation with bloodstock agent Alex Elliott, Amo principal Kia Joorabchian flashed two fingers in the auctioneer’s direction from the back of the gangway.
But the move up to €2 million (approx. AU$3.58 million) did not prove a case of V for victory, as Magnier countered almost immediately with another steady €100,000 (approx. AU$179,320) increase.
Joorabchian shook his head frustratedly when asked if he wanted to return in kind, but there was a late plot twist when a bidder in the restaurant joined in at the €2.2 million (approx. AU$3.94 million) mark. However, Magnier once again upped the ante by €100,000, and that proved to be the decisive play. The ticket was signed in Magnier’s name along with Peter Brant’s White Birch Farm brand.
After being asked to hold their appreciation until the colt had left the ring, the assembled crowd gave the spectacle an enthusiastic round of applause.
“He’s a lovely horse and Wootton Bassett is doing very well,” said the Coolmore man, who was flanked by his father, John Magnier, and the operation’s Paul Shanahan on the top deck of the packed auditorium.
“We had his brother in Ballydoyle and he was nearly a very good horse. All the guys really liked this fella and Wootton Bassett is flying at the moment. In fairness to Mr Dubois and everyone involved, they’ve always been a big supporter of ours and are very good breeders. Michel Zerolo [Capucines director] was always praising this horse a lot, so let’s hope he’s good.”
Pressed on whether such a lofty price was in line with the team’s expectations, Magnier said: “Look, he’s a very nice horse by Wootton Bassett bred by one of the best breeders in France. It’s a lot of money, I appreciate that, but he’s a good horse and Wootton Bassett is breaking all the rules at the moment. The boss man is here and it was his call.”
The colt is from the third Coolmore-conceived crop of Wootton Bassett, meaning he was bred at a fee of €150,000.
Trade had been expected to warm up as the sale wore on and the headline price during the second session was not the only marked improvement from day one.
The clearance rate was 85 per cent as 61 yearlings sold from 72 offered. Aggregate sales hit €15,035,000 (approx. AU$26.96 million), which was up 12 per cent year-on-year, while the average price rose fully 25 per cent to €246,475 (approx. AU$441,970). The median was also up 19 points, climbing from €147,500 to €175,000 (approx. AU$313,800).
Australian connection – Maranoa Charlie team ‘break the rules’ at €300,000 for half-brother by Baaeed
Buyers returning to a family that has already brought them considerable success may not be a new story, but the Australian partners who enjoyed such a great ride with Maranoa Charlie (Wootton Bassett) found themselves abandoning a few principals in securing his half-brother by freshman sire Baaeed (Sea The Stars) (Lot 127) for €300,000 (approx. AU$538,000) at the Arqana August Yearling Sale on Sunday.
Haras d’Etreham bred the colt in conjunction with Riviera Equine and Gestut Zur Kuste from the Galileo (Sadler’s Wells) mare Koubalibre, a half-sister to Cheveley Park Stakes (Gr 1, 6f) heroine Tiggy Wiggy (Kodiac).
And to judge by the celebrations from both buyer and seller, all concerned are happy to be doing business again, so soon after the colt’s Wootton Bassett brother had been privately sold to Bond Thoroughbred off the back of a trio of Group 3 wins for trainer Christopher Head, and running a close second to Woodshauna (Wooded) in the Prix Jean Prat (Gr 1, 1400m) for his new owners.
Before dashing to join the ‘family photo’, agent Laurent Benoit said: “Buying a half-brother is not something we would habitually do but sometimes you have to break the rules. Each time we saw him we liked him more. He has size and moves very well.
“There’s obviously a question mark with Baaeed but he has every right to become a good stallion. Everyone is so enthusiastic, both the vendors and the buyers.”
Francophile Peter Maher was the majority shareholder in Maranoa Charlie along with John Baxter and Carl Fitzgerald, and he agreed with Benoit that it was the individual himself that persuaded the team to “have a crack”, rather than any desire to buy a sibling.
“When we first looked at him we thought he wasn’t quite like Maranoa Charlie,” said Maher. “But every day we looked at him he seemed to get a little bit better, so we thought we’d have a crack if we thought he was in a range we thought we could buy him for. And that’s what we did.”
While discussions will take place about exact plans for the colt’s racing career, Baxter confirmed that Head is in pole position to take delivery.
“At this stage I haven’t spoken to all our associates but the premier choice of where he would go to be trained would be Christopher Head again, for the obvious reason of what a wonderful job he’s done with Maranoa Charlie,” said Maher. “If he can do half as well with this horse we’d be thrilled to pieces.”
Expanding on the team he has come to trust with his European stock, Melbourne-based Maher added: “He’ll go back to Etreham to have a little break, then Alban Chevalier du Fau does all the breaking and the pre-training.
“It takes a long time to get the right group of people together and when you do get them together – especially when you live so far from here – it gives you such confidence.
“Then you’ve got someone like Laurent Benoit, who manages and directs everything from here.
“We had a wonderful celebratory dinner last night for Maranoa Charlie and having those people sitting around the table, makes you realise you’re very fortunate to have that quality in your corner.”
Godolphin join Wootton Bassett bonanza
The session-topping transaction capped a period of high demand for the progeny of Wootton Bassett. The seven-figure son of High Celebrity was preceded into the ring by a colt out of Hidden Breeze (Dark Angel), a sibling to the black type winners Labeling (Frankel), Lily’s Angel and Zurigha (Cape Cross). Godolphin’s Anthony Stroud consigned the Coolmore crew to the role of underbidder at €900,000 (approx. AU$1.61 million).
“The stallion speaks for himself,” said Stroud. “He’s done very well and is a top-class sire who’s very versatile. He’s going to Charlie Appleby for Godolphin.”
Asked whether he felt this colt possessed stallion potential, Stroud replied: “Inshallah!”
The youngster was bred and offered by Haras d’Etreham, the farm that launched Wootton Bassett’s stallion career before his transfer to Coolmore ahead of the 2021 breeding season.
“We’ll keep using the horse, obviously, and it’s great to have a good result like that with one of his sons,” said Etreham director Nicolas de Chambure. “It’s great he’s going to a good home so we’re delighted.”
Godolphin also entered the fray earlier in the session when going to €400,000 (approx. AU$717,260) for a Wootton Bassett filly offered by Haras du Cadran. The youngster is the first foal out of Flighty Lady, a winning daughter of Sir Percy (Mark Of Esteem) who ran third in the New York Stakes (Gr 1, 10f) for Chad Brown and Peter Brant and the Prix Marcel Boussac (Gr 1, 1600m) while under the care of Gavin Hernon.
The filly was bred in partnership by Cadran, Ballylinch Stud, Ecurie Melanie and Cheval Invest II.
“She’s a daughter of Wootton Bassett and her dam was really very talented,” said Stroud, standing alongside David Loder in his usual position down the corridor to the right of the rostrum. “Add in the fact that she comes from a good farm and there’s a lot in her favour. She was bought by Godolphin and will join Charlie Appleby.”
Appleby and Godolphin have enjoyed success with Wootton Bassett this season, with the unbeaten two-year-old Rising Power having struck at Newmarket and Sandown.
Seven-figure strike for Lightening colt
The second lot to break into seven-figure territory was the Siyouni (Pivotal) colt out of top-class two-year-old Lightening Pearl (Marju) who fetched €1.25 million (approx. AU$2.24 million). An online player signed the ticket as American Racing Corp.
Lightening Pearl won three races, including the 2011 running of the Group 1 Cheveley Park Stakes. She has gone on to breed six winners at the paddocks, including Frankel’s (Galileo) Group 3-winning daughter Lightening Quick and Matenro Diva (Deep Impact), who was Listed placed in Japan.
The colt was bred by Sheikh Fahad’s Qatar Bloodstock and offered by David Redvers’ Tweenhills operation.
“Sheikh Fahad said today when he saw the horse for the first time, ‘He’s the best horse we’ve ever bred on the farm.’,” Redvers said before the buyer’s identity had been revealed. “I take it that’s a major compliment. He handled everything here quite brilliantly.”
Asked for his feelings watching the bidding unfold, Redvers added: “I feel slightly sick. We’ve been building the operation for a long time and haven’t had a nicer colt than this – and with a stallion’s pedigree. Obviously I’m sick to see him go.”
Yahagi lands Classically bred Frankel colt
The Frankel colt out of Group 1 winner Mangoustine (Dark Angel) boasted one of the standout pages in this year’s catalogue, and the Monceaux-consigned youngster duly fetched one of the sale’s standout prices when Deauville regular Yoshito Yahagi struck at €500,000 (approx. AU$896,580).
“That’s a good price,” said Yahagi, who has already enjoyed some notable success with the progeny of Frankel. He continued: “I trained Mozu Ascot, who won two Grade 1 races, and he’s a good stallion at the moment. Of course I hope this colt could come back to race in Europe in time. I think he will suit a mile, so maybe the Jacques Le Marois!”
Mangoustine was bred in partnership by Ecurie des Monceaux, Lordship Stud and Qatar Bloodstock. She was offered at the Covid-impacted Deauville yearling sale in 2020, when David Redvers signed the ticket at just €46,000.
She was sent to trainer Frederic Rossi for an ownership group that included Monceaux and Infinity Nine Horses, the banner under which former NBA basketball player Tony Parker races. She went undefeated during her two-year-old season, scoring at Deauville, in a Listed race at Lyon Parilly and in the Prix Miesque (Gr 3, 1400m) at Chantilly.
She transferred to the stable of Mikel Delzangles for her Classic campaign, with her finest hour coming in the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches (Gr 1, 1600m), in which she saw off George Boughey’s Cachet (Aclaim) by a hard-fought head.
The Frankel colt is her first foal and she also has a filly foal by Siyouni. She returned to Frankel earlier this year.
The purchase took Yahagi’s Arqana haul to three, having secured two lots by Siyouni, a €320,000 (approx. AU$573,810) colt and a €600,000 (approx. AU$1.07 million) filly signed for by North Hills Co Ltd, during day one.
“I’ve bought three yearlings and now I’m finished,” he said. “I’m going on holiday!”
Mangoustine is by Dark Angel (Acclamation) and out of Zotilla, a Zamindar (Gone West) half-sister to seven winners, most notably Flotilla (Mizzen Mast), who struck in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (Gr 1, 8f) and the following year’s French 1,000 Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m).
Zotilla is now a member of the Blue Diamond Stud broodmare band in Newmarket after she was purchased by Imad Alsagar’s outfit for €75,000 in 2019. She delivered a Dubawi (Dubai Millennium) half-brother to Mangoustine earlier this year and visited Frankel for her most recent cover.
Bernick turns buyer
On day one Craig Bernick’s Glen Hill Farm sold the Zarak (Dubawi) half-brother to this year’s Dee Stakes (Listed, 1m 2.5f) scorer Mount Kilimanjaro (Siyouni) for €370,000 (approx. AU$663,470). On day two Bernick turned buyer when he paid €420,000 (approx. AU$753,120) for the Sea The Stars (Cape Cross) filly out of Hidden Angel (Dark Angel) offered by Ecurie des Monceaux.
The youngster is the second foal out of the Dark Angel half-sister to the top-class Emily Upjohn (Sea The Stars). The page goes back to the Aga Khan Studs’ prolific ‘H’ family that has produced the likes of Harzand (Sea The Stars), Big Rock (Rock Of Gibraltar), Seal Of Approval (Authorized) and Hurricane Lane (Frankel).
Bernick, whose agent Hubie de Burgh signed the docket, said the depth of pedigree was central to the filly’s long-term appeal.
“She’s a beautiful filly with a great outlook, great walk and a big stride on her,” he said. “We’ve only ever had one Sea The Stars for Glen Hill Farm and, long term, he’s going to be one of the best broodmare sires.
“You can’t say she comes from the best Aga Khan pedigree because they have so many great families, but it’s such an important family going back. It’s one of those families that if you see a good individual, and you’ve never tapped into it before, it’s definitely one that’s on the radar. I’m excited to have her and she’ll go to Francis Graffard.”