Ferguson and Waller strike once again at Tattersalls
Newmarket-based trainer James Ferguson and Chris Waller will be hoping to reap dividends again after they purchased two youngsters at Book 2 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, with the duo headed by a Night Of Thunder (Dubawi) colt, who they snapped up for 120,000gns (approx. AU$241,300) yesterday.
The duo have been familiar names on the buyers sheet at Tattersalls in the past. At the 2020 edition of this sale they parted with 70,000gns for El Bodegon (Kodiac), who, under the tutelage of Ferguson, subsequently went on to win the Criterium de Saint-Cloud (Gr 1, 2000m) the following year.
Now trained by Waller in Sydney, the son of Kodiac (Danehill) finished third in last year’s Cox Plate (Gr 1, 2040m), three-quarters of a length adrift of the winner, Anamoe (Street Boss). El Bodegon holds a nomination for the Melbourne Cup (Gr 1, 3200m) on November 7 and has also been entered for the $2 million Five Diamonds (1800m) at Rosehill on November 11.
Ferguson told ANZ Bloodstock News that he and Waller planned to tread a similar path with the son of Night Of Thunder.
“He will follow the same pattern as the other horses we have purchased together as yearlings in this part of the world. He will have him in training here, with a long term view of going down to Australia,” said the trainer.
“Night Of Thunder is doing incredible things at the moment and he does well in Australia as well. I thought at 120,000gns, that looked like value in the ring. He has a lovely pedigree and was a nice individual.”
A sire of 39 global individual stakes winners, Night Of Thunder’s talents as a stallion have once again been advertised this year, including by his daughter Highfield Princess, who added a fourth Group 1 to her record in the Prix de l’Abbaye de Longchamp (Gr 1, 1000m) earlier this month.
The son of Dubawi (Dubai Millennium) shuttled to Australia for one season in 2016 and his sole southern hemisphere-bred crop has generated five stakes winners including 2021 Queensland Derby (Gr 1, 2400m) winner Kukeracha, who was incidentally trained by Waller.
Consigned by Highclere Stud, the colt is out of winning Dynaformer (Roberto) mare Wadaa, the dam of three winners including the stakes-placed Wedding Dance (Invincible Spirit).
Wadaa herself is out of Group 3 winner and Group 1-placed mare Cloud Castle (In The Wings), the dam of Group 3 scorer Queen’s Best (King’s Best), who in turn produced 2016 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf (Gr 1, 10f) winner Queen’s Trust (Kingman).
Cloud Castle also produced Listed scorer Urban Castle (Street Cry), the dam of multiple US Grade 1 winner Domestic Spending (Kingman).
Ferguson and Waller made their first purchase at the Tattersalls October sale at Book 1 last week, parting with 200,000gns for a colt by Kingman (Invincible Spirit) and late on Monday evening they made their second acquisition, securing a colt by Darley’s first-season sire sensation Too Darn Hot, another son of Dubawi, for 45,000gns (approx. AU$90,400).
Offered by Newsells Park, the colt is out of placed Street Cry (Machiavellian) mare Secret Soul and she is a daughter of Shastye (Danehill), who has produced six winners from seven foals to race, headed by Group 1-winning pair Japan (Galileo) and Mogul (Galileo) as well as Group 2 scorer Secret Gesture (Galileo). Shastye’s ninth and final foal was offered during Book 1, selling to Godolphin for 1,000,000gns.
It is the second time Ferguson has invested in this family, having bought the colt’s Nathaniel (Galileo) half-brother for 80,000gns at Book 2 last year.
“I know a bit about this family having trained the Nathaniel,” said Ferguson. “This colt needs to mature, but he is a really nice type and he showed us enough to ensure we had a look at him.
“Too Darn Hot brings a different element to the pedigree and with the way the stallion is going in this first season, he was one we couldn’t ignore.”
Too Darn Hot, who is currently serving his fourth book of mares at Darley’s Kelvinside base, has made a phenomenal start at stud. With his first northern hemisphere-bred runners this year, the stallion has produced 22 winners from 54 runners and they are headed by four stakes winners including Moyglare Stud Stakes (Gr 1, 7f) winner Fallen Angel.
Classic ambitions as Fellowes and Douglass secure son of Wootton Bassett
A colt by Coolmore shuttler Wootton Bassett (Iffraaj) was the early headline act of the second session of Book 2 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale after Will Douglass of Charlie Gordon Watson Bloodstock stretched to 350,000gns (approx AU$703,800) to secure the WH Bloodstock-consigned youngster.
Standing with Charlie Fellowes, the trainer of the multiple Melbourne Cup-placegetter Prince Of Arran (Shirocco), Douglass fought off stiff competition from Richard Ryan to snare the colt.
“I am a little bit shaky!” laughed Fellowes, who was celebrating his most expensive purchase in the ring. “I am delighted to have got him, we loved him the first time we saw him. He is by a very good stallion, out of a Galileo mare, he has a very good pedigree, he walked around the back ring like he owned the place and he seems to have a good mind, there is a lot like.
“He will be running for Paul Hickman, I bought a Frankel colt for him last week [Lot 383]. He lives in Singapore, but his children go to school in England so he is over quite a bit. He has had horses for a long time, and had horses with Sir Henry Cecil.
“We had a good go on several horses last week and earlier in the season, but I think this one is as good as any of them.”
Douglass added: “Paul Hickman is a very nice owner, he likes pedigrees and understands them. This is a very special horse and, hopefully, he is lucky.”
Of the experience of buying such horses, he said: “It is not easy to buy, you follow the nice horses through and you are basically competing against countries! It is very tough to get the ones you want and get involved.”
When asked what ambitions the new team has for the colt, Douglass replied: “To win a Classic!”
Bred by Westerberg, the colt is out of the Galileo (Sadler’s Wells) mare Beluga, a three-quarters sister to the 2011 English Derby (Gr 1, 1m 4f) winner Pour Moi (Montjeu).
Beluga and Pour Moi are both out of unraced mare Gwynn (Darshaan) and she also produced Group 3 winner Dawn Patrol (Galileo) and Listed scorer Kissed (Galileo). Another of her daughters, the Classic-placed French Group 3 winner Gagnoa (Sadler’s Wells), is also the dam of Group 3 scorer Etoile (War Front) and 2021 Prix des Chênes (Gr 3, 1600m) winner Ancient Rome (War Front), who landed this year’s Mint Millions Stakes (Gr 3, 8f) at Kentucky Downs on September 2.
Mimi Wadham and Violet Hesketh of WH Bloodstock were hopeful heading into the sale that the colt would be well-received by the buying bench.
“He is a very well bred horse, he comes from a fantastic family, he is a wonderful mover and everyone who looked at him really liked him,” said Wadham. “We expected him to sell well, and although he surpassed expectations, he is worth it as he could be anything. Let’s hope he is as good as he looks. He has not turned a hair since he has been here, he just gets on with the job and has a great attitude.”
She added: “The successful buyers have been coming up to me all day and asking what interest there had been, they were determined to have him as was the underbidder. We were very lucky that two groups wanted to buy him that much.”
The sire of 38 global stakes winners, Wootton Bassett is currently standing his third season at Coolmore’s Hunter Valley base where he commands a fee of $93,500 (inc GST).