Shadwell swoop for 1.6 million guineas Frankel filly
Day three of Tattersalls October Yearling Book 1 burst into life late in the session when a daughter of Frankel (Galileo) and Cheveley Park Stakes (Gr 1, 6f) winner Millisle (Starspangledbanner) brought a bid of 1,600,000gns (approx. AU$3,219,308).
It was Angus Gold, standing by the partition opposite the rostrum, who pushed the price into seven figures with a subtle nod of the head, but the Shadwell man was soon engaged by the buying team from Al Shira’aa Farms, standing with David Cox outside the Park Paddocks auditorium.
The filly was comfortably the most expensive of Shadwell’s seven Book 1 buys, a haul that cost a combined 3,660,000gns (approx. AU$7,364,167). All seven acquisitions were fillies.
“Obviously she’s a lovely first foal,” said Gold. “I saw her on the farm and loved her there and Sheikha Hissa absolutely loved her when she saw her up here. I told her she’d make a lot of money but she said, ‘We need some fillies for the stud’.
“She’s out of a Cheveley Park winner and by one of the world’s great stallions, so it’s fairly self-explanatory. She seems very athletic and looks to have a very good mind. Now she’s got to be able to run a bit to justify that price.”
On the seven-figure sum, the second-highest at this year’s renewal of the blue-chip auction, Gold said: “I was getting my orders. I thought she’d make a million two, maybe a million three, but Sheikha Hissa seemed determined to buy her.
“This is obviously a period of rebuilding and it’s a long-term project for her, for long after I’m pushing up daisies! They won’t all make racehorses but we’ve been lucky this year with some of the older horses.”
Gold went on to say that Sheikha Hissa has applied a slightly different strategy with Shadwell’s older fillies, a move that was rewarded when the four-year-old Al Husn (Dubawi) won the Nassau Stakes (Gr 1, 1m 1f) . That is one of five top-flight triumphs for Shadwell in a fruitful 2023 campaign, with Anmaat (Awtaad) winning the Prix d’Ispahan (Gr 1, 1850m), Hukum (Sea The Stars) striking in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes (Gr 1, 1m 4f) and Mostahdaf (Frankel) claiming the Prince of Wales’s Stakes (Gr 1, 1m 2f) and Juddmonte International (Gr 1, 1m 2.5f).
“Sheikha Hissa has taken a different route to Sheikh Hamdan,” continued Gold. “He didn’t like keeping his older horses going but she’s very prepared to if the trainers, or we, think there’s more to come, and she’s been rewarded with a Group 1 winner. It’s exciting times for the stud, but you need to keep regenerating.”
Sheikha Hissa has been on the grounds at Tattersalls since Monday. On the visit to Park Paddocks, Gold said: “She loves coming here. She’d stand there by the parade ring all day if someone didn’t move her!
“She absolutely loves looking at the yearlings. We looked at them all on Monday and she’s been back looking again over the subsequent three days. She’s getting fairly knowledgeable. Like her father, she picks it up very quickly and really enjoys the business.”
The session-topping youngster was consigned by Watership Down Stud on behalf of Stonethorn Stud Farms, whose colours Millisle carried during her champion two-year-old season. The daughter of Starspangledbanner (Choisir), a half-sibling to New Zealand Group 2 scorer Gino Severini (Fastnet Rock) and the Group 3 winner Ithoughtitwasover (Hurricane Run).
Simon Marsh of Watership Down said: “She was born and raised at Kiltinan, our farm in Ireland, and there was an enormous amount of interest in her. It’s extremely rare to have a filly out of a champion two-year-old, a Cheveley Park winner, coming up at the sales and to be as attractive as she is. Although it was a lot more than we thought she would make, I wasn’t ultimately surprised.”
He continued: “The mare belongs to Francis Jennings. Francis’s father Gerry was a wonderful breeder of his time who bred Sorbus, a foundation mare for Juddmonte and some other very good horses from Stonethorn Farm in the north of Ireland. Francis took on the horses and we’ve had the mares for about 15 years.
“As a family they’ve been in the racing world for a long time and this is a just reward for sticking with it and putting an enormous amount of trust in us.”
Fittocks end on a high
Coolmore and Peter Brant teamed up at 2,000,000gns (approx. AU$4,024,135) to secure the sales-topping son of Frankel on day two, and the partners added another son of the champion sire to their ranks when MV Magnier outbid Juddmonte’s Simon Mockridge at 950,000gns (approx. AU$1,911,464) midway through the session.
This colt was bred and offered by Fittocks Stud and is out of the Listed-placed Materialistic (Oasis Dream), dam of two winners from as many runners. The daughter of Oasis Dream (Green Desert) is a half-sister to dual Australian Listed winner Dr Drill (Dansili) and fellow stakes scorer Pinzolo (Monsun), while further back this is the same family as 2019 Mackinnon Stakes (Gr 1, 2000m) winner Magic Wand (Galileo).
She is also a half-sister stakes-placed Poplin (Medicean), who bred the 900,000gns (approx. AU$1,810,900) Frankel colt bought by Godolphin on day one.
“He’s always been a fantastic individual and from the moment he was born he looked strong,” said Fittocks’ Luca Cumani. “He’s always been a lovely horse to have around and we’re delighted.
“We have to thank the Juddmonte team because they were underbidders, so without them we wouldn’t have got this far! Coolmore have been great supporters of ours and it’s all worked out well.”
The family has served Coolmore well in the past as the likes of Magic Wand, Chicquita (Montjeu) and Emily Dickinson (Dubawi) appear beneath the third dam, Puce (Darshaan).
“I bought Souk, Puce’s dam, as a yearling in Goffs for 100,000 Irish punts, and when I got home I got a hell of a bollocking for spending that amount of money!” said Cumani. “Thank God it’s worked out all right.
“Platonic struggled to win a race. I’d given up with her, but someone told me if I sent her to the provinces in France that she’d win something, and she eventually won as a four-year-old. Look what she’s produced since! It’s a great family and we owe them a hell of a lot.”
Fittocks sold eight lots throughout the three days of Book 1, with the draft generating receipts worth 2,750,000gns (approx. AU$5,533,186).
Asked for his reflections on the week, Cumani said: “Up and down. We sold one for more than we expected and four for less than we expected. Last year it was the other way around but this year has been a bit trickier. This was a great result though and we’re grateful for the people who’ve supported us and the people who work for us.”
Prominent Bin Laden family member spends big
A prominent member of the Bin Laden family is set to enter the British ownership ranks after Mohammed Saleh Bin Laden spent big on yearlings at Tattersalls this week.
During the three days of the prestigious Tattersalls Book 1 sale in Newmarket, Bin Laden purchased ten fillies for 2,560,000gns (approx. AU$5,150,900) under the name of Salhia Stud.
Salhia Stud Limited was registered at Companies House in Britain in November 2021 with the nature of its business listed as “activities of racehorse owners”. Mohammed Saleh Bin Laden is listed as the majority shareholder in the company.
Bin Laden, 41, is the chairman of MBL Limited, a Jeddah-based construction firm. He is also the owner of Al Salhia Stud, a purebred Arabian facility located on the outskirts of the city, and a relative of Osama Bin Laden, the founder of the al-Qaeda organisation who was disowned by the family in 1994.
Hossam Alsaady, a director of Salhia Stud, has been overseeing the buying of horses via bloodstock agent Richard Knight, and said the organisation was seeking to put down roots in British racing.
Alsaady said: “We are big in Arabian breeding but have never been in thoroughbreds before now; we have only recently decided to do this. We have invested and spent a lot on UK business and are involved in many areas of the UK, so we thought why not British racing too and let’s see what we can do.
“It’s a long-term project. What we are doing is inspired by Juddmonte, who are Saudi, and I believe they started off with ten fillies and have grown to where they are now. That said, if we see a colt that we like then we will take a chance with him too.
“We want to be here in the UK for a long time and we are going to be investing in the horses at the sales for the next few years.”
According to the Al Salhia Stud website, Bin Laden’s passion for horses developed after he was gifted a horse by his uncle, Bakr Bin Laden. Bakr Bin Laden, Osama Bin Laden’s half-brother, was a prominent shareholder and former chairman of the construction giant, the Saudi Binladin Group.
The horses were signed for jointly by Salhia Stud and Knight, who is acting as an adviser for the owner.
Al Homaizi eventually defaulted on the purchases, leading to Tattersalls, Goffs, Arqana and Keeneland reselling the horses privately, or at auction, to recoup losses.
No trainers have yet been assigned for the horses bought for Bin Laden, with decisions likely to be made once they have been broken in.
Alsaady said: “We’ve not decided on anybody yet. We will wait for the horses to be broken in and to see what the feedback is, plus Richard is a very good adviser and will help us.
“Mr Bin Laden is a very successful Saudi businessman and his love of horses is massive. He has a love affair with Arabians, but he wants to support British racing and these will be his first thoroughbreds. We’re coming in and we’re hoping for success.”
Closing statistics
The three-day auction concluded with turnover of 95,395,000gns (approx. AU$191,941,200), which was down 25 per cent compared to 2022’s record-busting renewal. The average price was 243,975gns (approx. AU$490,900), an 18 per cent dip on 12 months ago, while the median dropped by ten per cent at 180,000gns (approx. AU$362,170). The clearance rate was 83 per cent as 391 yearlings sold from 470 offered. Last year saw 424 lots sell at a clip of 87 per cent.
Tattersalls chairman Edmond Mahony said: “Book 1 of last year’s Tattersalls October Yearling Sale produced some outlandish figures which will most likely remain in the record books for many years to come and it is no surprise that this year’s renewal has not matched the extraordinary 2022 returns which saw a year on year rise in turnover of almost 40 million guineas. Nevertheless, Europe’s premier yearling sale has enjoyed plenty of memorable moments, very much reflecting the quality of the yearlings which have been on show throughout the past three days.
“Year on year the consignors show enormous faith in Book 1 of the October Yearling Sale, with the sale showcasing the very best that Europe has to offer and yet again we have seen so many of the world’s leading owners competing for the finest turf bred yearlings to be found anywhere in the world. Among them have been a greater number of yearlings selling for one million guineas or more than all other European yearling sales combined, Europe’s highest-priced yearling yet again and 40 yearlings selling for in excess of 500,000 guineas, which similarly is more than all other European yearlings sales to date this year.
“As ever Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale has attracted buyers from throughout the world, so many of them drawn annually to Park Paddocks by the consistent success of Book 1 horses at the highest level on the global stage. In the course of the past three days buyers from Abu Dhabi, Australia, Bahrain, China, Dubai, France, Hong Kong, Japan, Kazakhstan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the USA have all made significant contributions at all levels of the market, confirming the unparalleled esteem in which the finest European yearlings are held and specifically those found annually at this particular sale.”