Warrior and Zoustar to the fore as Stars shines on day two at Tattersalls
First season shuttlers Saxon Warrior (Deep Impact) and Zoustar (Northern Meteor) proved popular with buyers during the second session of the Tattersalls December Foal Sale on Thursday, with both stallions returning impressive results.
Coolmore resident Saxon Warrior had four colts sold for an average 100,750gns (approx. AUD$192,000), which included a 160,000gns (approx. AUD$304,000) Highclere Stud-consigned youngster who went the way of Camas Park Stud. The same buyer returned with a bid of 100,000gns (approx. AUD$190,000) for a colt from Alltherightmoves (Namid) later in the session.
Meanwhile, Widden Stud resident Zoustar had nine youngsters sold for 409,000gns (approx. AUD$776,500), including two six-figure lots. A colt from Plantation Stud went the way of Yeomanstown Stud for 110,000gns (approx. AUD$209,000) shortly after Tweenhills Farm & Stud, Zoustar’s northern hemisphere base, offered a son of the well-related Bewitchment (Pivotal) for 100,000gns (approx. AUD$190,000).
The exceptional Sea The Stars (Cape Cross), sire of Stradivarius, Taghrooda and Sea Of Class, was responsible for the 170,000gns (approx. AUD$323,000) session topper as the day two median of 25,000gns (approx. AUD$47,500) and average of 33,888gns (approx. AUD$64,500) had dropped a little year-on-year.
Turnover was also down, 7,014,800gns (approx. AUD$13,320,000) compared to 8,532,700gns grossed 12 months ago, although the clearance rate was up five per cent to 84.
Saxon begins the advance
There were glowing commendations from senior parties on each side of the transaction which saw a member of the dual Group 1 winner Saxon Warrior’s first crop reach 160,000gns, top lot for the vast majority of the day.
Hindsight often bathes an auction success in a more favourable light but auctioneer Alastair Pim had assessed that Lot 603 was a hard horse to find fault with during his warm-up routine and good judges clearly agreed.
He provided enough of a persuasive case for Timmy Hyde of Camas Park Stud, bidding from an increasingly chilly position outside the entrance to the auditorium as the afternoon sun faded away, to claim the son of Listed scorer Aktoria (Canford Cliffs) as a pinhooking prospect for next year.
“He was a hell of a racehorse. One of the best racehorses for many, many years,” said Hyde of Saxon Warrior, an intriguing 2,000 Guineas (Gr 1, 1m)-winning mix of Deep Impact (Sunday Silence) and Galileo (Sadler’s Wells) blood who will stand for €20,000 (approx. AUD$32,500) at Coolmore next year.
Having also won the Racing Post Trophy (Gr 1, 1m) at two, Saxon Warrior is standing at Coolmore Australia for a fee of $17,600 in 2020. His first southern hemisphere foals will be born this spring having covered 97 mares at a fee of $24,750 in 2019.
Foals are on offer here in various stages of physical development and this individual seemed well on track to become a perfectly-formed racehorse, with a mature temperament to boot.
“I think there’d been a very good vibe about the horse, as indeed I think it has been of all the Saxon Warriors,” said Highclere’s Lady Carolyn Warren. “I think he’s getting great stock and this horse is testament to that, but there are others as well.”
Highclere has only resumed selling foals recently and Warren credited Leonidas and Marina Marinopoulos, who bred the colt in France. Aktoria carried their starred silks made famous by the likes of globe-trotting Presvis (Sakhee).
“He came over to us from Marmion, the Marinopoulos’s stud farm – he was born lovely and has been very straightforward to prep. A really gorgeous horse. They are tremendous breeders who have been in the game for a very long time,” Warren added.
Zoustar spearheads Tweenhills newcomers
Two more new stallion names to this ring were representing Tweenhills, through the late Roaring Lion (Kitten’s Joy) and dual Group 1 winner Zoustar, who has made a striking impression with his first southern hemisphere runners. The reigning Australian champion first and second season sire has produced 16 stakes winners, including three-time Group 1 heroine Sunlight.
These are the first crop of northern hemisphere-bred foals to be offered at auction by Zoustar, who was introduced to northern hemisphere breeders at £25,000 (approx. AUD$45,200) when standing at Tweenhills in 2019. He will once again be offered at that fee in 2021 having stood for £30,000 (approx. AUD$54,200) this year.
The colt from the Tweenhills draft out of Pivotal (Polar Falcon) mare Bewitchment had kept the stud’s David Redvers particularly busy before being bought over the phone for 100,000gns by David Howden.
“I don’t think we’ve ever had a foal vetted so many times,” Redvers said. Howden, an insurance tycoon who has taken over the Cornbury Park estate in Oxfordshire, also added the highest-priced of the three Roaring Lions offered for 82,000gns (approx. AUD$155,500).
“He saw all the foals on the farm and particularly loved those two,” said Redvers. “I didn’t know at what level he was interested but he got into racing two years ago and these ones will run in his colours.”
Sea The Stars steals the headlines
Sea The Stars has already provided a professional highlight for Gerard Lowry of Oneliner Stables, who caught a few by surprise when slipping in to buy another colt by the stallion great for 170,000gns late in the day.
The Newsells Park-consigned Lot 718, out of Dubawi (Dubai Millennium) mare La Mortola from the family of Jakkalberry (Storming Home) and Crackerjack King (Shamardal), was announced as being knocked down to an online bidder, as it indeed was, but Lowry was nonetheless in situ in Park Paddocks.
At Book 1 last year, the Oneliner family operation had what Gerard Lowry described as a “life-changing” pinhook with a Sea The Stars colt bought for 330,000gns as a foal and exchanged for 725,000gns as a yearling.
“The technology is there to be used, it was nice to try it out,” said Lowry.
“The horse was our pick of the day. Obviously when you’ve been lucky with a sire in the past, it’s hard not to go back to them and hopefully we can bring this one back next year now.”
Although consigned by Newsells Park, the January 30-born colt was the property of Graham Smith-Bernal, an entrepreneur in ground-breaking legal technology.
Newsells Park’s Julian Dollar said: “Graham Smith-Bernal bought the mare from Kiltinan three years ago with Jill Lamb [for 350,000gns] and the Frankel yearling sold well to Godolphin last year.
“He’s quite new to the game and is someone good to have around. He boards a few mares with us and I hope he has some luck.”
Oneliner later swooped for a 140,000gns (approx. AUD$265,700) Camelot (Montjeu) colt from Belmont Stud, third top lot and one of 11 to crack six figures in what was a flurry of evening activity.
Big day for new name Havana
There had been a good word about for one of the first progeny of Havana Grey (Havana Gold), whose home at Whitsbury Manor sold a half-brother to Cornwallis Stakes (Gr 3, 5f) winner Good Vibes (Due Diligence) to Paca Paca’s Harry Sweeney for 130,000gns (approx. AUD$247,500).
“I can’t believe someone from Japan wants to buy from a stallion I’m standing for £6,000,” said an emotional Ed Harper of Whitsbury Manor.
“There is a slight tinge of sadness that I’m not going to see him race here as I’ve just stared at him ever since he was born but I can’t complain.”
Eyes on the Tiger
Jessica Marcialis created one of the stories of the season when galloping to Marcel Boussac (Gr 1, 1600m) glory aboard Tiger Tanaka (Clodovil), the first foal of Zoffany (Dansili) mare Miss Phillyjinks, who was let go for just €6,500.
One Group 1 update later and the bonuses are starting to be reciprocated for Kellsgrange Stud, who collected 72,000gns (approx. AUD$136,500) from their next progeny, a colt by Dragon Pulse (Kyllachy), who will make his way across the Channel after being knocked down to Ed Sackville of SackvilleDonald.
He said: “He’s been bought by an end user and is more likely to go to France because the family has done well there. It has been a great story with Tiger Tanaka, she’s a Group 1 winner and you don’t get better than that.”
“A great result for a mare that was bought for €3,500,” said Kellsgrange manager Dermot Dwan. “The mare’s in foal to the right stallion in Mehmas.”
Read tomorrow’s ANZ Bloodstock for the full report on Friday’s session at Park Paddocks.