'He has the perfect profile for a Derby winner' - high hopes for another fantastic yearling sale at BBAG

Every breeder has their dream, the catalyst for their interest and involvement, the motivating force to persevere during dark nights of the soul.

For many of the breeders and consignors displaying the best of German yearlings at the BBAG sales complex on Thursday, the Deutsches Derby is the race that ignites their passion. It is also the fulcrum of the sport and industry in the country,

This summer was the one in which Philipp and Marion Stauffenberg's Hamburg dream was gloriously realised with the victory of Fantastic Moon in the Classic. A homebred son of Sea The Moon, he formed part of the Stauffenberg consignment here two years ago when he was purchased by Lars-Wilhelm Baumgarten's syndicate Liberty Racing 2021.

With Fantastic Moon one of the stars of a glittering Grosse Woche in Baden Baden, where he will attempt to provide Sara Steinberg, the first woman to train the Deutsches Derby winner, with successive victories in the Grosser Preis von Baden-Baden on Sunday, his breeders were busy 

"Breeding a Derby winner, it is what we all aspire to," remarked Philipp Stauffenberg. "This sale is where buyers come to find a horse that fits the profile of a Derby winner."

The concept of syndicate models, such as Fantastic Moon's owners, is a recent one for the German industry but vital for the viability and sustainability of the sport, Stauffenberg added.

"Fantastic Moon's owners, Liberty Racing, are part of a new development in German racing," he said. "Syndicates like these are being formed in Germany now, which is very important for the industry here. It promotes German investment in racing and breeding in this country and we need that for the future of the sport."

Stauffenberg's select draft of four yearlings includes a colt (lot 68) whose pedigree is that of a Classic horse.

Lot 68 by Australia has a Derby winner's profileCredit: BBAG

"He is a very well-related Australia colt who has the perfect profile for a Derby winner and is a horse with that mix of German lines and an international sire which appeals to so many different buyers. He is a lovely moving colt and has gone down well," commented Stauffenberg.

The chestnut is a half-brother to Listed winners Salve Venezia and Sun Of Gold and out of Salve Aurora, a Listed-placed daughter of King's Best and Preis der Diana winner Salve Regina. That daughter of Monsun is a full-sister to Group 1 winners and sires Schiaparelli and Samum out of the brilliant Old Vic broodmare Sacarina.

His sale, and that of a filly from the final crop of the wonderful Adlerflug (178), is a poignant one.

"It is sad as not only is the yearling from the last crop of Adlerflug, she is also one of the last yearlings bred by Gestut Hony Hof," said Stauffenberg.

"It is one of the farms closing down in Germany, so this yearling is being sold as part of a dispersal by very successful breeders. She is the first foal out of Palace Girl, who is an Areion half-sister to Princess Zoe. She was also bred by Gestut Hony Hof; she was just a handicapper here but Tony Mullins trained her to be a Group 1 winner."

The cleverly-named Carolina Reaper won a juvenile Group 3 at the track here on Wednesday, and the victory for Charlie Johnston's daughter of Too Darn Hot added even more black type to the page of the Sea The Stars colt (59) offered by Stauffenberg Bloodstock on behalf of his breeders Lordship Stud.

"It is always good to get these updates two days before a sale but he has a very strong family," said Stauffenberg. "Loveheart is out of an Oaks winner and a half-sister to a St Leger winner."

Lot 58: received an update with the victory of Carolina Reaper on WednesdayCredit: BBAG

Bred on the Sea The Stars - Dubawi cross that has already produced Desert Hero, he is the second foal out of Loveheart, who is a daughter of Love Divine and a half-sister to Sixties Icon. Love Divine is a half-sister to the Listed winner Dark Promise, the dam of Carolina Reaper, and she is also a half-sister to Love Excelling, who is the dam of multiple Group 1 winner Dunboyne Express.

Stauffenberg's daughter of Sea The Stars (156) has a family full of broodmares and a pedigree that was developed by one of the world's most famous and successful breeders, whose stock has now been acquired by another in the Wertheimers.

"The female line is very strong and she is a sister to a Group 2 winner, so the mare has already shown what she can do," said Stauffenberg. "She is a lovely filly from a deep Wildenstein family so she has a broodmare's pedigree."

The recruitment and support of new stallions is also key to the health of any breeding industry, so the debut of Waldpfad's first crop at BBAG on Friday is a significant one for German breeding.

Julia Baum bred the son of Shamardal from the outstanding W family at her Gestut Brummerhof, and she is strongly supporting the Hackwood Stakes winner who was third to Hello Youmzain and The Tin Man in Haydock's Sprint Cup.

"Waldpfad is our own stallion and our yearlings by him have been received nicely so we are very happy and will see how they sell," she remarked of the colts. "They are both very well-balanced horses and Waldpfad has a lot of Shamardal points about him."

Waldpfad winning the Hackwood StakesCredit: Alan Crowhurst

With Lope De Vega's status as an elite sire, the success of Blue Point's first crop on the track and buzz surrounding the first yearlings by Pinatubo and Earthlight, the Shamardal sire line is one of the strongest and most exciting around, but it is not just his sire that draws the attention to Waldpfad.

The nine-year-old stood this year at Gestut Etzean and boasts an instantly recognisable pedigree. His dam, Waldbeere, is a Mark Of Esteem full-sister to Falmouth Stakes runner-up Waldmark, the dam of Group 1 winner and emerging sire Masked Marvel and of Group 3 winner Waldlerche, whose son Waldgeist counts the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe among his four Group 1 wins.

As a Group winner over six furlongs and with a Classic family behind him, Waldpfad offers something a little different to what is traditionally associated with German horses.

"Shamardal was always very good for our breeding and Waldpfad has an exciting blend of speed and stamina in his pedigree. We are looking forward to seeing what they do next year, they have good temperaments, good looks and walk very well," added Baum.

"It is important for German racing and breeding to have another stallion line."

There is an overlap of the old and the new of German sires in the Brummerhof draft, with the farm also offering one of the last colts by Adlerflug (38) to come to market. Named Antinori, he is the second foal out of the Listed winner and Group 3-placed Anna Magnolia, by Makfi.

"If he was a filly, he wouldn't be here," she smiled. "He is a very nice Adlerflug, who was such a good stallion, and we like the colt a lot. He has been very busy with shows."

Brummerhof's Wootton Bassett colt out of a regally-bred Galileo mareCredit: BBAG

Another from the Brummerhof draft who drew a crowd was their colt (183) by Wootton Bassett, one of just two by the sire in the sale, and what's more, he has Galileo as his broodmare sire.

Baum said: "It's an exciting cross that has already produced a Group 1 winner and one we are going to see a lot more of in the future. He has been popular and we are very excited about him."

His pedigree is excellent; dam Secretina has already produced the Listed Derby Trial third Santorini by Siyouni and she is a half-sister to Group 1 winner Plumania, the dam of Plumatic, and to Group 2 Prix de Royallieu winner Balladeuse, who is the dam of Prix Vermeille winner and Prix de Diane runner-up Left Hand.

Like many of the larger breeders and consignors, Brummerhof's draft contains a cosmopolitan blend of sires.

"We have a good mix of hot stallions including a colt (168) by Too Darn Hot, who had a Group 3 winner here yesterday," said Baum. "He is a half-brother to a Group 3 winner from the family of Melbourne Cup winner Rekindling. 

"We also have a Pinatubo colt (63) who is a half-brother to German 1,000 Guineas winner Novemba. The Pinatubo yearlings seem to be selling well at other sales."

Selling begins on Friday at 10am (9am BST).

BBAG Yearling Sale factfile 

Where BBAG Sales Complex, Iffezheim

When Friday, 10am local time (9am BST)

Last year’s stats From 204 offered, 159 lots sold (78 per cent) for turnover of €8,457,500 (up 26 per cent year on year), an average of €53,192 (up 23 per cent) and a median of €53,678 (up 25 per cent)

Notable graduates Fantastic Moon (sold by Stauffenberg Bloodstock, bought by Liberty Racing 2021 for €49,000); Tunnes (sold by Ronald Rauscher, bought by Holger Renz for €38,000); Muskoka (sold by Gestut Ohlerweiherhof, bought by Stall Torjager for €80,000); Miss Yoda (sold by Gestut Etzean, bought by Blandford Bloodstock for €280,000)

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