Anodin in demand as Wertheimers secure €115,000 top lot at Osarus

The Osarus September Yearling Sale got off to a solid start at La Teste-de-Buch in south west France on Tuesday, with an 80 per cent clearance rate and a €115,000 top lot.

The session-topper, a son of Haras du Quesnay's flying freshman sire Anodin, was snapped up by the Wertheimer brothers after the owners' racing manager Pierre-Yves Bureau saw off the attentions of a host of interested parties, including Gerard Larrieu.

The Wertheimers have already thrown their support behind Anodin, who carried their familiar blue and white silks during his racing career, most notably when securing the €140,000 sale-topper at last month's Arqana V2 auction.

"We regularly support our stallions and Anodin had several interesting lots in this sale," said Bureau. "This colt is the one we liked the most though. I'm very happy that we have bought from Haras de l'Hotellerie and the breeder, Florent Couturier. They've both supported Intello and Anodin a lot.

Anodin set to continue family success with promising start at stud

"This year we have acquired two colts by Anodin, one at the Arqana V2 sale and this one here. By supporting our stallions, we want to thank the breeders who trust them. Anodin has a strong end of season ahead of him with several good two-year-olds who can hopefully follow in the footsteps of [impressive Deauville scorer] Anodor."

The session-topping colt is out of Bahia Gold, a daughter of Woodman and the Group 2 winner Lady Winner who has produced six successful offspring since retiring to the paddocks.

The colt also hails from a family the Wertheimers have tasted success with in the past, with the likes of their Group 1 winner Poliglote further back on his page.

Middleham Park back for more

The Middleham Park Racing team have enjoyed some noteworthy results following last year's raid on Osarus, having come away with the unbeaten Washington Singer Stakes winner Boitron, who the highflying syndicate race in partnership with powerful French owner Gerard Augustin-Normand.

And on Tuesday the outfit returned to La Teste to secure a son of Dabirsim bought through Peter and Ross Doyle for €98,000. The colt will head into training with Boitron's handler Richard Hannon.

"He's a very good-looking individual who's got a lovely action, he's a very easy mover," said Ross Doyle. "He was very well-behaved every time we went to see him. He's a very nice colt that looks like he'll be an early type, but he has a bit of size as well so fingers crossed he won't just be a two-year-old."

The colt was offered by Dabirsim's custodians at Haras de Grandcamp, and is out of the Tertullian mare Amazing Bounty, a half-sister to the Listed-winning Amazing Beauty, making the youngster a brother to the winning juvenile All This Time.

The Doyles, who had hot-footed it to the seaside sales ring from Doncaster via Baden-Baden, were among the first-time visitors to Osarus this year, and their first impressions were unquestionably positive.

"It's the first time we've been here," said Ross Doyle. "It's a magnificent place in a wonderful location and there's some nice horses here so it's been great. We've been very well looked after."

Early bird Bozo

Early in the session Meridian International's Ghislain Bozo got the better of a duel with Bertrand le Metayer to secure a son of Manduro who brought a winning bid of €65,000.

After signing the docket Bozo said: "I bought this colt with Pia Brandt for a Scandinavian client. He was born in January but is quite mature and also very balanced.

"I would imagine that he'll start his career in France before eventually going for something like the Scandinavian Derby. He has the profile to succeed there, being balanced, athletic and not too big."

The colt was offered by Haras de l'Hotellerie and is out of the Divine Light mare Nova Luz, whose other offspring include the seven-time winner Devise Des Bieffes and the Listed-placed two-year-old Ecrin Des Bieffes. The third dam is Prix du Cadran winner Mercalle.

Figures

By the close of trade the clearance rate of 80 per cent, median of €16,000 and average of €20,280 were all largely on a par with last year's corresponding session.

The aggregate was down by some 20 per cent to €1,938,000, albeit from a significantly smaller offering, with 101 from 127 offered lots changing hands compared to 119 of 143 on offer 12 months ago.

The sale continues on Wednesday.

View full sale results