Destination Milan as SGA Sale kicks off sporting weekend on Saturday

A significant weekend of sporting action around San Siro in Milan begins on Saturday with the staging of the SGA Yearling Sale, the premier auction in Italian racing.

The event gets under way at 2pm local time (1pm BST) on what is the eve of the Derby della Madonnina, the age-old grudge match between the city's two traditional footballing giants, Internazionale and AC Milan.

The football stadium is just a brief walk from Milan's picturesque racing and training centre and the SGA Sale, having been held at the main racecourse 12 months ago, has reverted to its traditional home at the adjacent trotting track, Ippodromo La Maura. 

It attracted 126 initial entries with a more blue-chip international offering listed first, although some withdrawals are expected before the off-time.

"The yearlings have been arriving, and I’m quite happy," said sales director Alessandro Santoni. "The quality is good enough and the first part has a really nice selection of yearlings. I’m hopeful and positive."

Italian racing's struggles have rarely relented, with major issues over delays in payment of prize-money and its black-type races being downgraded by the European Pattern Committee. 

However, it still has an enthusiastic and active ownership base, and other European countries can still be lured by its high purses, with Andrew Balding sending Royal Supremacy to finish second in the Italian Derby in May.

The Sea The Stars filly out of Cronsa who made €160,000 at the SGA Sale 12 months agoCredit: Giulia Filippini

Last year's top lot was Razza del Velino's Sea The Stars filly out of Cronsa who was knocked down for €160,000 to Marco Bozzi on behalf of Kildaragh Stud. Now named North Star, she is registered as having gone into training with George Boughey.

Cronsa was an Italian Guineas runner-up who is already the dam of three black-type horses, including a Group 3 winner, and Velino offers her half-sister by Sottsass as lot 38. 

The Botti family's breeding operation is also behind both of the offspring of Blue Point to be engaged, including a February-born colt (11) who is a sibling of decent Group winners Candy Store and The Conqueror. 

Velino has another interesting entry in a Zelzal colt out of a half-sister to Holy Moon, the fabled dam of Sea Of Class (34).

The offering from Allevamento Le Gi includes a Holy Roman Emperor half-brother to Cima Emergency, a top-class miler in Italy (4), and an Inns Of Court filly (13) from the productive family of last year's Italian Oaks heroine Shavasana.

Razza Vedano has the sole Kodiac in the line-up, a well-related colt (29), and the catalogue further includes progeny by the likes of Sea The Moon, Australia, Saxon Warrior, Churchill and Gleneagles.

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