'I'm still buzzing!' - Classic hopeful Hannibal Barca sells for 500,000gns

Hannibal Barca brought a Group 1 update to the table on day two of the Tattersalls Autumn Horses in Training Sale in Newmarket on Tuesday, and after a whirlwind round of bidding the gavel came down on the Brian Meehan-trained two-year-old at a cool 500,000gns.

The son of Zoffany, plucked from the Goffs Orby Yearling Sale by Sam Sangster for just £55,000, was catalogued as having placed on his only start to date. However, he had not only broken his maiden in taking style at Salisbury but was last seen finishing fourth, beaten just two lengths, by Derby favourite Luxembourg in the Group 1 Vertem Futurity Trophy Stakes at Doncaster on Saturday.

A throng of interested onlookers packed out the Park Paddocks gangway and an opening play of 100,000gns immediately sent the bid board into six-figure territory.

Richard Fitzsimons, sitting high and to the left of the rostrum, Alex Elliott, standing at the top of the back steps, and US-based agent Kelsey Lupo, leaning against the back wall behind the partition, helped send the price on a steep upwards trajectory.

However, Michael Donohoe of BBA Ireland, who secured the 325,000gns Horoscope on day one, joined in late from his position by the exit and sealed the deal with a final bid of 500,000gns.

"He looks very progressive," said Donohoe. "His maiden victory was very impressive and I thought it was a superb run on soft ground the other day. I don't think he handled it all that well but his guts and determination got him through.

Michael Donohoe: 'Come next June he might just look good value'Credit: Laura Green

"I thought he was still quite green and he's a big, scopey horse, he's 16.1 [hands high] so we think there's lots more to come. He's been bought for a client who has horses in Ireland, Britain and France so he'll probably stay in Europe. The first part of the plan was to get him bought and I'm not exactly sure where he'll go.

"Obviously he could be a horse for the Classics next year, I think he'll have the speed for a mile but in time he might stay a mile and a half. I'm thrilled to get him. He's rated 111 and come next June he might just look good value."

Hannibal Barca, who was bred by the late Peter Magnier's Brittas House Stud, once fetched just €16,000 from Castlehyde Stud when sold as a foal, and Sangster explained that it was only serendipity that had meant the colt had raced in his own colours before greatly enhancing his value.

"I'm still buzzing!" said Sangster in the aftermath of the sale. "It was emotional watching that. Brian and I buy a lot of horses together on spec and put them in the shop window. He was one of them, we loved him at Goffs, but because of Covid we struggled to get people down to the yard and he was one of the horses we couldn't get sold.

"We have a lot of confidence in the horses we buy so we raced him ourselves and full credit to Brian, who believed in the horse enough to take him to the Group 1. He's got such a bright future ahead of him that we're gutted to see him go, but it was good business all round. You enter for the Vertem Futurity early on and that was always his target."

Brian Meehan and Sam Sangster on the Tattersalls sales groundCredit: Tattersalls

Sangster, son of the racing pioneer Robert Sangster, a key player in the emergence of the Coolmore empire alongside John Magnier and Vincent O'Brien, continued: "All the lads in the yard loved him, including my nephew, Ollie Sangster, who rode him early on and rang me straight away to say he thought this was a really nice horse."

Hannibal Barca is out of Innocent Air, a daughter of Galileo bred and raced by Juddmonte. She won two races while under the care of John Gosden, the Washington Singer and Severals Stakes, and joined the Brittas House broodmare band at a cost of 65,000gns in 2016.

Innocent Air is a sibling to two stakes performers, including the Listed-winning Skipping, while another half-sister is the dam of EP Taylor Stakes heroine Folk Opera. She last changed hands in March when signed for by Margaret O'Toole at 25,000gns at Tattersalls' online sale.

"He was exactly the same today as he was the day we bought him, a gorgeous, free-moving horse," added Sangster. "He's by Zoffany and out of a Galileo mare so it's a beautiful, proven cross. When we bought him I thought we'd bought well, but never did I think he'd come here and make half a million!

Hannibal Barca striding out after bringing 500,000gnsCredit: Laura Green

"He had seven vets from all over the world and that's why you come here, because you know you're going to get the biggest bidders. When Mick [Donohoe] called me this morning I said I can't recommend him more because he's got such a lovely temperament and stride, and I think he'll be a serious horse next year."

Donohoe was back in action later in the session when going to 230,000gns for Wink Of An Eye, the Queen's homebred who was offered by William Haggas's Somerville Lodge. The three-year-old son of Dubawi won four times for Haggas, including when hitting an RPR of 97 for his most recent success at Goodwood in July.

"He's for a client in the Middle East and he's got exactly the right profile for the racing over there," said Donohoe. "Dubawis do well out there and seem to improve a few pounds for training in the sunny climate. He'll go on any surface, he's a good-looking horse and he fits the bill. I was happy to buy one from the Queen too."

When asked for his reflections on the record-breaking state of trade, Donohoe said: "We kind of figured it would be strong as it's been the same all the way through the sales this year. You need to pay for the good ones but thankfully I have some very good clients who are willing to step up to the mark."

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