Dubawi duo in September Sale look to have sizeable scarcity value

Acquiring a young prospect by Dubawi, currently the leading sire by progeny earnings among all stallions standing in Europe and North America, is one of the greatest challenges for buyers and breeders.

With Darley limiting the number of seasons available to breeders outside Sheikh Mohammed’s circle and a relatively low number of offspring typically coming to market - not to mention the stiff economics involved - there are only a few chances for most to think about adding a Dubawi to their stables.

Buyers will have two special opportunities at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale when a colt and a filly by Dubawi are set to be offered by breeders who hope their appearance in the American marketplace will be a special showcase for the individuals with internationally notable pedigrees.

With Dubawi the only stallion in the world whose average price for both weanlings and yearlings sold at auction in 2018 exceeded $1 million, his two offspring at Keeneland are particularly noteworthy among the sale’s boutique Book 1 offerings.

The colt, hip 375, is out of Eblouissante, a Bernardini half-sister to American Horse of the Year Zenyatta, the only female to win a Breeders’ Cup Classic, which she did on a Santa Anita Park all-weather surface over the likes of champions or Classic winners Twice Over, Rip Van Winkle, Gio Ponti and Summer Bird.

The filly, hip 432, is the first foal out of multiple Chilean Graded winner Guapaza, who added to her resume by winning and placing in Graded stakes in America.

Jane Lyon, who purchased Eblouissante for 1,100,000gns at the 2016 Tattersalls December sale, bred the colt at her Summer Wind Farm and has consigned him to the sale through Lane’s End.

“He’s a medium sized horse with a great walk, a good physical and a great mind,” said Summer Wind manager Bobby Spalding, who has a particularly insightful knowledge of Dubawi’s offspring since he worked many years for the Darley/Godolphin breeding empire.

“I have seen a lot of Dubawis having worked for Sheikh Mohammed. What I would say about [the yearling colt] is that he has a better walk than most. He’s a great physical horse - I just love him. He’s very correct, and several of my European counterparts that have seen him have said he is a very good example of a Dubawi.

“And let’s not forget that Bernardini is making a great broodmare sire. You’ve got a well-bred Dubawi from the family of Zenyatta out of a mare by Bernardini. I don’t think it gets much better than that."

Lyon chose Dubawi, whose fee is £250,000, for Eblouissante due to his outstanding sire record and because the mare was in Europe at that time, she said. An additional attraction is that the medium-sized Dubawi was a good physical match for Eblouissante, who like her famous half-sister, is imposingly tall.

The Summer Wind team debated offering the colt at a European auction but ultimately determined to send him to Keeneland.

“There was a lot of talk about it - I’m sure our final decision disappointed some of our friends over there,” said Lyon, who expressed reservations about shipping the colt to Europe for a sale.

“We knew there would be a great market, that everyone who likes Dubawis would be there, but I also thought that so will all the other good Dubawis that are for sale.

“That being the case, we decided to take our chances here by hopefully having a big fish in a little pond instead of going all the way over there to be competitive,” she added.

Lyon has named the dark bay colt Bluenote.

Meanwhile, Guapaza was sent to Europe to meet Dubawi in 2017 because her owners with Don Alberto Corp, the Chilean-based operation that maintains more than 100 broodmares in Kentucky, felt she deserved a chance to be covered by one of the world’s elite sires. Now seven, Guapaza is from the family of Chilean champion Don Gabino.

“It’s a foal share; we got accepted," said Fabricio Buffolo, Don Alberto executive director. "I think [Darley] like to have some different bloodlines and really tough racemares going to Dubawi. Of course, it’s not easy to be approved, but she got in.

“She’s a very nice, athletic filly,” he said of the yearling, who has been consigned to Keeneland through Taylor Made Sales Agency. “I think she has a little bit more size than the normal Dubawi. Sometimes they can be a little bit more stocky, so overall she also has a little more scope than the usual Dubawi you see.”

The Dubawi colt out of Eblouissante, a Bernardini half-sister to ZenyattaCredit: Michele MacDonald

Since Guapaza, who was trained to her Graded success in America by Chad Brown, proved she could be competitive in both northern and southern hemispheres, Buffolo said “I think the yearling will have a lot of appeal.

“You don’t see a lot of Dubawis at the sales, maybe because he is heavily used by Darley and Shadwell and other farms that are associated with the horse," he added. "And you’ll see definitely more in Europe. Being here and being one out of two at Keeneland is definitely a plus.

“Galileo and Dubawi are top stallions in the world, so if you see their offspring anywhere, I think people pay attention.”

Guapaza is by Seeking The Dia, a Japanese champion son of Storm Cat and French champion Seeking the Pearl.

The yearling filly is bred 3x4 to Dubawi’s grandsire Seeking The Gold and she also is 4x4 to Slightly Dangerous, the daughter of Roberto owned by Juddmonte who was honoured as the 1997 Broodmare of the Year in America.

Slightly Dangerous produced Derby and Irish Derby winner Commander In Chief, as well as other sons Dushyantor, a leading sire in Chile and multiple Group winner in England, and Irish Derby runner-up Deploy. Dushyantor sired Guapaza’s dam, Chilean Grade 1-placed Guampa, and Deploy is the sire of Dubawi’s dam Zomaradah, a Group 1 winner and Italian champion.

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