Irish arrival Lauro open for business as sale-topping son makes £410,000

Lauro had barely set foot in his new home at Eamonn Duignan's Hayes Stud in County Meath when his son Dlauro became the most expensive five-year-old pointer sold at public auction when knocked down to Joseph O'Brien for £410,000 at the Tattersalls Ireland Cheltenham February Sale.

The sale prompted Duignan - who initially planned only to cover his own mares - to make a U-turn and offer the 15-year-old son of Monsun to outside breeders at a fee of €2,000 with filly discounts.

Lauro has stood at various studs in France since 2010 and arrived at Hayes Stud in the third week of January, three weeks before the sale of Dlauro.

Duignan said: "The quality of Dlauro's run at Belharbour, the level of interest in him and the price he made brought the sire to everybody's attention very quickly.

"I would have ten mares here and a friend of mine might be sitting on seven or eight of them, and we chatted about it, and it's something that I always wanted to do."

Asked about the appeal of Lauro for Irish jumps breeders, Duignan said: "The stock that he throws - if you look at the size and scope of Dlauro or Dream Conti, who Noel Meade trains for Gigginstown, they just seem to be in the shape of natural chasers."

Duignan will also be keeping tabs on the progress of Duc D'Allier, a five-year-old son of Lauro currently with Colin Bowe's Milestone Stables, the same academy from which Getabird and Samcro emerged.

Lauro's best Flat performer to date has been Lovato, third in the Group 3 Bavarian Classic in Germany and now a two-time winner over hurdles for Richard Newland.

France Galop lists Lauro as having at least 23 yearlings, including Quilaura, a half-sister to the Paul Nicholls-trained Fred Winter Juvenile Hurdle winner Qualando, and the AQPS filly Hilda, who is out of a Dom Alco sister to bet365 Gold Cup winner Quentin Collonges.

Bred and raced for much of his career by Gestut Hof Ittlingen, Lauro won a 1m4f Listed contest in France at three and was Group 3-placed at four.

Switched from Peter Schiergen to Andreas Wohler, Lauro continued to perform admirably over middle distances at five and six, winning the Grade 2 Sky Classic Stakes at Woodbine and finishing runner-up in the Grade 1 United Nations Stakes at Monmouth Park.

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