Record-breaking Rihaam tops red hot July Sale opener at 540,000gns

A protracted bidding duel over a promising producer resulted in a new Tattersalls July Sale record on Wednesday as the Shadwell-consigned Rihaam was knocked down to Tom Goff of Blandford Bloodstock at 540,000gns.

Goff was positioned towards the back of a packed gangway and was taking instruction from Coolmore’s MV Magnier and Paul Shanahan, while his main rival lodged their bids online.

The nine-year-old Rihaam did not make the track herself but has already made an impact at paddocks as she is the dam of the smart Ribhi, who has won two races for Marcus Tregoning and kicked off his three-year-old campaign with a third-place finish in the European Free Handicap.

Rihaam’s page is replete with black type as she is a sibling to five stakes performers, including the Listed winners Ethaara, Mudaaraah and Sudoor, while she is out of Wissal, a Woodman half-sister to the champion miler Bahri. As well as Ribhi, Rihaam has produced the two-year-old Invincible Spirit filly Shaaden and has a yearling filly by Blue Point. She was offered in foal to Ribhi’s sire Dark Angel.

“Of her age group she was the outstanding broodmare here,” said Goff. “It’s an absolutely fantastic Sheikh Hamdan pedigree that goes back to Bahri and there’s numerous stars all over the pedigree.

“Ribhi is a good colt, he was rated 101, and she’s carrying a full-brother to him. The Invincible Spirit filly is with Marcus Tregoning and is apparently showing some speed, and the Blue Point yearling is reportedly a nice filly.

Tom Goff: 'She was the outstanding broodmare here'Credit: Laura Green

"It’s a nice package and one that doesn’t come along too often, which is why the Shadwell dispersal continues to be of interest. It was obviously a protracted duel but I’m delighted to get her.”

Rihaam’s price surpassed the previous high mark at the July Sale, which was set in 2010 when Kern/Lillingston Association gave 460,000gns for Business As Usual.

Wigan wades in

The previous record was broken not once but twice during a red-hot session that saw an international cross-section of agents and breeders digging deep to add fresh blood to their broodmare bands.

However, the second-top lot is staying close to home as James Wigan’s London Thoroughbred Services went to 500,000gns for wildcard entry See The Rose, winner of the Group 3 Prix Six Perfections during her time in training with Andre Fabre.

The filly won three races at two and was also fifth, beaten less than two lengths, behind Coeursamba and Mother Earth in the Poule d'Essai des Pouliches. The daughter of Kendargent, a sister to Listed scorer Xaarino and the Group 3-placed Mont Kiara, switched from Fabre to Joseph O’Brien ahead of her four-year-old campaign but didn’t run for her new trainer.

See The Rose: Group 3 winner fetches 500,000gns from James WiganCredit: Laura Green

She was previously owned by a partnership consisting of Sean and Bernardine Mulryan, Sue Magnier and Linda Shanahan.

“She was bought for breeding rather than racing and she’s a very nice, quality mare,” said Wigan. “She’s a nice outcross, has her Group race win, Group-placed form and good form as a two-year-old. She’s staying in Europe.”

See The Rose was making her third appearance at public auction, having twice been knocked down to Blandford Bloodstock. She fetched €180,000 when offered by Ballylinch Stud at the Arqana August Yearling Sale before she brought 450,000gns at last year’s Tattersalls December Mares Sale.

Yulong on a spree

Updates don’t come much bigger than the one possessed by Shining Bright, a four-year-old daughter of Galileo and Lady Lara who was offered by Barton Sales in foal to Starspangledbanner.

This lineage makes the four-year-old a sister to Changingoftheguard, who enhanced the page by winning the Group 2 King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot since the catalogue's release.

After another lengthy sales ring tussle it was BBA Ireland’s Michael Donohoe, bidding online on behalf of the Yulong Investments’ Lucky Vega Syndicate, who emerged victorious at 450,000gns.

Shining Bright: Changingoftheguard's sister brings 450,000gnsCredit: Laura Green

The Yulong Investments’ buying team was in prolific form throughout the session, with six lots signed by for BBA Ireland/Lucky Vega Syndicate for an outlay of 1,344,000gns, while a further three lots were signed for by BBA Ireland / Yulong Investments for receipts totalling 373,000gns, making for a combined spend of 1,717,000gns.

“It’s been a busy day but I’m really pleased with the mares we’ve got,” said Yulong’s chief operating officer Sam Fairgray. “They’re by good stallions - Galileo, Siyouni, Kingman and Exceed And Excel - and from nice families and physically we really liked them too so we’re really happy with what we’ve got. Some will head to Australia, some will be bred up here to southern hemisphere time and then head down and others will stay here and visit Lucky Vega.

“I’d imagine they’ll all make their way down to Australia in time but we want to support Lucky Vega. He had a fantastic first season here and we want to continue that support. I’d imagine a couple will be covered by Frankel before heading down but we haven’t decided which ones yet. We’ll sit down and work out where we go from here.

Yulong Investments' Sam FairgrayCredit: Laura Green

“Mr Zhang [Yuesheng, owner] came to this sale a few years ago and purchased Harlech, the dam of Hungry Heart, so he saw that we should be back here and finding the mares that we like.”

As the session entered the latter stages half of the day’s top ten had gone the way of BBA Ireland and Yulong Investments, with Shining Bright joined by the 340,000gns Footprints, an unraced Galileo sister to Armory in foal to Wootton Bassett from The Castlebridge Consignment; Sweet Whisper, a Dubawi half-sister to Farhh who brought 260,000gns when offered by Godolphin; the WH Bloodstock-consigned Le Designe, a once-raced daughter of Siyouni and Park Express Stakes winner Oh Goodness Me who fetched 180,000gns, as did Wild Intrigue, a well-related daughter of Frankel descending from the influential Gryada who was offered in foal to Ten Sovereigns by Barton Sales.

The sums brought by Shining Bright and Footprints were also among the ten highest prices ever generated at the July Sale.

Chasemore collects Chachamaidee

Chachamaidee, who was awarded the 2012 running of the Group 1 Matron Stakes, was among the household names to come under the hammer on Wednesday and the 15-year-old daughter of Footstepsinthesand duly brought a headline price when knocked down to Tom Goff at 200,000gns.

The Blandford Bloodstock agent revealed his purchase was joining the broodmare band of Betfair founder Andrew Black, who breeds from Chasemore Farm.

The Chasemore paddocks have been a prolific source of winners of late, with the likes of Group 2 Greenlands Stakes scorer Brad The Brief and the unbeaten two-year-olds Lezoo, winner of the Listed Empress Fillies' Stakes, and Godolphin’s exciting Noble Style graduating from the Surrey farm.

“I’ve bought her for Andrew Black’s Chasemore Farm,” said Goff. “They’re having a fantastic year, which is great, and they’ve got some really good stuff on the track at the moment, which is very exciting. We’ve followed this mare for a while and I know the family very well. Obviously there’s a heavy Coolmore involvement in the pedigree and she’s a lovely old mare, I thought she looked amazing for her age.”

Chachamaidee, carrying to Mohaather, sells for 200,000gnsCredit: Laura Green

Chachamaidee won seven races over the course of four seasons in training with Sir Henry Cecil for owner Tony Evans, with her Matron Stakes triumph supplemented by wins in the Group 2 Lennox Stakes as well as the Chartwell Fillies' Stakes and Oak Tree Stakes, both of which are Group 3s.

She has bred three winners since retiring to the paddocks, most notably Group 3 Pinnacle Stakes scorer Klassique and the four-year-old Valiant Prince, who provided the page with an eye-catching update having run away with the Listed Ganton Stakes by four lengths on his latest outing.

She also has a three-year-old Sea The Stars filly on the ground and a two-year-old colt by the same sire who has been named Capitano.

“I like the cover to Mohaather as I think he’s very exciting,” added Goff. “I remember the Sea The Stars [Capitano] as a yearling, Houghton Bloodstock sold him, and he was a nice horse. He’s with Hugo Palmer now and they like him. It’s a great package and we’re excited to get her. The plan will be to try and get some fillies from her.”

Tally-Ho return to a familiar source

The July Sale has been a happy hunting ground for the O’Callaghan family of Tally-Ho Stud, with a string of value purchases developing into blue-chip producers.

In 2016 they gave 39,000gns for Janina, who went on to produce two-time Group 1 winner Campanelle when bred to the stud’s Kodiac, while 32,000gns was all it took to secure Queenofthefairies, dam of another of Kodiac’s dual Group 1 winners in Fairyland, in 2010.

That track record has to rate a good omen for First Smile, who was knocked down to the Tally-Ho team at 180,000gns. The four-year-old daughter of Dark Angel, who was offered in foal to Profitable, won one of five starts for Godolphin and Saeed bin Suroor and recorded a peak Racing Post Rating of 85 when third at Meydan on her latest outing.

She is out of Queen Mary Stakes winner Jealous Again, which makes her a sibling to three stakes performers, namely the Listed-winning Sceptical, the Group 1-placed Remorse and the Group 3 third Queen Of Sicily.

“It’s a great fast page and she should suit our stallions,” said Tony O’Callaghan. “Her half-brother Sceptical was deadly and then you have Remorse still running. We have her half-sister Covetous at home and she had the most beautiful Kodiac filly who sold for 300,000gns [to Blandford Bloodstock] last year.”

Tally-Ho had seven stallions on its roster for 2022, with headline acts Kodiac and Mehmas joined by the up-and-comers Cotai Glory, Galileo Gold, Inns Of Court, Kessaar and new recruit Starman, winner of last year’s July Cup.

Fillies and mares from the Godolphin draft were in high demand, and in total the consignment saw 42 lots generate receipts totalling 2,624,500gns at an average of 62,488gns. Among the priciest lots from the bunch was Cheradi, an unraced Dubawi half-sister to Territories, who brought 190,000gns from the Australian-based outfit Breckenridge Ventures, who were bidding over the phone via Tattersalls’ head of sales Matthew Prior.

Another buyer who dipped into the Godolphin draft was Mark McStay of Avenue Bloodstock, who went to 125,000gns for Autumn Lily, a winning Street Cry half-sister to the Group 3 scorer Alexandros. The 11-year-old, offered in foal to Derby hero Masar, has already bred one winner in Botanik, who also ran second in the Group 1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud.

“She’s a very nice mare who’s a nice commercial prospect,” said McStay. “If she breeds yearlings that look like she does you’ll be in good shape. She’s for an existing client and obviously she’s bred a Group 1 performer already and it’s a great family. It’s a family I know very well from my time at Godolphin and these pedigrees don’t come up very often so you have to bid bravely to get them.

“I’m delighted to get her and I’m sure my client will be too. I bought two foals by Masar for my pinhooking syndicate and Charlie [Appleby] always thought he was a very good racehorse. He’s another I remember from my time at Godolphin and he’s got every chance.”

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