Coolmore and Godolphin renew Tattersalls rivalry as blue-blooded Frankel colt fetches 2,000,000gns

Clashes between Coolmore and Godolphin have fuelled plenty of memorable Book 1 moments down the years, and the old foes wrote another chapter in the story when they renewed their sales ring rivalry on Wednesday.

A little under 24 hours earlier the superpowers clashed over a Ghaiyyath relation to Auguste Rodin who fetched 1,050,000gns. Godolphin emerged victorious on that occasion, but when Hascombe and Valiant Stud presented the Frankel colt out of Bizzarria it was Coolmore’s MV Magnier who wasn’t for turning.

The board ticked over in 100,000gns increments until Magnier, standing in the gangway, waved his iPad to push the price to 2,000,000gns. After a brief pause bidspotter Matt Hall, positioned on the podium by the parade ring, shook his head to signal that Godolphin wouldn’t be returning fire. At current conversion rates the colt becomes the most expensive yearling sold in Europe this year, just eclipsing the €2.4 million Dubawi half-sister to Bucanero Fuerte bought by Oliver St Lawrence at the Arqana August Sale.

Coolmore know better than most the calibre of horse Anthony Oppenheimer breeds, having purchased the Classic winners Footstepsinthesand and Rose Gypsy from Hascombe and Valiant’s previous Tattersalls drafts.

MV Magnier: "They've bred a lot of very good horses in the past"Credit: Edward Whitaker

“He’s a very nice horse and in fairness to everyone at Hascombe and Valiant they’ve bred a lot of very good horses in the past,” said Magnier, who added Peter Brant’s White Birch Farm brand to the docket.

“They’re very good breeders, Frankel is flying at the moment and this is a very well-bred horse. Paul [Shanahan], Aidan [O’Brien] and everyone in the team liked him. He’ll go to Ballydoyle and we’ll hope he’s good.”

When asked what the best-case scenario was for such a significant purchase, Magnier cracked a wry smile and said: “He wins the Dewhurst, the Guineas, the Derby and the St Leger. Seriously though, we’ll just hope he’s a good racehorse for now.”

The colt is bred on the same Frankel-Lemon Drop Kid cross that has already produced two Group 1 winners in St James’s Palace Stakes scorer Without Parole and Courage Mon Ami, the Hascombe and Valiant graduate who struck in this year’s Gold Cup.

The seven-figure youngster is a half-brother to one minor winner in Bizarre Law, but there is plenty of bold black type beneath his second dam as Bizzarria is sibling to three major winners, including two who struck at the highest level.

The Frankel colt takes his turn in the sales ring on the second day of Tattersalls Book 1Credit: Laura Green

The dam is a full-sister to Grade 1 Canadian International victor Cannock Chase and Group 2 Prix Eugene Adam winner Pisco Sour. Her most talented sibling is her Classic-winning Sea The Stars half-sister Star Catcher, who landed the Irish Oaks, Prix Vermeille and British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes. Interestingly, the three siblings all struck at Royal Ascot, with Cannock Chase and Pisco Sour claiming the Tercentenary Stakes and Star Catcher winning the Ribblesdale Stakes.

The seven-figure transaction justified Oppenheimer’s bold call to offer his entire crop of yearling colts. Asked if he had any regrets about selling such a well-credentialled youngster, the Derby-winning owner-breeder said: “No, none at all. I didn’t think we’d get quite as much as that, although I knew he was a very nice horse. We’re refuelling the stud’s finances, which can’t do any harm.”

The colt is the seventh seven-figure Frankel yearling to join the Coolmore fold. The group includes the unbeaten Group 2 winner Diego Velazquez, a 2,400,000gns buy 12 months ago, the 1,500,000gns Silver Flash Stakes scorer Ylang Ylang and the €1.85m filly who topped last week’s Goffs Orby Sale. Another from the septet, last year’s 1,900,000gns purchase Euphoric, made a winning debut at Navan on Wednesday.

Coolmore and White Birch strike again

In a remarkable coincidence, Ballyphilip Stud’s Anna Law – whose colt by Blue Point, the half-brother to Battaash, had earlier commanded 1,500,000gns –wasn’t the only 14,000gns mare to supply a millionaire yearling on the day. Late in the session Magnier and White Birch Farm went to 1,250,000gns for the Wootton Bassett colt out of Clara Stud’s budding blue hen Entreat.

The daughter of Pivotal was bought in 2016 before she had produced a winner. She is now responsible for seven successful sons and daughters, including Commonwealth Cup hero Golden Horde and the Listed-winning pair Exhort and Line Of Departure. Entreat’s owner James Cloney was in prime position in the gangway as the Wootton Bassett colt became the fourth seven-figure lot of the day.

“The horse did it all himself,” said Cloney as he deftly deflected any praise. “He’s a really nice specimen of a horse. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing to have such a beautiful article that’s the right size, the right shape, walks the right way and has the right pedigree. She’s a special mare who really produces top-quality stock.”

The Wootton Bassett colt out of Entreat who set Coolmore and White Birch back 1,250,000gnsCredit: Laura Green

Entreat was paired with Wootton Bassett during the sire’s first season at Coolmore in 2021, when his fee was set at €100,000.

Cloney said: “Given what he’d done in France you could see he was going to climb the ranks, so we had an inkling he was going to work out. The mare also has a beautiful Dark Angel filly foal at home, but she’s barren at the moment.

"We have about 15 mares, we’re a family run operation in Kilkenny as there’s myself, my father-in-law [Michael Nolan] and Paddy Kelly, the man leading up. I’m a pharmacist by trade, but looking at the horses on an evening is what keeps me right.”

Although the colt is comfortably the most valuable of Entreat’s yearlings, the dam has produced other sales ring smash hits as the Zoffany filly Heart To Heart was bought by Coolmore for 580,000gns in 2020, while Line Of Departure was a £260,000 buy at Doncaster in 2019.

Sumbe gets in on seven-figure act

A brother to one of the most exciting two-year-olds around will carry the familiar pale blue and yellow silks of Nurlan Bizakov after the head of the Sumbe operation went to 1,100,000gns for the Lope De Vega colt out of Bella Estrella from Ballylinch Stud.

The colt was catalogued as a brother to one winner, but that sibling, Iberian, provided a major boost to the pedigree by doubling his tally in the Group 2 Champagne Stakes. Further updates could be forthcoming too with Iberian set to contest the Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes, for which he is around 4-1 second favourite behind City Of Troy.

Sumbe’s general manager Tony Fry was at pains to stress that simply buying the horse was no cause for celebration, with the team hoping this is merely the first step towards fulfilling some lofty ambitions.

“He’s a lovely horse, a lovely model, by a top stallion and he’s out of a young mare,” said Fry. “If he’s a good enough racehorse he’s a potential stallion. That’s what we’re hoping for. Ideally you’d like to breed them yourself, race them yourself and stand them yourself, which we’ll do as well.”

The Lope De Vega colt out of Bella Estrella who made 1,100,000gns to Sumbe on WednesdayCredit: Laura Green

The second generation Ballylinch homebred is out of Bella Estrella, a three-time winner who struck in the Listed Cairn Rouge Stakes during her time in training with Dermot Weld.

The daughter of High Chaparral is a sister to four winners, most notably High Heeled, who won the Group 3 St Simon Stakes and finished third in Sariska’s Oaks. Another sibling, Faraday Light, is the dam of Irish 1,000 Guineas and EP Taylor Stakes heroine Just The Judge.

That wasn’t the only big result for Lope De Vega on the day, as The Castlebridge Consignment sold the colt out of Craig Bennett’s Moyglare Stud Stakes winner Cursory Glance to MV Magnier and White Birch Farm for 850,000gns.

The colt is a sibling to two Listed winners in Voodoo Queen and Tinker Toy, both of whom raced in the colours of Bennett’s Merry Fox Stud. There is plenty going on in the next generation too as Cursory Glance is a half-sister to Willow View, dam of US Grade 1 winner Digital Age and Group 3 Prix la Rochette victress Acer Alley.

“The most pleasing thing for me is to breed horses that Coolmore buy and Juddmonte underbid,” said Bennett. “It means you’re ticking boxes at the elite level. When we first came into the game in 2006, this is what we strived to achieve.”

He added: “Lope De Vega is having a great year and anyone could bid on his progeny. We’ve sold one horse to Coolmore before, jointly with Newsells Park, and that was Ylang Ylang. She’s a Group winner and could be anything, so let's hope this fella can do the same.”

St Lawrence and Joorabchian lock horns over 900,000gns brother to Without Parole

Few buyers have been as busy during the opening stages of Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale as Oliver St Lawrence, and the leading agent was back in business on Wednesday to secure back-to-back lots at a combined 1,400,000gns.

Hazelwood Bloodstock presented the Dubawi colt out of Wisdom Mind, a Dark Angel half-sister to Barney Roy, who fetched 500,000gns, before a host of interested parties fought out the bidding for the Kingman half-brother to Without Parole.

Richard Brown of Blandford Bloodstock played his part in pushing the price, as did Tom Pritchard-Gordon of Badgers Bloodstock, but ultimately it was Amo Racing principal Kia Joorabchian who filled the role of frustrated underbidder when St Lawrence signalled a bid of 900,000gns.

The 900,000gns Kingman colt is the final foal out of Without You Babe Credit: Laura Green

Bred by father-daughter duo John and Tanya Gunther and offered by Newsells Park Stud, the strapping colt is the last foal out of the blue hen Without You Babe, a half-sister to Grade 1 winner turned stallion Stay Thirsty.

The youngster possesses a real stallion’s page as he is a sibling to two names currently at stud in Newsells Park’s first-crop sire Without Parole, winner of the St James’s Palace Stakes, and Tamarkuz, who won the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile and now resides at Canada’s newest stallion farm, Ballycroy Bloodstock. After being thanked by an emotional Tanya Gunther, St Lawrence explained that he hoped his latest purchase would follow a similar trajectory from major race to stallion career.

“He’s just a lovely colt, I loved him the moment I first saw him,” he said. “He’s a half-brother to two Group/Grade 1 winners and he looked as if he’s the type who could, hopefully, take us to the Guineas. I was desperately keen to get him.

“Hopefully he can go out there, win us a nice race and then be a stallion one day. That’s the dream that every owner has at this stage. I knew we’d have to be strong to get him though. I bought the Dubawi just before him and I was hoping we didn’t end up having to stretch too far for him. They’re both for Fawzi Nass and team.”

John Gunther (left), with Tanya Gunther: "We get to watch him run and we have his full-sister, She's Got You, so we can still carry on the family"Credit: Laura Green

The Kingman colt is also a brother to the stakes-winning She's Got You, who has joined the Gunthers’ broodmare band and produced her first foal, a filly by Without Parole’s sire Frankel, in January.

Reflecting on the sale, John Gunther said: “It was sad losing the mare and this was her last foal. It was a tough decision to sell, he’s such a fantastic yearling, and it’s a real heartbreaker.

"Newsells have given him a tremendous start and he looked incredible here. He’s gone to some very good owners and I’m sure they will make us proud in future.”

On the decision to sell, Gunther added: “It was sort of a flip of coin, really. We weren't going to let him go unless we got a good price for him, and it has turned out very well. We get to watch him run and we have his full-sister, She's Got You, so we can still carry on the family.”

St Lawrence’s big-money brace followed hot on the heels of a 2,360,000gns spend on day one that featured five lots. That included the Dubawi half-brother to Nashwa from Blue Diamond Stud at 725,000gns. That price was matched when St Lawrence signed for the Dubawi filly out of Secret Gaze, a sister to Japan, Mogul and Secret Gesture, from Newsells Park Stud.

'It's one of the best pages in the book'

Ballyhimikin Stud sold the 1,050,000gns session-topper on day one and James Hanly’s operation picked up where it left off when selling a daughter of Sea The Stars bred in the purple for 650,000gns early in the session. Alex Elliott signed the docket as agent for Coolmore’s MV Magnier.

The filly was making her second appearance at Tattersalls having been pinhooked by McKeever Bloodstock and Ballyhimikin at 400,000gns during last year’s December Sales.

From a blue-chip Sir Evelyn de Rothschild pedigree, the filly is out of the Listed-winning Waila, making her a sister to Musidora third Infinite Cosmos. The dam’s siblings include Crystal Star, who in turn bred significant talents such as Crystal Ocean, Crystal Capella and Hillstar.

Ballyhimikin Stud's Sea The Stars filly is led out of the sales ring at Tattersalls after her 650,000gns purchase by Alex ElliottCredit: Laura Green

“She’ll head to Ballydoyle,” said Elliott. “It’s one of the best pages in the book, and we have an update with her full-sister Infinite Cosmos [third in the John Musker Fillies' Stakes last time out]. She’s a beautiful filly, medium sized, and although she’s by Sea The Stars I can see her performing at two, and then obviously getting better with age.”

Another pinhooker in profit was Philipp Stauffenberg, who sold the Havana Grey half-brother to Dragon Symbol to Godolphin for 600,000gns. Last time the strapping grey colt appeared in the Park Paddocks ring was when he topped day two of the December Foal Sale at 250,000gns.

“You never know how much you’ll get but obviously he was a very nice horse,” said Stauffenberg, who also sold a €650,000 son of Kingman to Godolphin at Goffs. “He vetted well and was very popular with some good people, so I didn’t expect to lose!”

Dragon Symbol has been in the headlines recently as it was announced he will be returning to Whitsbury Manor Stud to stand alongside the likes of Showcasing and Havana Grey.

State of play

Trade stepped up a gear on the opening session, with a more robust clearance rate, aggregate and average price. The day couldn’t quite match the giddy highs of 12 months ago, however, which saw double the number of seven-figure lots and a 2,800,000gns headline act.

Wednesday saw turnover reach 35,599,000gns, which was down 28 per cent compared to the record-breaking session in 2022. The average was 265,664gns, down 23 per cent year-on-year, and the median was 195,000gns, down just three per cent. The clearance rate was 84 per cent as 134 yearlings sold from 160 offered.

Read more from Tattersalls:

‘The bank manager will be happy again!’ - Coolmore and Godolphin clash over 1,050,000gns Ghaiyyath sibling to Victoria Road 

'As nice a filly as on the sales ground' - Twomey and McStay on the mark with 400,000gns Lope De Vega yearling 

'You're like a rabbit in the headlights!' - Kildaragh Stud kickstarts Book 1 with a 875,000gns brace