'I love his mum and I love him' - Emma Banks thrilled as Lady Bowthorpe colt fetches 2,000,000gns at Book 1

After trading blows for Charyn's sister, Godolphin and Amo Racing clashed again later in the Tattersalls Book 1 session when the Cumanis’ Fittocks Stud presented the Dubawi colt out of Emma Banks’ Nassau Stakes winner Lady Bowthorpe. 

Despite auctioneer Alastair Pim pulling every trick in the book to coax one more bid out of Joorabchian, Godolphin won out again when the bid board reached 2,000,000gns. 

Banks described selling the first foal out of her first Group 1 winner for such a hefty sum as “surreal”. 

The delighted breeder said: “I love his mum and I love him. I will follow him wherever he goes and I’m very happy he’s gone to a great owner and a great establishment. He’s a special horse.” 

The wild ride Banks has enjoyed with Lady Bowthorpe began exactly seven years ago to the day, with James Toller signing the 82,000gns ticket at Book 2 of the 2017 October Yearling Sale. 

• Recap: relive all the news as it happened from the Tattersalls Book 1 Sale with Kitty Trice's live blog and check back in from 10.30am Thursday morning for all the latest on the third and final day

The daughter of Nathaniel was sent to William Jarvis and showed steady but sustained progression over the course of four seasons in training. By the time she ran her 18th and final race she had won five times, with her record not only featuring the popular Nassau success but also victories in the Group 2 Dahlia Stakes and Group 3 Valiant Stakes. She signed off with a typically game third-placed finish behind Baaeed in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes.

Reflecting on the journey now that Lady Bowthorpe is making her mark as a broodmare, Banks said: “It’s been quick and yet it’s taken forever. Today has been quick and yet has taken forever too. I’m just so proud that Lady Bowthorpe has had such a gorgeous, well-put-together horse. I’m also so proud of everyone who’s been involved with her. 

The Dubawi colt out of Lady Bowthorpe impresses in the ring at Park PaddocksCredit: Tattersalls

“She was bred at Fittocks and has gone back there and is loving life as a broodmare. Martin [Languillet, foaling manager] and all the team have done such a brilliant job of looking after him. He’s been a superstar since the day he was born, but I am very biased. I don’t know if you’ve noticed?! 

"He’s got a lovely full-brother, and I might be able to afford to keep him now. She’s back in foal to Too Darn Hot. She doesn't like to travel very far, she just nips around the corner!”

Asked how Wednesday’s transaction matched up to her expectations, Banks said: “I’ve had a lot of good expectation management, with people pointing out that it could go horribly wrong. You have these dreams, but that’s horseracing. 

"Every time I go to the races, and it doesn’t matter whether it’s Goodwood or Wolverhampton, you go expecting to win, otherwise we wouldn’t do this. So you come here expecting to win, and I knew he was nice and people kept telling me he was nice, but you need two people that want him to get a price like that.” 

Banks said there were no grand plans for her seven-figure dividend, particularly having bred to Dubawi in consecutive years at advertised stud fees of £250,000 and £350,000. 

“£600,000 has already gone on him and his brother, plus there’s all the keep,” she said when asked whether she might be tempted to reinvest the proceeds. “But I’m in horseracing because I love racing and love breeding. I’ve got a mare I’ve just retired who I’ll put in foal next year, so I’ll have six broodmares at that point, two of which are National Hunt – clearly I need my brain looking at! But I’ll just keep going, this just makes it that bit easier. It’s amazing.”

Anthony Stroud, who signed the docket on behalf of Godolphin, paid tribute to Banks’s skill and dedication, saying: “It’s fantastic. She raced Lady Bowthorpe and she was brave enough to go to Dubawi. Fittocks do an excellent job and the remarkable thing is he’ll be going to be trained about a mile from where he was born: from Fittocks to Moulton Paddocks.”

Anthony Stroud surveys the scene on a day when Godolphin were in no mood to be deniedCredit: Tattersalls

Godolphin’s seven-figure quartet on Wednesday was completed by a brace of 1,500,000gns lots, including a son of Too Darn Hot from Croom House Stud. 

The colt, a three-parts brother to US Grade 3 performer Idea Generation, is out of Knocknagree, a winning Galileo half-sister to Zoffany. The result was Croom House’s second seven-figure yearling in seven days after Godolphin purchased the farm’s Frankel colt for €2,000,000 to top last week’s Goffs Orby Sale.

The second 1,500,000gns signing was the Dubawi colt out of Molly Malone from Baroda Stud. The youngster, a sibling to the Group 2-winning Morgan Le Faye and the Listed scorer Emotion, was consigned on behalf of Tweenhills. 

“Fair play to Tweenhills for using us to consign him as he’s a lovely horse,” said David Cox of Baroda Stud, who also sold a 1,100,000gns Frankel colt to Amo on day one. “Trade has been very strong and we’ve had two millionaires this week, which is great. The homebreds off the farm are selling well for our clients too, so everyone seems very happy. 

“I probably wasn’t expecting it [to be this strong]. Keeneland was very good and the top horses in Goffs sold very well, but some of the sales weren’t as strong as we’d have hoped. It’s been a bonanza here really.” 

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