'It’s rare to get the chance to buy a mare like this' - Coolmore team up with new partnership to secure Sparkling Plenty at €5,000,000

Prix de Diane heroine Sparkling Plenty will depart her native France for the US after being knocked down to MV Magnier for a record-breaking €5,000,000 during Saturday’s headline session of the Arqana Breeding Stock Sale. 

A range of options remain open for the Classic-winning daughter of Kingman, as Magnier said the “new partnership” she had been sourced on behalf of would cover her with Justify while contemplating further Grade 1 racing opportunities. 

The Coolmore man was sitting between the filly’s breeder and co-owner Jean-Pierre Dubois and Oceanic Bloodstock agent Michel Zerolo when he signed the highest-price docket ever witnessed in the Deauville sales ring. Her price bests the previous high mark set by Place Du Carrousel, who fetched €4,025,000 12 months ago.

“She’s a very nice mare and a very good race filly,” said Magnier. “The plan is we’re going to send her to America, she might go to Chad Brown and we’ll have a look at a couple of those races for her at Keeneland. In the meantime we’ll cover her with Justify. 

“Justify deserves to get a mare like that, he’s looking like he could be one of the best sires in the world right now so we’ll look forward to racing the progeny out of her. We’ve bought her for a new partnership. It’s very rare to get the chance to buy a mare like this and we’re very lucky to have the people that we have to enable us to do it.” 

Magnier declined to expand on the identity of those involved in the partnership.

This was far from Sparkling Plenty’s first trip to the sales. She was first offered in Deauville at the August Sale of 2022 when she went unsold at €600,000. She next hit the open market at the Goffs London Sale earlier this year, barely 24 hours after her Group 1-winning exploits. After a three-way bidding battle in Kensington Palace Gardens she was knocked down at a jaw-dropping £8,100,000. 

That sum would have been a European record, but it quickly transpired that she had been retained by her owner-breeder. There was a further twist in the tale when Al Shaqab Racing, who had not been among the three original bidders, stepped in to purchase a 50 per cent stake in the filly for £5 million. 

Magnier added: “We had a look at her earlier in the year, but she made a lot of money then!” 

As well as her Group 1 triumph, Sparkling Plenty also won the Group 2 Prix de Sandringham and was third in the Nassau Stakes won by Opera Singer, and filled the same position behind Friendly Soul in the Prix de l'Opera. 

Sparkling Plenty is a full-sister to Godolphin’s Jersey Stakes winner Noble Truth, who also ran second to Angel Bleu in the Group 1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere. The siblings are out of Speralita, a Frankel half-sister to the globetrotting Stacelita.

Sparkling Plenty was not Magnier’s only seven-figure purchase of the day. Earlier in the session he went to €1.4m for Tres Magnifique, dam of Sun Chariot Stakes scorer Tamfana, when she was offered by Gestut Etzean in foal to Soldier Hollow.

Tres Magnifique: dam of Sun Chariot Stakes winner Tamfana makes €1.4 million to MV MagnierCredit: Zuzanna Lupa

This was the second seven-figure transaction in this family within four days as on Tuesday Tamfana’s two-year-old half-sister The Palace Girl fetched 1,550,000gns from Woodford Thoroughbreds when offered by Kevin Coleman during the Sceptre Sessions at Tattersalls. 

“She’s a very good producer and we actually underbid the filly in Newmarket earlier this week,” said Magnier. “She was a lovely filly as well. What we plan to do now is send her to City Of Troy. We know she’s a very good producer and City Of Troy is an exceptional horse. He’s very well bred, he did everything that we asked him to do. 

“If he’d won the Guineas I’d say he’d have been hailed as a horse as good as Frankel. Unfortunately he didn’t, but he’s still an exceptional racehorse. He’s going down really well, himself and Auguste Rodin are absolutely flying.” 

Gestut Etzean’s Ralf Kredel reflected on the seven-figure trade by saying: “I’m delighted about the sale. We don't have mares like this come around very often and we couldn’t take the risk of keeping such a valuable mare. We have to keep the stud farm going so that's the reason why we sold her. I’m very happy with the sale. I’m also very happy that she has gone to a very good home. Hopefully she will get many more Group 1 horses.” 

He continued: “From time to time, you need a mare or a horse like this. We are breeding a lot of horses and, sometimes, a star like Tamfana comes along. It updates the pedigree. This happened some years ago with this family. We have done well from the family and still have some mares from it at home, not from under the first dam but the second and third dams.”

The back-to-back seven-figure transactions are a far cry from the sums that have been linked to this pedigree in recent times. Tamfana was picked up by Jeremy Brummitt for just €20,000 at BBAG in 2022, while The Palace Girl went the way of Sean Grassick at €30,000 12 months on. 

“We were very close to getting rid of this mare to be honest,” said Kredel. “Before Tamfana came along, nobody wanted her yearlings and they were very cheap. I remember Jeremy Brummit coming back to me after he bought Tamfana. He asked me, ‘Did I make a mistake because she was so cheap?’ I said, ‘No, nowadays people don't look at these horses if the pedigree is not very strong’. She was a beautiful model.” 

Another late bloomer for Brant and Tabor

Group 2 Criterium de Maisons-Laffitte winner Classic Flower will follow a similar trajectory to Sparkling Plenty after she was knocked down to agent Alex Elliott, signing on behalf of Magnier and Peter Brant’s White Birch Farm, at €1.8m. 

“She was the standout race filly for us, myself and the Coolmore team,” said Elliott. “She’s been bought for a partnership of Peter Brant and Michael Tabor and she’s going to be trained by Chad Brown. Her vetting was very clean, her run style will suit the States. She was very obvious and hopefully she can go and win a Grade 1 now.” 

Elliott added: “She’s got all the ability in the world and she’s going to one of the best turf trainers in America, so she’s got all the ingredients. She cost what she cost but Mr Brant and Mr Tabor wanted her, and we got her.” 

Group 2 winner Classic Flower sells to MV Magnier and White Birch Farm via Alex Elliott for €1.8 millionCredit: Zuzanna Lupa

The Brant-Tabor partnership have already had success employing this strategy as they sourced subsequent EP Taylor Stakes winner Rougir from this sale in 2021 at a cost of €3m. 

Classic Flower raced in the colours of Gousserie Racing, as did Rougir, and Jean-Etienne Dubois and was offered as part of the debut draft from the Chehboub family’s Haras de Beaumont. 

Classic Flower, the first foal out of a half-sister to black type winner and producer Bahia Breeze, was being offered at public auction for the second time in her career. She first fetched just 45,000gns from agent Arthur Hoyeau at the Tattersalls December Foal Sales. 

As well as her Group 2 success, Classic Flower won two other races at two and was runner-up in a brace of Group 3s this season. She also wasn’t beaten far when fifth behind Inisherin in the Commonwealth Cup. 

“We’re delighted with the result, but then she was a queen,” said Beaumont’s manager Mathieu Alex. “She’s a very attractive filly and we’re very happy and thankful that Coolmore have bought her. She’s a very special filly. We knew we were coming with a proper filly but you can never expect that kind of result. We wish Coolmore and their partner all the best with her.” 

Beaumont also offered the high-class two-year-old Daylight, but retained the Group 3-winning and Group 1-placed daughter of Earthlight when the bidding reached €2.1m. Alex added: “We’ll race on with Daylight and she’ll compete in Group 1s next year.” 

Stewart steps out in Deauville 

High-rolling US owner John Stewart has invested heavily at Europe sales before, not least when spending 6,265,000gns on five fillies at the Tattersalls December Sale earlier this week. And he marked his first in-person appearance in Deauville by adding the Group 3 Prix de Psyche winner Excellent Truth to his Resolute Racing string at a cost of €1.6m. 

After signing for the daughter of Cotai Glory, who was offered by trainer Mauricio Delcher-Sanchez, Stewart reaffirmed his desire to dominate at his local track at Keeneland, as well stressing his intention to bring diversity to the bloodlines within the Kentucky broodmare band. 

Excellent Truth takes her turn in the ring in Deauville on SaturdayCredit: Zuzanna Lupa

“She was number one on my list so she was going home with me, just like Vertical Blue [cost 3,200,000gns at Tattersalls],” said Stewart, sitting opposite Ghislain Bozo of Meridian Bloodstock. “I’m looking for horses to take to America to dominate the turf. You guys are going to see a real big coming out in the spring at Keeneland. 

“It’s softer ground there so these horses that run on heavier turf here, my theory is they’re going to do better [in America]. I’ve got Grade 1 turf horses in America but they don’t run good at Keeneland because they like harder ground. I’ve won races all around the world and I haven’t won at Keeneland yet, even though it’s my home track! I’m going to dominate there this year so I came up with this strategy.” 

He continued: “She’s got really great breeding, I really like that. Exceed And Excel [sire of Cotai Glory] has done well in Australia, where I also have horses whose pedigrees I’ve been studying. All of these horses I’m buying, I’m looking at their pedigrees to bring diversity back to the herd in Kentucky. 

“We’ve just exported and exported for so long, and there’s really not a lot of people buying horses from Europe and bringing them back to America in large quantities. I think that’s better for all of us because Kentucky is very important to the global industry from a breeding standpoint. I’m targeting horses based on their pedigrees that I think can win Graded races in America. That’s what I’m here to do.” 

Stewart’s Resolute Bloodstock brand also signed for the winning two-year-old Flamme Rouge at €300,000 when the daughter of Sea The Stars was presented by Ecurie des Monceaux, and the Listed-placed three-year-old Blue Point filly Tazara, who drew €750,000 when offered by Haras des Capucines. 

Stewart added: "I use a variety of trainers. My whole team will sit down and digest these purchases and then we’ll have the trainers take a look at them and decide which ones suit them. Village Voice that I bought at Tattersalls [for 1,300,000gns] is going to Chad Brown. Vertical Blue is staying here, even though Chad Brown wanted that horse bad. He thought she could win an Eclipse Award if she went to America. That’s the quality of horse she is. I’m really excited to see what Francis-Henri [Graffard] does with her next year. This is my first trip here so I’m super excited.”

Stateside campaign for Spanish Eyes

David Redvers continued a theme of the day of fillies being recruited for racing in the US when he went to €1.3m for the Classic-placed Spanish Eyes. Offered by Monceaux, Gestut Karlshof’s homebred daughter of Zarak advertised her credentials when running second to Erle in this year’s German Oaks. 

Spanish Eyes: new career awaits in the United StatesCredit: Zuzanna Lupa

“She’s off to the US for Qatar Racing and a partner but no decision has been made about a trainer just yet,” said Redvers. “It will be one of the Qatar Racing roster over there. She’s an extremely impressive physical and racehorse and she looks like she will really suit the American style of racing. Sheikh Fahad was very keen on her.”

Spanish Eyes boasts a deep German pedigree being out of Group 1 Premio Lydia Tesio winner Sortilege. She is a full-sister to the Listed scorer Sirjan, and closely related to dual Group 2 winner and Group 1 runner-up Straight, who is also by Zarak and out of Spanish Eye’s half-sister Seductive. 

The page goes back to the Group 1-winning siblings Schiaparelli, Samum and Salve Regina, as well as German Derby hero Sea The Moon. 

The near ten-hour session of selling witnessed strong trade from the off, a point reflected by some eyecatching year-on-year increases across the key market indices.

Despite two fewer horses changing hands, turnover rose by 15 per cent to €41,999,000. The average price was up by 16 per cent at €264,145, while the median rose by an even more impressive 29 per cent to €155,000, having been €120,000 at the corresponding session 12 months ago. The clearance rate was a rock solid 83 per cent as 159 lots sold from 191 offered.

The Arqana Breeding Stock Sale continues on Sunday at 10am local time (9am GMT). 

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