Martinborough steals the limelight at Auctav National Hunt Sale

Exciting stallion Martinborough provided an interesting few minutes at Auctav's National Hunt Sale on Friday, but even bidding reaching €390,000 was not enough to see him change hands. 

Jet black coat shining and the picture of alpha male potency as he was led around the ring at Haras de Bois Roussel, the 15-year-old has stood in France since 2017 and is thought to have already been the subject of plenty of private interest from studs, having emerged as a reliable source of jumping winners. 

This has reached new heights since his son Majborough took the Triumph Hurdle at the last Cheltenham Festival and it was a rare occasion where an in-demand stallion was being offered for sale in a public forum. Bids were being reported in person and via telephone, but ultimately he was marked down as not sold.

As a racehorse, Martinborough was a Group 3 winner on the Flat in Japan and is a son of Deep Impact from the family of Singspiel and Rahy. He is also the half-brother of the dam of top-class Japanese performers Vivlos and Cheval Grand. Offered by Andre-Jean Belloir's Haras de la Baie, near Mont-Saint-Michel, he was standing for €3,000 this year.

Clotilda: Clovis Du Berlais filly sold to Tom Malone for €100,000 at Auctav's National Hunt SaleCredit: Elise Fossard

Two other stallions were in the catalogue. Frankel's well-travelled 14-year-old half-brother Morpheus kicked off proceedings as lot 1, with Nigel Riley signing him up for €18,000. Sisfahan, who won the Deutches Derby in 2021 and has become a proper globetrotter for Henk Grewe's stable, was offered by Gestut Ohlerweiherhof as a prospective jumps or middle-distance Flat sire but after a turn in the darkness towards the end of the session he too was unsold at €200,000

The pretty surroundings of Auctav's headquarters at Bursard in Normandy have been used by the primarily online auction house for physical sales on a few occasions now, including events for Flat prospects and trotters. 

A mixed selection of jumping stock – including foals, yearlings and two-year-olds – had drawn participants from across the spectrum, including pinhookers, agents and trainers, but action was a bit stop-start with quite a few failing to reach their reserve.

Ironically it was a son of Martinborough who achieved the highest price among lots sold with Guy Petit signing for his winning four-year-old son Catch On Me for €120,000. The gelding bred and trained by Jean-Philippe Dubois had scored at Vichy in the spring and shown some recent promise over hurdles at Auteuil.

British-based agent Tom Malone had earlier been successful with an €100,000 online bid for Clovis Du Berlais filly Clotilda.

The Auctav National Hunt Sale took place on FridayCredit: Elise Fossard

Only three and in training with the Patricia Butel and Jean-Luc Beaunez partnership, racing for a collection of owners including her breeder Antonia Devin, Clotilda has run eight times so far this year and has finished in the frame at Clairefontaine and Compiegne on all three occasions since being switched to fences.

Among the others with racing potential was a yearling by Chachnak, the dual Group 3-winning son of Kingman, who made €60,000 to Neuilly Bloodstock. Offered by Haras de la Beauvoisiniere, he is out of Plaisir D'Amour, a Listed winner over fences at Cheltenham for Venetia Williams.

The first individual of note to reach a considerable sum was one with a well-known claim to fame. The unraced La Grande Zohra is a Martaline half-sister to back-to-back Punchestown Gold Cup winner Fastorslow. 

She was offered by Ecurie Alexandre De Jesus in foal to Fastorslow's sire, Saint Des Saints, and was acquired by Hubert Barbe and Alexandra Rosa's Horseracing Advisory for €80,000.

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