‘She has the pedigree and the sire line’ - O’Brien swoops for State Of Rest’s half-sister at €750,000

State Of Rest took Joseph O’Brien on one helluva journey by winning four top-level races in four different countries. The trainer now has the globe-trotting talent’s Sea The Stars half-sister to look forward to after seeing off Suzanne Roberts at €750,000 during day one of the Goffs Orby Sale. 

“Obviously we’ve been very lucky with the family,” said O’Brien. “She’s by Sea The Stars and she’s a quality filly so we’re really excited to have her as a racing prospect. There were some similarities with State Of Rest; he was a horse who progressed very well from two to three and then as he got older. 

“This filly has a lot of quality, she’s medium sized, and we loved her from the minute we first saw her. Obviously Sea The Stars is one of the best stallions in the world and the mare has proved herself as an outstanding producer. She will make a fantastic racing prospect and, in the medium term, a broodmare prospect too.” 

The Tinnakill House-consigned filly is the fifth foal out of Repose, an unraced daughter of Quiet American. Not only is she a half-sister to State Of Rest, who now resides at Rathbarry Stud after winning the Saratoga Derby, Cox Plate, Prix Ganay and Prince of Wales's Stakes, she is also a sibling to the dual Group 3 winner Tranquil Lady. 

Joseph O'Brien speaks to the press after buying Tinnakill House's Sea The Stars filly out of ReposeCredit: Sarah Farnsworth

That daughter of Australia began her racing career with O’Brien before transferring to Godolphin at a cost of 2,700,000gns at last year’s Tattersalls December Mares Sale. Tranquil Lady ran just once for Charlie Appleby and was among Dubawi’s 2023 book of mares. 

O’Brien was unable to reveal whose colours the Sea The Stars filly will be running in, but confirmed it was an existing owner within his yard who has racing and breeding interests. 

Asked if the six-figure price matched his expectations, O’Brien said: “To be quite honest, yes. She has the pedigree and the sire line so we expected that she’d be a big seller, as I’m sure most people did.” 

The sale of the Sea The Stars filly brought an emotional end to the Cantillon family’s involvement with this pedigree, having also sold Repose to Juddmonte in the spring of 2022. The mare produced a Frankel filly on March 3 this year.

Reflecting on Tuesday’s transaction, which traces back to the €42,000 purchase of granddam Monaassabaat in 2007, Dermot Cantillon said: “We’ve had a lot of footfall down to the stables so I was always confident she’d make a good price. 

"I’d like to say thank you very much to [Sea The Stars’ owner] Mrs Tsui for giving me the opportunity to breed to the stallion. We’re not in a situation where we can always use those top stallions so to have a foal share was great. I’d also like to say a special thank you to the late John Clarke, as he facilitated the foal share. Without him we wouldn’t have had this beautiful filly today. 

A delighted Tinnakill House team after their Sea The Stars filly's sale to Joseph O'BrienCredit: Sarah Farnsworth

“And of course I have to say thanks to my staff and family for their support. You rarely come across a filly like that and my only wish now is that she goes on and becomes a super racemare.” 

Cantillon also shared the serendipitous circumstances that led to Repose being bred to Sea The Stars in 2021, at which point State Of Rest was yet to reveal the true extent of his ability.  

“I was leaning over the side of the ring in Doncaster when the Orby was held there,” he said. “That's when I met John Clarke as he was looking at Tranquil Lady going around. I said, ‘This is a nice filly, she’s going to sell well. The two-year-old is quite good too,’ and that was State Of Rest. 

"He said the mare was one they might be interested in doing a foal share with and that’s how it came about. It wouldn’t have happened without that conversation in Doncaster.” 

He added: “People might say we’re selling the crown jewels, but sometimes you have to to keep the whole show running. She’s going to be much the highest-priced animal I sell this year.”

Read more

Godolphin back in business as sharply bred Frankel colt fetches €625,000 at Goffs Orby Sale