Small breeder rides the ‘emotional rollercoaster’ as Camille Pissarro’s half-sister sells for December Yearling Sale record of 900,000gns

Receiving 900,000gns for a filly bred from a mare that cost just 14,000gns might sound like the kind of result every small breeder dreams of. But, in so many ways, this was just another day in the life for James Cloney, who has been on one heck of a journey with bargain buy-turned-blue hen producer Entreat. 

Cloney added Entreat to the Clara Stud broodmare band in July 2016 when the daughter of Pivotal was in foal to Lethal Force. The colt she was carrying turned out to be Golden Horde, who fetched £65,000 as a yearling before going on to land the Commonwealth Cup. Golden Horde now stands under the Sumbe banner at Montfort et Preaux. 

In 2017 Cloney sent Entreat to visit Mehmas, and the result from that tryst was the Listed-winning sprinter, and £260,000 yearling, Line Of Departure. The mare then visited Coolmore for the first Irish season of Wootton Bassett, to whom she duly bred Camille Pissarro. The 1,250,000gns Coolmore and White Birch Farm yearling purchase was last seen winning the Group 1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere.

Those exploits drew a host of bidders to Tattersalls on Monday when the mare’s Dark Angel filly was presented at the December Yearling Sale. Plenty took an interest in the bidding but matters ultimately boiled down to Henry Lascelles and the team from Yulong Investments, including the organisation’s principal Zhang Yuesheng. 

Henry Lascelles: buyer of the Dark Angel half-sister to Camille Pissarro and Golden HordeCredit: Alisha Meeder

Lascelles won out with a bid of 900,000gns, a record price for the December Yearling Sale. The previous high mark was set in 2006 when Demi O’Byrne signed at 700,000gns for Irish Oaks heroine Moonstone. 

“She’s some mare, she just pours pure class into her stock,” beamed a delighted Cloney. “It’s an emotional rollercoaster with her but when she does it, she does it so well. As breeders, we’re all dreamers and you do kind of dream for this to happen. It’s unbelievable that it just keeps happening with this mare. It’s kind of exciting, especially because Entreat has travelled to Justify, so we’re expecting a nice foal by him in early January. She’s back with me now, she came back home in May, so she’ll be getting an extra scoop of nuts this evening!” 

Monday’s transaction took Entreat’s yearling sale receipts to a colossal £3,191,500 since she was purchased for the equivalent of just £14,700 eight years ago. It would be a major understatement to say the 18-year-old is now worth many multiples of that humble price tag, but Cloney said he has never been tempted to cash in by selling “the family pet and a complete star.”

He said: “With her, I feel she’s so unique. Sometimes you get mares who produce good racehorses but they don’t perform at the sales. But in my eyes, and I think in a lot of peoples’ eyes, she ticks every box because she’s able to throw the stock and then they go and back it up on the track. There’s not too many mares with two Group 1s winners under their belt, or four stakes winners, especially all by different stallions.” 

The filly was making a belated appearance in the Park Paddocks ring having been due to sell at Book 1, just three days after Camille Pissarro landed Group 1 laurels, only to get cast in her box at the 11th hour. 

“She stamps her stock no matter what stallion she goes to,” continued Cloney. “This is a big strong filly and I’d draw a lot of comparisons with Camille Pissarro. I know I might sound biased but I actually thought she might be that little bit stronger at the same stage. She was due to go to Book 1 but, typically when you get a big update, you get a setback. But these things happen and it’s great that Tatts have this sale on and are still able to deliver results like this.” 

Lascelles was unable to offer much by way of details about the filly’s future, but said: “She’s got an amazing pedigree and two of her siblings are going to be stallions. There’s a lot of Pivotal coming through in her physically. She’s not going to be an early type, she’s a big girl and will take a bit of time. But the mare is an amazing producer and hopefully she’ll be a broodmare of the future too. We’re really happy to get her.” 

On the record-breaking price, the agent added: “I didn’t think she’d cost quite that much. But with that pedigree alone, and when we saw who we were bidding against, we thought we might end up getting to that level. She’ll go into training in Britain for an English owner-breeder.”

Read more

'This filly is a queen and looks precocious' - Folland-Bowen aiming to build on Book 2 gains at Tattersalls December Sales 

Cause for alarm as one of the most successful British jumps breeders switches focus to the Flat 

All work and no play makes James a dull boy at the Goffs November Sale