'The dream is this could be a potential Derby horse' - Godolphin beat Juddmonte to land €1 million brother to Teona

Godolphin and Juddmonte renewed their auction ring rivalry during the early stages of the Goffs November Sale on Wednesday as a full-brother to Teona burst to the head of the market at €1,000,000. 

“What an opportunity,” said auctioneer Andrew Nolan, shortly before Juddmonte’s general manager Simon Mockridge moved the price to €850,000 from his position opposite the rostrum. The Godolphin team, huddled on the top tier of the auditorium, returned in kind as Anthony Stroud delivered a €50,000 raise with a subtle nod of the head. 

It took a while for a response to materialise but, after a long hold while Mockridge made a seemingly crucial phone call, the Juddmonte man eventually pushed matters to €950,000. But Stroud wasted little time in delivering with the raise that took the price into seven-figure territory, at which point Mockridge hung up the call and gave an unequivocal shake of the head. 

The rival camps had clashed over Teona herself when she topped last year’s Tattersalls December Mares Sale at 4,500,000gns. On that occasion it was Juddmonte who came out on top. 

“He’s a beautiful horse and he’s out of a Group 1 winner,” said Stroud. “He’s by Sea The Stars, who speaks for himself, and he’s a full-brother to a Group 1 winner. Obviously we thought he was very nice; he moves very well, has a good body. He’s just an extremely nice horse and we’re very pleased to have him. Juddmonte were very strong opposition, as they always are.” 

The colt is a sibling to three winners, with Prix Vermeille heroine Teona joined by Group 2 Prix Hocquart scorer Al Hilalee and the Group 3-placed Imperial Quarter. 

There are plenty of stamina influences in this youngster’s pedigree as his dam, Pretty Polly Stakes winner Ambivalent, is by Authorized and out of a Darshaan mare. Asked whether the stout nature of the pedigree appealed, Stroud said: “It’s a very good thing, we like staying horses. The dream is that this could be a potential Derby horse.” 

Godolphin also purchased the last foal to sell for seven figures in this ring after bidding €1.2 million for Al Nafir, a brother to Ghiyyath, in 2019. 

The bid board hits seven figures as the Sea The Stars colt parades beneath

The Sea The Stars colt was bred by Yulong Investments’ Yuesheng Zhang under the banner of Rifa Mustang Europe Ltd. The dam was purchased with the seven-figure youngster in utero for €925,000 at last year’s November Mares Sale. That ticket was signed by Avondale Bloodstock. 

The session-topper was prepped, raised and sold by Baroda Stud. Asked how the transaction had matched up to expectations, Baroda’s David Cox said: “When I saw who was vetting him I thought we could get there. When one team were looking at him yesterday I saw they were looking up what the top-priced foals at Goffs were, so I thought we could be getting into that bracket!

“To have a horse like that, out of a mare like that, that turns up and x-rays clean and has a temperament like he has, it’s great. I’m delighted for Mr Zhang and the team. That’s the second millionaire we’ve sold for them this year [after the 1,100,000gns Frankel colt bought by Amo Racing at Book 1], they’re great supporters. It’s great for the team at home too because they do a wonderful job.” 

Cox added: “He was always a class horse, always stood out. Vin Cox [Yulong general manager] was up during the summer, saw him and said we should put him in the sale and see if we could get a few quid back in, because they paid a lot of money for the mare. It happened on the day, which is great.” 

€550,000 pinhook play

There have been some bold pinhooks struck during this year’s November Foal Sale, but none can match the efforts of Danish owners John Christensen and Alice Weiste of JC Organisation. Through agent Filip Zwicky, the couple went to €550,000 for the Night Of Thunder colt out of Assurance offered by The Castlebridge Consignment. 

Bred by Flinstone Bloodstock, the colt is the third foal out of the Teofilo sister to Group 1 winner Gear Up. The youngster is also his dam’s most expensive offspring, despite plenty of previous sales success. Her first foal, Pretty Diva, sold to Katsumi Yoshida for €460,000 at the 2022 November Sale and has shown clear promise in Japan for trainer Hiroyasu Tanaka. 

Filip Zwicky: teamed up with John Christensen and Alice Weiste of JC OrganisationCredit: Nils Rosenkjaer

Her second foal, a daughter of Mehmas, sold at this year’s Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, where Henry Lascelles signed the docket at 420,000gns. 

Outlining plans for the Night Of Thunder colt, Zwicky said: “He’s been bought by the JC Organisation and he’ll board here in Ireland with the Irish National Stud. We loved him from the minute he took the first step. 

"He’s a lovely individual and obviously we had our eyes on the Kingman filly in Japan, who we hope will prove to be a good horse. We’re looking forward to bringing him back to Goffs for next year’s Orby. Hopefully he’ll get into Book 1!” 

This is not JC Organisation’s first punchy pinhook. In 2020 they invested €300,000 in a Footstepsinthesand half-brother to Phoenix Stakes winner Lucky Vega. They were rewarded for the endeavours when, nine months later, BBA Ireland and Yulong Investments purchased the colt for €630,000. 

“The owners have been lucky with their pinhooks before,” added Zwicky. “Obviously a few years back we took a chance buying a €300,000 pinhook, and now we’ve upped the game a bit. It’s a young family and something great could come up. Having a good runner in Japan would be a great help.” 

Newtown Anner land ‘best filly here today’

Maurice Regan’s Newtown Anner Stud was another end-user to invest in a future racing prospect after farm manager PJ Colville went to €450,000 for the Lope De Vega filly out of Ayr Missile.

The dam has bred four winners, most notably Lowther Stakes scorer Living In The Past and the Listed-winning Jungle Drums, both of whom are by Bungle Inthejungle. 

“I thought she was the best filly here today,” said Colville. “Obviously she’s got a great pedigree and the mare has produced two horses rated over 100 already. She’s been bought for Newtown Anner Stud, so she’ll be kept for racing. She’s got a great second dam too. 

PJ Colville: "I thought she was the best filly here today"

“She’s beautiful physically, every show was excellent and I saw her maybe four or five times. She vetted very well, has great presence, great action. She has a lot of quality. We liked her a lot anyway. 

"You always have to push the boat out with these ones, but Maurice was keen to have her so we were always going to be strong.” 

There is plenty going on on the page as Ayr Missile is a half-sister to Suelita, dam of black-type siblings Alkumait, Chaldean, Get Ahead, Gloves Lynch and The Broghie Man. 

The €450,000 Lope De Vega filly is not the only member of this family to hit the market this winter as Whitsbury Manor Stud offers a Frankel sister to Dewhurst and 2,000 Guineas hero Chaldean at next week’s December Foal Sale at Tattersalls. 

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