'We knew she was very special' - Godolphin cap Book 1 bonanza with 3,700,000gns Ylang Ylang sibling

Godolphin walked away from Park Paddocks with 18 new recruits from Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, with Sheikh Mohammed’s haul costing a combined 22,020,000gns, the biggest spend by an individual organisation across the three-day auction. 

The most expensive of those was secured midway through the concluding session when the outfit outbid Coolmore at 3,700,000gns for the Siyouni half-sister to Ylang Ylang from Newsells Park Stud. 

“She’s an exceptional filly to look at and a half-sister to a Group 1 winner,” said Anthony Stroud. “She looked like she had a wonderful temperament, she moved well. She’s by a wonderful stallion, out of a mare who’s produced a Group 1 winner, from a very good farm. She ticked all the boxes.” 

The leading agent also shared his market reflections, saying: “The market for fillies seems to have absolutely ballooned. When the market is up to such an extent it’s very difficult to anticipate what value these horses will make. I thought these top fillies were all beautifully well-bred and beautifully presented too. 

“I’m surprised by how buoyant it has been, but when you get all these organisations coming in it’s really propelled the market to a different stratosphere. It shows how strong and varied the market is.” 

The 3,700,000gns filly was the third top lot at this year’s record-busting renewal of Book 1, and the fifth most expensive in the blue-chip auction’s history. She was bred in partnership by Newsells Park and Craig Bennett’s Merry Fox Stud. 

Bennett, standing besides Newsells Park owner Graham Smith-Bernal, reacted to the transaction by saying: “It’s tremendous. I’m very pleased. Graham’s team have done a brilliant job. The dam just keeps on giving and we’re very lucky to have her.” 

Smith-Bernal picked up the thread, adding: “It’s hard to believe where this market is at. We knew she was very special, reflected by the fact she had so many vettings, and look at the way she conducted herself here. She’s just a beautiful filly. 

Graham Smith-Bernal: 'We knew she was very special'Credit: Laura Green

“We wish the new owners all the very best, and we’re very happy because we have a Frankel [foal] sister to Ylang Ylang on the ground and she’s back in foal carrying a Frankel colt. We’ll probably keep sending her to Frankel, or maybe Siyouni!” 

The Newsells Park man also provided an update on Ylang Ylang’s two-year-old Kingman half-brother Kaizen, who was knocked down to Qatar Racing and China Horse Club for 425,000gns at last year’s Book 1. 

He said: “I still retain a stake in the Kingman colt, who’s with John Gosden and is called Kaizen. The feedback from Oisin Murphy recently was this could be a special colt. We’ll retain the filly foal.” 

Earlier in the day Godolphin went to 1,600,000gns for the Sea The Stars sister to Prix de Royallieu winner Sea Silk Road, who was offered by Kildaragh Stud. 

“We were very keen on Sea Silk Road when she went to the sales,” said Stroud. “I thought she was a very nice filly, a smaller type of Sea The Stars. She looked very racy and it’s a wonderful pedigree. I think she’ll be a valuable asset once she’s finished racing for the paddocks.” 

The filly cost over 11 times what Sea Silk Road fetched at Book 1 as she was knocked down to the Tsui family’s Sunderland Holding at 190,000gns in 2020.

The result was a personal-best for Kildaragh, and the farm's Peter Kavanagh said: “Funnily enough it hasn’t been ecstatic for us up until now. We’ve had things that were just short of the top tier and it’s not as buoyant there. But when you hit the home run you don’t know where it will stop. Just everything needs to align and come together. You have a set of 36 x-rays and anything on one of those can turn half your purchasers away.” 

Peter Kavanagh: 'When you hit the home run you don’t know where it will stop'Credit: Laura Green

Godolphin also went to seven figures, a round 1,000,000gns, for the Mehmas half-brother to three-time Group 1 winner Perfect Power, who joined the Dalham Hall Stud roster in 2023. Bred and offered by Tally-Ho Stud, the colt becomes comfortably the most expensive yearling by Mehmas. 

Tally-Ho's Tony O’Callaghan summed up the mood on the grounds, saying: “It’s been an amazing week. There’s never been a Book 1 like this, never. And no-one predicted it. It’s incredible. Long may it last because it’s good for everyone, and the breeding side [of the industry] needed it badly.” 

The Mehmas colt is out of Sagely, who was added to the Tally-Ho broodmare band at a cost of just 42,000gns in 2017. As well as breeding Prix Morny, Middle Park Stakes and Commonwealth Cup winner Perfect Power, she has also produced the Listed-placed Golden Mind. 

Reflecting on the seven-figure transaction, O’Callaghan said: “I’m delighted. As the week went on people seemed to like him more and more, and the stallion has been very good for the last few months, which is a big help. We bought the mare for 42,000gns at the December Sales a few years ago and she’s done well too.” 

Haggas joins top ten

The top ten lots across the three days were shared among three different buyers. The lion's share went the way of Amo Racing and Godolphin, but they were joined in the top ten by William Haggas after the trainer went to 1,700,000gns for the regally bred Wootton Bassett filly out of My Titania from The Castlebridge Consignment. 

The filly is a sibling to three black-type winners, most notably her three-parts brother My Prospero, a son of Wootton Bassett’s sire Iffraaj whose four victories include the Group 2 Prix Eugene Adam. She is also a half-sister to Australian Group 2 and Earl of Sefton Stakes winner My Oberon, and the Listed-winning My Astra, who also finished runner-up in the Group 1 Pretty Polly Stakes. The siblings were all trained by Haggas on behalf of Ling Tsui’s Sunderland Holding. 

The Wootton Bassett filly out of My Titania takes her turn in the ringCredit: Laura Green

“She was bred by Mrs Tsui and we’ve had the first three foals,” said the Somerville Lodge trainer. “They were all rated 115 plus at some stage in their careers. 

“My Astra has had a beautiful [Dubawi filly] foal, I saw her in May at Gilltown and she looks beautiful. I was always keen on this filly when I knew she was coming to the sale. Fortunately some owners of mine were also keen, and after some rigorous tests to find the best, we plumped for her. I’m delighted we were able to get her. 

“She’s been bought for a relatively new partnership of Tony Bloom and Ian McAleavy. This was really, I thought, a collector’s item. If she can run a bit then all the better. We knew she’d make seven figures.” 

Bloom, owner of Brighton Football Club, has already enjoyed considerable success as a National Hunt owner, most notably with Cheltenham Festival winners Energumene and Penhill. Haggas said this latest purchase represented the next step in the owners’ burgeoning portfolio of blue-chip Flat interests. 

“They’re trying, slowly but surely, to build a broodmare band,” he said. “Last year I was caught at the December Sales late after Relief Rally sold and they asked me to bid on a mare, which was a bit out of character for them and I felt like a fish out of water. They paid 2,500,000gns for Get Ahead, who’s since gone to Frankel. They like to go gently, but they’re powerful players.” 

He added: “We have five horses for them. There’s The Reverend running for them tomorrow. Sky Majesty won the Firth of Clyde, she’s running in a Group 2 on Saturday at Chantilly. We’ve had a bit of luck for them, and we also have Lake Forest, who’s going to work in about half an hour, then he’s in quarantine to go to Australia on Sunday to run for A$10 million in two weeks’ time. So they’ve got a bit going on!”

Coolmore gain a Prize Exhibit

Although missing out on the sister to Ylang Ylang, Coolmore did manage to snare one of seven millionaire lots on Thursday when MV Magnier bid 1,500,000gns for the Frankel filly out of Prize Exhibit from Barronstown Stud. 

The operation already knows plenty about the pedigree as the Irish firm went to 2,800,000gns for this filly’s three-parts sister History, winner of the Group 3 Cornelscourt Stakes in the colours of Michael Tabor. The Nagles paid 775,000gns for Prize Exhibit, a dual US Grade 2-winning sister to Mohaather, in 2017. Her first two yearlings have now fetched 4,300,000gns.

The Frankel filly out of Prize Exhibit went to MV Magnier for 1,500,000gnsCredit: Laura Green

“She’s a very nice filly and we’ve been very lucky buying horses off David and Diane Nagle,” said Magnier. “They’re great breeders and they’ve raised so many good horses in the past. We bought History here a couple of years ago and she’s in foal carrying to Justify and carrying a colt. Aidan [O'Brien] liked her and the guys liked her too, so hopefully she’ll be good.” 

Despite losing out on some of the sale’s more choice offerings, Magnier’s name still appeared on the docket of nine lots, transactions that generated receipts of 4,645,000gns. From that haul, six yearlings were purchased with Peter Brant’s White Birch Farm for a combined 2,495,000gns. 

“The sale has been incredible and they’ve done a great job getting everyone here,” said Magnier. “You could feel in the couple of days before the sale, there was a great buzz around the place. In fairness to Tatts, they’ve done a great job. They’ve got the people and the horses, and you need both of them.” 

He also reflected on filling the role of underbidder on the record-breaking Wootton Bassett colt bought by Amo Racing for 4,300,000gns. “For the amount of effort they’re putting in and the amount of money they’re spending on horses, I hope they get good luck,” he said. 

“Wootton Bassett is flying, he’s had ten stakes-winning two-year-olds this season, which has exceeded our expectations. He was the perfect outcross for all of our Galileo mares but he seems to work with anything. He’s starting to become an international horse now too and the word on his two-year-olds in Australia is very good. He’s a very good stallion and we were very lucky to get him.”

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