'You're like a rabbit in the headlights!' - Kildaragh Stud kickstarts Book 1 with a 875,000gns brace

Few, if any, farms came into Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale in as rich a vein of form as the Kavanagh family’s Kildaragh Stud.

The Kildare-based operation registered a Group 1 double on Saturday with Vandeek, a graduate of Rodgie Kavanagh’s Glending Stables breeze-up academy, extending his unbeaten run in the Middle Park Stakes. A sensational spell was capped when the homebred Sea Silk Road careered away with the Prix de Royallieu barely half an hour later.

The latter result was particularly timely as Kildaragh offered a Sea The Stars sister to Sea Silk Road as Lot 5 at Park Paddocks on Tuesday. After a three-way tussle involving Matt Houldsworth and Suzanne Roberts, Godolphin’s Anthony Stroud, accompanied by Sheikh Mohammed himself, won out on a bid of 575,000gns.

That six-figure transaction capped a fine start to Book 1 for Kildaragh, as it was immediately preceded by the sale of a Churchill colt out of the Listed-placed Orcia to Blandford Bloodstock at 300,000gns.

“You’re just about spellbound, you’re like a rabbit in the headlights!” said Peter Kavanagh as he explained how he felt during the bidding process. “You hope they’re going to sell well but you can’t dictate it. When they get to a certain level you just feel phenomenal though, and we’re immensely proud that the top buyers globally want our product.”

He added: “When you have homebreds like that, you plan the mating and hope and pray; stallions come in and out of fashion, then you see the product you get, and you don’t get to design them, you have to make the most of what you have. Results like this are super for the team because of all the work they put in. It’s some achievement.”

The Sea The Stars filly is the seventh foal Kildaragh have bred from Oriental Magic, a German-bred daughter of Doyen who won a Cologne Listed contest in the colours of her breeder Gestut Auenquelle.

On the 575,000gns youngster, Kavanagh said: “She’s like a cat. She has super motion, super action and is brilliant mentally. She has a big, long, honest ear on her. I’d say she’ll be very genuine, so you’d have to be optimistic about her being a top race filly. Then on the eve of the sale the sister goes and wins a Group 1. It’s phenomenal.”

The filly’s price is the second highest Kildaragh has achieved at Tattersalls, beaten only by a Montjeu colt out of Zivania named Von Jawlensky, who sold to Coolmore through Demi O’Byrne at 600,000gns in 2007.

Peter Kavanagh: delighted with opening exchanges at Book 1Credit: Laura Green

The same family is still doing the Kavanaghs a good turn as the 300,000gns Churchill colt is a great grandson of Zivania.

“She only cost 12 grand back in the day and was by Shernazar,” said Kavanagh. “We sent her to Jim Bolger and she was as tough as teak. She was stakes-placed herself and became a phenomenal broodmare.

“She actually bred Montjeu’s first Classic winner when Stagelight won the UAE 2,000 Guineas. It’s a family we’ve worked with for years. It’s lovely when it comes together.”

Zivania bred seven black-type performers, including the Italian Group 2 scorer Ivan Luis and the Listed-winning Hathrah, who was also third in Attraction’s 1,000 Guineas. That branch of the family has been in fine form lately as Hathrah’s Listed-winning daughter Hadaatha is the dam of this year’s Nassau Stakes winner Al Husn.

One of Zivania’s seven stakes performers is French Listed winner Amathia, who in turn bred four black-type horses, including Group 3 Winter Hill Stakes winner Distant Memories and Orcia, the daughter of Shamardal responsible for the 300,000gns Churchill colt.

Reflecting on the events from a memorable few days of racing and selling, an emotional Kavanagh said: “It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster. Things go in cycles, you can have incredible runs of back luck and things going wrong for no specific reason, then suddenly everything comes good. It’s fabulous.

“It’s not all about the monetary aspect though. That helps to keep the wheels turning, but we’ll probably invest in better stock, buy better mares and try to use better stallions.” 

Kildaragh finished the session with four sold lots and receipts totalling 961,000gns.

From Tattersalls:

'He's the most expensive horse the stud has ever sold' - Oakgrove hits a new high as Frankel colt fetches 900,000gns 

'As nice a filly as on the sales ground' - Twomey and McStay on the mark with 400,000gns Lope De Vega yearling 

Photo gallery: a look at the action on day one of Tattersalls Book 1

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