BIG BIDS IN THE BREEDING INDUSTRY

Hard Spun (USA)
(Photo : Darley)

“Round sums thwarted as Darley winning bids exceed fees”
Racing Post - 27 January 2013

Martin Stevens
Racing PostDarley Online Auction

The first round of bidding in an online auction of nominations to three of Darley America’s leading stallions ended on Friday with the winning bids all exceeding the horses’ advertised fees this year.

The nomination to Medaglia D’Oro, sire of nine top-flight winners including Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra, sold for $105,100, just over $5,000 above his fee of $100,000.

Bidding reached $68,100 for the nomination to leading second-crop sire Hard Spun. His advertised fee this year is $60,000.

Former Australian champion sire Lonhro, who is shuttling to Darley’s Jonabell Farm in Kentucky for the second time this year, achieved a price of $41,100. He stands at $30,000.

The next round of bidding, for the second of three sets of nominations to those stallions, starts tomorrow.

Darley has heralded the prices as a “strong vote of confidence from industry breeders”.

What those three winning bids ending in $100 tell me is frustrated underbidders who offered nice, round sums will have to rethink their strategy.

Singspiel

It’s fair to say that when Singspiel died in 2010 obituaries led on his glittering racing career rather than his achievements at stud.

That’s not to denigrate his breeding record. Far from it. The son of In The Wings racked up 13 individual top-flight winners, but with only two stallion sons in Britain and Ireland, Eastern Anthem and Moon Ballad, who cover at £2,000 and €2,500, it didn’t look as though he was going to be a breed-shaping stallion.

Or so I thought, until I read through our New Stallions supplement in Friday’s paper and it struck me that Singspiel was the damsire of no fewer than three new recruits this year - Caspar Netscher, Debussy and Helmet.

Then you remember that last month Singspiel’s Grade 2-winning son Lohengrin supplied the first and third home from his second crop, Logotype and Gottfried, in the Grade 1 Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes at Nakayama. So there is hope that he will be supported by Japanese breeders this year.

For good measure Singspiel was also the damsire of another Grade 1-winning juvenile in Japan last month, Hanshin Juvenile Fillies scorer Robe Tissage.

With news this week that one of Singspiel’s last stars, Dar Re Mi, will be covered by Frankel, there is hope that Singspiel will continue to strengthen his influence on the breed.

GIMCRACK A BOOST FOR MULLINS BAY

Mullins Bay
(Photo : Greig Muir)

MULLINS BAY
Machiavellian - Bella Colora

Last week’s victory by Caspar Netscher (Dutch Art) in the Gr.2 Gimcrack Stakes at York came as a welcome boost to Summerhill Stud’s young stallion Mullins Bay.

Bella Cantata (Singspiel), the dam of the Gimcrack winner, is an unraced half-sister to the son of Machiavellian, whose first foals have just turned two.

Tracing to Meon Valley’s famous broodmare Reprocolor (Jimmy Reppin) through her Gr.2 winning daughter Bella Colora (Bellypha), Mullins Bay is also a half-brother to Prince Of Wales Stakes hero Stagecraft (Sadler’s Wells).

Successful in both the Gr.3 Strensall Stakes and the Listed John Smith’s Magnet Cup at York, Mullins Bay placed in a number of prominent races, notably when beaten a short head in the Gr.2 Darley Stakes at Newmarket.

He was held in high regard by master trainer Mike de Kock, under whose tutelage Mullins Bay finished third in the 2007 Godolphin Mile at the Dubai World Cup meeting.

Extract for European Bloostock News

MIKE DE KOCK HAS A SWIG OF PIERRE JOURDAN

Trainer Mike de Kock
(Inage : Tab Online / Pierre Jourdan)

BETTING WORLD JUBILEE HANDICAP (Grade 3)
Turffontein, Turf, 1800m
12 June 2011

Karel Miedema
www.sportingpost.co.zaNever underestimate a champion trainer and always exercise caution with Gauteng feature form. The unstoppable Mike de Kock threw punters a curved ball at Turffontein on Sunday 12 June when he produced the Argentinian-bred daughter of Singspiel, Candy Singer, at a generous 18-1 to win the R200,000 Grade 3 Betting World Jubilee Handicap over 1800m. The multiple Group-placed mare picked up her biggest career win at the expense of the revitalised Summerhill-bred star Pierre Jourdan, who looks set for a tilt at the Vodacom Durban July come 2 July.

The Gauteng feature race form continues to befuddle and confuse and one of only two members of the fairer sex in this event caught the boys napping as she sliced through the middle under De Kock’s feature race jack-in-a-box jockey Randall Simons. The flashy Drakenstein Stud-owned mare had not won since January 2010 but she stepped out here under a handy galloping weight and gave her opponents a hiding. One would think that she is destined for stud in a month or two and this Grade 3 event will certainly do her smashing pedigree no harm in the Sales catalogue pages. She is quite a looker too.

Pierre Jourdan ran a champagne race on the comeback trail and he was giving the De Kock mare 9,5 kgs when going down narrowly. He also showed a finger to the second run after a rest brigade. The Gary Alexander inmate’s fighting spirit was evident as he barged his way through a tight gap late and he certainly won’t be out of place in the Vodacom Durban July field where he will get his chance to silence his detractors for once and for all. He is set to carry 57,5kg if Past Master stays in and with a bit of luck and further progress in his health and fitness, he looks like a big runner. He certainly reserves his best efforts for jockey Derreck David and the Alexander gang may yet be booking that lunch table in the Durban View Room for Saturday 2 July.

The Jubilee Handicap form though may once again prove a little suspect as the first bunch finished right on top of one another. There were also a few dented reputations. Happy Landing blotted his copybook after an impressive Champions Challenge payday at the end of April, but it would have been 200m too short for him - even though he won the Drum Star Handicap over the 1800m trip, the Ormonde Ferraris trained Magical ran on for third but was beaten without excuses. Galanthus jumped from the best of the draw but after showing toe, dropped out to nothing. The highly vaunted Geoff Woodruff Jet Master gelding, Soul Master, moved up threateningly but after winning three of his first five career outings, appears to have lost the plot and may be out of his depth at Group level.

BETTING WORLD JUBILEE HANDICAP (Gr3)
Final Result

#	LBH	Horse	Kg	MR	Dr	Jockey	Trainer
1	0.00	CANDY SINGER (ARG)	52.5	91	10	R Simons	Mike de Kock
2	0.75	PIERRE JOURDAN	62.0	110	5	D David	Gary Alexander
3	0.90	MAGICAL	59.0	104	3	A Delpech	Ormond Ferraris
4	1.40	WITTENBERG	54.5	95	2	M Van Rensburg	Geoff Woodruff
5	1.75	MAHOGANY	55.0	96	11	* N Juglall	Weiho Marwing
6	2.00	SOUL MASTER	52.0	92	9	F Coetzee	Geoff Woodruff
7	2.50	QUEEN’S BAY	58.5	103	6	* JP van der Merwe	Mike Azzie
8	2.55	REGAL RANSOM	58.0	102	4	M Mienie	Sean Tarry
9	6.00	HAPPY LANDING	60.5	107	8	M Yeni	Joe Soma
10	6.75	ROYAL ARROW (AUS)	52.0	87	12	* J Greyling	Geoff Woodruff
11	7.00	GALANTHUS	59.5	105	1	S Brown	Tyrone Zackey
12	10.00	MPUMELELO	53.5	93	7	S Khumalo	Joe Soma
13	10.10	CARIBBEAN COAST	52.0	85	13	* A Mgudlwa	Erico Verdonese
14	12.75	CALL TO COMBAT	58.0	102	14	G Lerena	St John Gray
		Late Scratching
15	0.00	CRACKER JACK	56.0	98	5	A Marcus	Geoff Woodruff

Extract from Sporting Post

PARIS PERFECT FEARLESS IN SAUDI ARABIA

Click above to watch
Paris Perfect in the 2009 Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup
(Photo : Robin Bruss - Footage : The King’s Cup) 

PARIS CONTINUES TO BE PERFECT

The first of two ex Port Elizabeth stalwarts to make names for themselves in the international world, was Paris Perfect (by Muhtafal), followed this year by the herculean efforts of Lizard’s Desire by Lizard Island.

While Lizard’s Desire is presently battling laminitis in his adopted country of Dubai, Paris Perfect has started twice this season in Saudi Arabia, where he has produced two magnificent performances. Looking at the latest pictures of him in the winner’s enclosure following the Um Elqura Universal Cup at Taif Racecourse in Saudi Arabia, where he carried the “impossible” impost of 61kg to a three length victory over 2,400m (we always thought the distance well beyond him) over Danat Fahad (by Giants Causeway) and Nemerbader (by Singspiel) in third… it seems he has developed again in stature.

Bred and raised at Summerhill for some of our staunchest clients, Peter and Gail Fabricius, Paris Perfect is another advert for his grand sire, Muhtafal, whose progeny seem to get better with age. For those that thought Paris Perfect’s memorable third in the richest race in the world, the Dubai World Cup, was a once-off fluke, you’ve now got food for thought.

Information courtesy of Robin Bruss

LEADING SIRES OF NORTHERN HEMISPHERE GR1 WINNERS

A.P. Indy
(Photo : Bloodhorse/PBM)

LEADING SIRES OF
2009 NORTHERN HEMISPHERE GRADE/GROUP 1 WINNERS

Stallion	Sire	Location	G1 SW’s
A.P. INDY	Seattle Slew	USA	4
DYNAFORMER	Roberto	USA	4
MONTJEU	Sadler’s Wells	IRE	4
PIVOTAL	Polar Falcon	ENG	4
DANEHILL DANCER	Danehill	IRE	3
EMPIRE MAKER	Unbridled	USA	3
MEDAGLIA D’ORO	El Prado	USA	3
MONSUN	Konigsstuhl	GER	3
GIANT’S CAUSEWAY	Storm Cat	USA	3
OASIS DREAM	Green Desert	ENG	3
SINGSPIEL	In The Wings	ENG	3

CORRECT AS AT 14 NOVEMBER 2009