SEA THE STARS DOMINATES GOFFS NOVEMBER FOAL SALE

Click above to watch Hip 581 by Sea The Stars…
(Image : Goffs - Footage : Scandinavianraceweb)

GOFFS NOVEMBER FOAL SALE
15 - 17 November 2011

The progeny of Sea the Stars (Ire) got the first-crop sire off to the dream start widely expected yesterday as the concluding session of the Goffs November Foal Sale saw his five foals to be offered sell for a total of €2.86million for an average of €572,000.

Topping the quintet was hip 734, the impeccably bred colt out of Jim Bolger’s accomplished broodmare Affianced (Ire) (Erins Isle). She is already responsible for Ballydoyle’s high-class middle-distance performer Soldier of Fortune (Ire) (Galileo), who captured the 2007 G1 Irish Derby and the following year’s G1 Coronation Cup and now stands at Haras du Logis Saint Germain; and Group 3 winner Heliostatic (Ire) (Galileo), who has sired a group winner of his own from his first crop in Crius (Ire).

Bolger’s Redmondstown Stud sold three of the top four by the sensational Christopher Tsui homebred, and this particular blueblood will race in the yellow and blue silks made famous by his sire after John Clarke prevailed with a record-setting bid of €850,000.

First into the fray for the Sea the Stars brigade was his eagerly awaited first offering out of the MG1SW Finsceal Beo (Ire) (Mr. Greeley). Consigned by Michael Ryan’s Al-Eile Stud as hip 581, the chestnut filly is the second foal out of Europe’s champion 2-year-old filly of 2006 who also registered a Classic double in the following year’s G1 English and Irish 1000 Guineas and split those efforts with a narrow miss in the G1 Poule d’Essai des Pouliches. Auctioneer Henry Beeby asked for an opening bid of €500,000 before the action began at €100,000. However, the volleys lasted less than five minutes, and it was bloodstock agent John McCormack - acting on behalf of an undisclosed client - who outlasted Clarke to prevail. “She’s a filly with absolutely superb lineage and as a physical specimen she matched that,” said McCormack. “You’d have to think that she will have every chance. She’s a lovely, good-walking filly by a great horse and don’t forget that the dam very nearly won the English, Irish and French 1000 Guineas in the space of three weeks.”

The second of the Sea the Stars to sell for €800,000 was Redmondstown Stud’s hip 685, a bay daughter of Scribonia (Ire) (Danehill), who was secured by Mertoun Paddocks. A half-sister to a pair of daughters of Galileo who have placed in the 1000 Guineas in Cuis Ghaire (Ire) and Gile Na Greine (Ire), she also has the classy Indian Ridge (Ire) distaffers Luminata (Ire) and Aretha (Ire) close up. Mertoun’s Rob Spears did the bidding on behalf of Ibrahim Araci, owner of the Classic-placed Native Khan (Fr) (Azamour). “She’s a foundation mare,” Speers offered. “She’s a fantastic filly from an excellent family, and over the last 12 months the good fillies and mares at the breeding stock sales have been coming in at a premium price range. €800,000 is a lot of money, but we believe that she represents a sound investment.”

Moments later, the Redmondstown’s hip 687 continued the irresistible momentum for the stallion when selling to Julie Wood for €300,000. Out of a winning full sister to Teofilo (Ire) - who was also prominent on Thursday’s results sheet - the purchase of the March foal was the end part of the masterplan. “We’ve been waiting a while for this day,” Wood explained. “This filly, like the other ones today, came from good, well-connected families, and it was quite special when these foals were coming into the ring, as you could feel the atmosphere around the ring. I bought an Exceed and Excel colt for €90,000 here Wednesday, and I do tend to buy a few foals every year. In fact, half of the 2-year-olds I had this year were bought as foals.”

Earlier, the lowest-priced of the Sea the Stars quintet became the first colt at the sale to break through the six-figure barrier. Hip 601, a March-foaled bay from Bill Dwan’s Castlebridge Consignment, is out of 2003 Listed Blue Wind Stakes victress Humilis (Ire) (Sadler’s Wells) from the family of Balanchine and was hammered down to Blandford Bloodstock’s Richard Brown for €110,000.

Extract from Thoroughbred Daily News

GALILEO : WORLD NUMBER ONE

Click above to watch Golden Lilac winning the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches (Gr1)
(Image : RP - Footage : France 3)

GALILEO (IRE)
Sadler’s Wells (USA) - Urban Sea (USA)

Golden Lilac’s impressive win in Sunday’s G1 Poule d’Essai des Pouliches marked Galileo’s 18th Northern Hemisphere-bred individual Group 1/Grade I winner from six crops of 3-year-olds and up - an average of three G1/GI winners per crop. They consist of 12 G1/GI-winning colts, an average of two per crop, and six G1/GI-winning fillies, an average of one per crop. They have won a total of 33 top-level races among them. They include seven winners of English, Irish, or French 3-year-old Classics (not including the G1 Irish St. Leger and G1 Prix Royal-Oak, of which he has had one 4-year-old winner each), including 2011 one-mile Guineas winners Frankel and Golden Lilac - both, as has been noted extensively, out of Danehill mares.

It’s hard to remember now, but at the beginning of 2004 - just seven short years ago – Sadler’s Wells’ stature as a sire of sires looked problematic. In the Wings, Barathea, the surprising North American success El Prado, and maybe Fort Wood in South Africa represented his best form to that time as a sire of sires. It wasn’t certain that Sadler’s Wells was even going to survive as a significant sire line. Montjeu was about to have his first 2-year-olds race (as were, in what turned out to be a critical positive turning point in Coolmore’s fortunes, Giant’s Causeway and Fusaichi Pegasus (two out of three ain’t bad) and, though the Montjeus had created a positive impression from the time they first sold as foals in late 2002, pretty is as pretty does, as we know. Nobody was climbing out on much of a limb.

By the end of 2005, things were looking up considerably for Sadler’s Wells as a sire of sires, thanks to Montjeu’s first crop which included three Classic winners: Motivator, Hurricane Run, and Scorpion. However, Galileo hadn’t yet made much noise; he didn’t have a black-type winner with his first two-year-olds in 2005, and entered 2006 well down in the second five among 2005 freshman sires by progeny earnings.

That was the last time there were any doubts about him, or the Sadler’s Wells sire line. Nightime won the G1 Irish 1000 Guineas in May 2006 and, by the end of the year, he had added two more 3-year-old G1/GI winners - Sixties Icon in the G1 English St. Leger and Red Rocks in the GI Breeders’ Cup Turf - and had the unbeaten champion 2-year-old in Europe, Teofilo, from his second crop.

Galileo’s stud fee quadrupled, from its low point of €37,500 in 2005 and 2006 to €150,000 for 2007. It’s been “private” ever since, though estimates consistently put the price of buying a season to breed to him as safely over $200,000 every year since 2008. He’s been leading sire in GB/Ire twice (2008 and 2010), and leading sire of 2-year-olds twice (2007 and 2010). Galileo’s six crops include three European champion juveniles: Teofilo (2006), New Approach (2007), and Frankel (2010). New Approach went on to win the 2008 G1 Epsom Derby, and Galileo has sired two winners of the G1 Irish Derby: Soldier of Fortune (2007) and Cape Blanco (2010). Those three Derby winners, along with Nightime and Sixties Icon from his first crop, and Frankel and Golden Lilac from his current (sixth) crop of sophomores, constitute his seven 3-year-old Classic winners. Besides BC Turf winner Red Rocks, his other top horses include two triple Group 1 winners, the colt Rip Van Winkle and the filly Lush Lashes. He already has four Group 1 winners so far among his current crop of 3-year-olds: besides Frankel and Golden Lilac, this crop also includes 2010 2-year-old Group 1 winners Roderic O’Connor and Misty for Me.

When all is said and done - in spite of all the sire analysis and statistics the likes of myself and many others come up with – it’s the horses we can identify as “household names” that set stud fees and sell seasons. Galileo has sired a string of them: unbeaten champion 2-year-olds Teofilo, New Approach (Derby winner), and Frankel (Guineas winner); Rip Van Winkle, Red Rocks, Cape Blanco, Soldier of Fortune, now Golden Lilac, maybe Roderic O’Connor, plus other 2011 Classic contenders, including Seville (2nd G2 Dante, to G1 Derby favorite Carlton House), Together (2nd G1 English 1000 Guineas), and Galikova (half-sister to Goldikova, won G3 Prix Cleopatre, will meet Golden Lilac next month in the G1 Prix de Diane). Voila: that’s why Galileo is the world’s number one sire.

Extract from Thoroughbred Daily News

CAPE BLANCO SHOWS CLASS AND COURAGE IN IRISH DERBY

Click above to watch
Cape Blanco winning the 2010 Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby (Gr1)
(Photo : Racing Post - Footage : At The Races)

IRISH DERBY (Gr1)
27 June 2010

The Curragh was the scene of a historical training achievement on Sunday as Aidan O’Brien became the first trainer to win five consecutive renewals of the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby (G1) courtesy of Derrick Smith’s Cape Blanco (Ire) (Galileo). For good measure, the 7-2 second favorite led home stable companions Midas Touch (GB) (Galileo) and Jan Vermeer (Ire) (Montjeu) at half-length and 1 1/2-length intervals as he put an unplaced effort in the June 6 Prix du Jockey Club (G1) firmly behind him. Settled in fourth early off the fast pace set by the stable rabbits, the chestnut put it up to Midas Touch at the top of the stretch and after gaining the edge before the furlong marker toughed it out to prove jockey Johnny Murtagh right in his choice. “All the horses ran great and all credit to everybody for getting them all there.”

Cape Blanco was always at the forefront of the Ballydoyle juvenile ranks in 2009 and went unbeaten in three starts with varying degrees of style. After a workmanlike debut success over seven furlongs at Fairyhouse in June, he went to Leopardstown for the Tyros Stakes (G3) the following month and displayed panache under positive tactics. A month later, he was back at Fairyhouse for the Futurity Stakes (G2) - diverted from this venue -  and had to pull out the stops to satisfy the bridge-jumpers at 1-5, prompting connections to point to the testing ground for that less-than-flattering effort. With bounce back in the surface at York on his belated return, he saw off Workforce (GB) (King’s Best) at odds with his equipment in the May 13 Dante Stakes (G2), and it was a case of divergent fortunes for the first two home thereafter.

Just 24 hours after the runner-up had blasted himself into immortality at Epsom, Cape Blanco was delivering a first disappointing performance when out the back in the Chantilly equivalent and he entered this race with a point to prove. “The last day was a blip on this horse’s card and we couldn’t understand it, but this is great for everybody,” commented Aidan O’Brien.

O’Brien was welcoming back an eighth Irish Derby winner in total, with seven of those coming since Johnny Murtagh’s decision to desert Jan Vermeer in his favor suggested Ballydoyle were expecting a turnaround from the French flop, and it was evident early on here that he was a different proposition to the languid version seen last time. As the stable’s Bright Horizon (GB) (Galileo) provided the lead-out with the Epsom runner-up At First Sight (Ire) (Galileo) and Midas Touch behind, Cape Blanco sat in the clear in fourth. When Colm O’Donoghue committed Midas Touch at the top of the straight, Murtagh opted to cover the move. Despite Seamus Heffernan and Jan Vermeer briefly threatening up the rail, it was Cape Blanco and Midas Touch who had it between them, and the latter was gradually subdued from a furlong out.

“Johnny gave him a brilliant ride, and I’m just delighted to be part of it,” O’Brien added. “They all ran stormers. It wasn’t the horse that we knew in France, and maybe it was the travel and the first day away in the heat like that, but something upset him. Today, he left it all behind him, and we saw all the class and courage that we always thought was there. We always thought if things went well here, we’d look at the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes (G1) at Ascot July 24.”

The supplemented Monterosso (GB) (Dubawi), sent off  the 3-1 favorite, was sending out distress signals before the straight, but stayed on strongly under Frankie Dettori to be fourth.

Trainer Mark Johnston said of Monterosso, “I have to be honest and say we didn’t come to be fourth, but at the same time there were no excuses. Frankie said it was either a bridge too far and we were expecting too much of him - and maybe when I go back and look at the form of his Royal Ascot race I’ll say that’s his form - or, hopefully, it just came a little bit too soon (after his win in the King Edward VII Stakes (G2)) and there is more to come from him later in the year.”

This was also the second time that Ballydoyle representatives had filled the first three places in this Classic after Soldier of Fortune (Ire) (Galileo) spearheaded the trifecta just three years ago.

Extract from Thoroughbred Daily News

GALILEO FILLIES : FAMILIES OF ZARKAVA AND TRISCAY

Igugu (Galileo x Zarinia) and Uthawini (Galileo x Tramore)
(Please click photos to enlarge…)

GALILEO
EMPERORS PALACE READY TO RUN SALE
8 NOVEMBER 2009 

Champion 3yo in Europe, winning the Epsom Derby, Irish Derby and ‘King George’. One of the best looking and most well bred sires at stud, he is already a Champion sire with over 40 Stakes winners, including 10 Group 1 winners; such as Soldier Of Fortune (Irish Derby – Gr.1), Sixties Icon (St Leger), Nightime (1000 Guineas) and New Approach (Derby – Gr.1) from his first 3 crops to race.

We have two well bred fillies by Galileo, on offer in this year’s Ready To Run Draft:

IGUGU, out of Zarinia, is from the international family of ZARKAVA, Champion 2yo Filly in Europe 2007, Champion 3yo Filly in Europe 2008 and Horse of the Year in 2008. (7 wins, in France, including Prix Marcel Boussac-Barriere Deauville, Gr.1 and Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, Gr.1). She is an attractive filly with a lovely action and is maturing into an exciting individual.

UTHAWINI, out of Tramore, is from the Australian Group 1 winning family of TRISCAY (15 wins, including Australian Guineas Gr.1, AJC Oaks, Gr.1, AJC Flight Stakes, Gr.1, Champagne Stakes Gr.1, Queensland Oaks, Gr.1 and Silver Slipper Stakes Gr.2), LA BARAKA (6 wins, including Galaxy Handicap Gr.1) and DEMERGER (8 wins, including Adelaide Cup Gr.1). She is an athletic, long striding filly that has loads of class.

For more information on the Ready To Run Draft, please visit
www.summerhill.co.za

TIMEFORM’S TOP RATED EUROPEAN OLDER HORSES

Yeats
(Photo : Summerhill Stud)

Please click photo to enlarge… 

TIMEFORM OLDER HORSES
Up to and including Sunday 30 August 2009 

HORSE	SIRE	RATING
GOLDIKOVA (IRE)	Anabaa	132
CONDUIT (Ire)	Dalakhani	130
PACO BOY (Ire)	Desert Style	129
SEPTIMUS (Ire)	Sadler’s Wells	129
SOLDIER OF FORTUNE (Ire)	Galileo	129
VISION D’ETAT (Fr)	Chichicastenango	128
YEATS (Ire)	Sadler’s Wells	128
FLEETING SPIRIT (Ire)	Invincible Spirit	127
PRESVIS (GB)	Sakhee	127
ASK (GB)	Sadler’s Wells	126
CASUAL CONQUEST (Ire)	Hernando	126
FAMOUS NAME (GB)	Dansili	126
MAIN AIM (GB)	Oasis Dream	126
NEVER ON SUNDAY (Fr)	Sunday Break	126
OVERDOSE (GB)	Starborough	126
TARTAN BEARER (Ire)	Spectrum	126