Alpine Star and Alpha Centauri Sell For Record-Equalling €6m Apiece To Coolmore

[Wandering Eyes]

Coolmore Stud spent €19m and equalled its own record set for the highest price paid at public auction in Ireland 10 years ago for Chicquita (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}) by flexing its buying power to secure half-sisters Alpine Star (Ire) (Sea The Moon {Ger}) and Alpha Centauri (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}) for €6m apiece from the Niarchos draft at the Goffs November Breeding Stock Sale on Friday.

Alpine Star, the brilliant G1 Coronation S. winner, and multiple Group 1 and Irish 1,000 Guineas heroine Alpha Centauri, carried the Niarchos family's colours with great distinction throughout their glittering careers for trainer Jessica Harrington. 

Their former stablemate Albigna (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}), winner of G1 Prix Marcel Boussac, also featured on Coolmore's shopping list along with That Which Is Not (Elusive Quality), the dam of Irish Derby runner-up Piz Badile (Ire) (Ulysses {Ire}).

It was Albigna who broke the million mark on the day but it didn't take long for Alpine Star and Alpha Centauri, who rightly commanded star billing at arguably the most eagerly-anticipated Irish sale in recent times, to steal the show. 

Bidding from his usual spot to the right of the rostrum and under letter H, MV Magnier saw off Northern Farm for Alpha Centauri, with Yulong's Yuesheng Zhang involved in the running for the 2018 Cartier Horse Of The Year up to €5m.

Alpha Centauri was sold in foal to Sea The Stars (Ire) while her half-sister Alpine Star was sold in foal to Frankel (GB) having given birth to a colt foal by the Juddmonte stallion earlier this year. Meanwhile, Alpha Centauri has had one runner to date–the twice placed Saturn (Ire) (Galileo {Ire})–and had a Circus Maximus (Ire) filly last year.

Coolmore hasn't built itself up to being one of the powerhouse breeding outfits in the world without having a plan and Magnier revealed after signing for Alpine Star that their dual Derby winner Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) is already being touted for the Kiltinan Castle Stud-drafted Royal Ascot winner. 

He explained, “When the time comes, we'll probably send her to Auguste Rodin. When Auguste Rodin won the Derby, I'd say it was 30 seconds later when Dad [John] rang me and said, 'this is the most important thing that has happened to Coolmore since Galileo (Ire) won the Derby.'

“That horse has absolutely everything–from Deep Impact to his mother being a champion, his grandmother being a champion, he's a Group 1-winning two-year-old and he's a dual Derby winner, Breeders' Cup Turf and Irish Champions Stakes winner as well. He's everything we're looking for and, when the time comes after next year, we're going to really get behind him.”

Magnier continued, “She [Alpine Star] was a very good race mare and it's an incredible family. Honestly, all our partners, everyone, we're just delighted to be able to buy these mares off Maria [Niarchos]. 

“She has been a huge supporter of ours as long as I am alive–like, she is the Godmother to my brother. It just means a lot to us to be able to give back to Maria after all the support she has given us for a very long time.”

Harrington, who managed the careers of Alpine Star, Alpha Centauri and Albigna, the winners of 12 races, six of which were Group 1s and well over €2m in prize-money, was in attendance to see the three queens amass €15.7m in the ring.

As was Alan Cooper, who has been a part of the Niarchos outfit since the early 1980s, and oversaw Friday's draft in the role as racing manager to the world-famous racing family.

He commented, “It's been a great tribute to decades of building these bloodlines. The family would like to thank everybody who has contributed to the success of these families over the decades, from those involved with foaling, right through to training, racing and back to breeding. It's very much mixed emotions, but as we said from the start it's a restructuring.

“That's been accomplished in the sense that the bloodlines are spreading out. We've still got access to all of the bloodlines through our two- and three-year-old fillies, yearlings and foals. Even though we've separated from these great race mares, we still have the blood.”

Cooper added, “It goes back many decades and it's become global. The Miesque line has been very successful in Japan with Loves Only Me winning at the Breeders' Cup and Real Steel. We had a look last week and descendants from Miesque and her dam, Pasadoble, if I'm not mistaken, include 91 black-type winners.”

Just how highly sought after these bloodlines are among some of the biggest breeding operations the world over was evident by the truly international turnout at Goffs on Friday. Juddmonte underbid Albigna, consigned by Baroda Stud, earlier in the session where the Japanese-based Northern Farm once again played a strong hand for much of the bidding war. 

Magnier commented on €3.7m purchase Albigna, “She is a lovely mare. The whole Niarchos family, they have been very special friends of ours for a long time. We're just very happy that we can continue the relationship.”

Albigna has already produced a Wootton Bassett (GB) colt which realised €460,000 as a yearling and had a Dubawi (Ire) filly foal this year. Along with that Group 1 triumph in 2019, Albigna landed the G2 Airlie Stud S. as a two-year-old in a brilliant nine-race career.

Magnier added, “These kinds of mares don't come on the market very often and, with this mare, we are lucky that we have very good partners who will support us to try and buy these mares. St Mark's Basilica has had some very good foals and, if she has a good colt by him, it would make it easy to go back.”

 

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