Coulonces Again To The Fore At Donny

[Wandering Eyes]

DONCASTER, UK–The success of top race mare Laurens (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) has made the Goffs UK sales ground a very important place for her consignor, Anna Sundstrom of Coulonces Sales. Emotions ran high when the French-based consignor’s final offering of the week, a son of Wootton Bassett (GB), became the subject of an intense bidding battle between Goffs agent Richard Ryan, Shadwell Stud’s Angus Gold and Ross Doyle standing alongside Mick Flanagan. Ryan, on the phone, was finally declared successful with a bid of £280,000 and was quickly congratulated by Sundstrom.

The Swedish-born consignor later revealed that the emotional nature of the sale was increased by the fact that her mother is currently in hospital in France, and that the colt was bred by her parents. “This colt comes from a family we absolutely love, that we really believe in,” she explained, adding, “He is such a lovely mover and has a brilliant attitude. He’s been shown so many times and never once said no–not in the heat, not in the rain. All top racehorses share a great mind; Laurens was the same.”

Despite being sold by a French-based consignor, lot 438‘s page resonated strongly with British buyers. Haras d’Etreham resident Wootton Bassett is himself a graduate of the Goffs UK, where he was bought by Bobby O’Ryan for £46,000 and went on to win the valuable Premier Yearling Stakes for Richard Fahey, following up in a £300,000 contest at Doncaster and achieving Group 1 glory in the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere.

The session topper’s dam, meanwhile, comes from the family of Kevin Ryan’s stable star Brando (GB) (Pivotal {GB}) and top sprinter Reckless Abandon (GB) (Exchange Rate), who was bought at the Premier Sale for £24,000 by trainer Clive Cox.

Laurens was part of Coulonces’s very first consignment at Goffs UK and, as several members of the Goffs team congratulated Sundstrom, it was clear that Coulonces is as important to Goffs UK as the sale is to the consignor.

“I love this place,” Sundstrom said. “We’ve enjoyed selling here from day one. We’re still learning what type of horse to bring, but most importantly, those we’ve sold have performed on the track. Each year, our consignment has produced a stakes horse.”

Sundstrom was joined by her daughter Moa at the sale, and her protege in fact offered her own yearling as part of their draft. Family is highly important to Sundstrom, she explained.

“Our strength has always been our family bond,” she said. “This is the first time we haven’t all been together at a sale and I rely on my parents so much. They will always give me an honest answer and offer constructive criticism on how to improve our product.”

Sundstrom was delighted to hear that the colt will go into training with Roger Varian, as confirmed by Richard Ryan, who said, “He’s been bought for a client of mine, who is an established English owner with horses in training in both Ireland and the UK. This colt was exquisite, probably the best colt of the day, and we thought he would particularly suit Roger Varian. He comes from a top vendor; hopefully he will be as good as Laurens.”

Across the sales ground, the general consensus was that trade was strong and suitably so, with buyers constantly complimenting the stock on offer. Strength in depth saw the final clearance rate come to 85%, on par with last year, with the average price increasing by 3% to £46,564. Goffs UK Managing Director Tony Williams said he was delighted with the sale’s final results.

“We have enjoyed another very successful Premier Sale and once again we have set a new record top price, £440,000, which followed last year’s £380,000 record,” he said. “Every year this sale takes another stride forward, it continues to evolve and attract new people and it’s something from which we take immense satisfaction.

“The sale has had an amazing year on the track and that’s instilling confidence in everyone to continue to invest in it and its development. Our vendors have taken another step up and sent us some superb individuals and the buyers, who have come to us from around the world, are taking things to a new level in the ring.

“The face of this sale is changing but its heart remains firmly focused on the racehorse and it’s something that people are backing and enjoying the rewards that follow. We are indebted to everyone who has supported us, we wish them the very best of luck with their purchases and we look forward to welcoming everyone back to Doncaster for the Silver Yearling Sale tomorrow.”

Fast Start For Mehmas

A first crop son of Tally-Ho Stud sire Mehmas (Ire) (lot 319) was widely touted as a possible highlight of the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale after receiving a dream update when half-brother Golden Horde (Ire) (Lethal Force {Ire}) took the G2 Richmond S. and followed up with a fine third in the G1 Prix Morny.

Shadwell Stud were keen to secure the Highclere Stud-consigned bay, who also counts listed scorer Exhort (GB) (Dutch Art {GB}) among his siblings, and after auctioneer Nick Nugent taunted Angus Gold with, “Don’t look at me unless you are going to bid, as irresistible as that may be,” Shadwell’s Angus Gold conceded defeat to agent Oliver St. Lawrence.

Found outside the ring alongside Golden Horde’s owner, St. Lawrence revealed that his winning bid of £260,000 was made on behalf of Fawzi Nass. “He’s a nice horse with a lovely update. We were the underbidder on Golden Horde so it made us especially keen to get this colt,” St. Lawrence said. “Fawzi doesn’t have a trainer in mind at the moment, but may eventually train the colt himself in Dubai and hopefully win the Golden Shaheen like Krypton Factor did.”

It marked a tremendous result for James Cloney and Michael Nolan, who bred the expensive colt from a nomination fee of €12,500, out of a mare who was bought for 14,000gns by BBA Ireland. It was apt that Mehmas proved popular this week, with the sale known for producing talented juveniles and he one himself, the gutsy son of Acclamation taking two Group 2 contests as a 2-year-old. Placed in two Group 1’s, his form remains very current, as he had lowered the colours of Blue Point when winning the G2 Richmond S. Of his 30 yearlings offered, the Tally-Ho Stud sire closed trade with an average price of over £45,000.

Shadwell Stud in no way left Doncaster empty-handed, ending the sale as leading buyers of 18 yearlings for a total of £1,893,000. Their most expensive purchase on Wednesday was lot 257, a son of promising first-season sire Cable Bay (Ire) offered by his base of Highclere Stud for whom Angus Gold went to £175,000. It marked an impressive profit on the colt, who is the first foal out of John and Jake Warren’s 7,500gns buy Bonhomie (GB) (Shamardal) who was covered in Cable Bay’s second year at stud at an advertised fee of £5,000.

Lynn Lodge Stud were another to capitalise on their investments, transforming their €62,000 foal pinhook into a £170,000 yearling. Lot 307 in question boasted a proven pedigree, even last winter, being a full-brother to dual stakes winner Extortionist (Ire) (Dandy Man {Ire}). Their shared sire needs no introduction, his success reaching as far as the U.S. and Hong Kong, and it is the latter where Extortionist’s brother will travel to. He was bought by the Hong Kong Jockey Club, whose buying team is now made up of legendary jockey Michael Kinane and French agent Crispin de Moubray, with the former active at Doncaster.

More of the Same For Murphy

“It’s easier to find gold where you’ve found it before, rather than digging another hole,” was how Mick Murphy reasoned with the £170,000 price tag he paid for Longview Stud’s Muhaarar (GB) filly out of Fig Roll (GB) (Bahamian Bounty {GB}) (lot 332). The shrewd pinhooker, who operates under Longways Stables with his wife Sarah, is hoping lightning will strike twice with his latest purchase, a half-sister to talented 2-year-old Al Raya (GB) (Siyouni {Fr}). Murphy paid £90,000 for Al Raya at the 2018 edition of the Premier Yearling Sale and resold her at the venue’s breeze-up sale for £450,000.

Comparing the half-sisters Murphy said, “We were very lucky with the family last year and this filly looks like a bigger version of Al Raya. She has lovely, big, honest ears, which I like.” Lot 332 comes from the second crop of Muhaarar, for whom Murphy believes the best is yet to come, explaining, “Muhaarar hasn’t had the fastest start at stud, but he wasn’t the most precocious himself, and this filly’s family are sharp, early types.”

Another hoping to emulate previous success is Steve Parkin’s Clipper Logistics, whose best performer this season is Soldier’s Call (GB) (Showcasing {GB}), successful in the Group 2 Flying Childers S. last season and second to Battaash in last week’s G1 Nunthorpe S. at York. Soldier’s Call was bought by Joe Foley, who went to £150,000 for another son of Whitsbury Stud stalwart Showcasing on Wednesday, in the shape of lot 253 from Rathbarry Stud.

The similarities don’t end with the sire, according to Foley, who said, “This colt reminded me of Soldier’s Call and is out of a similarly-fast mare. He comes from a great vendor in the Cashman and Woods families in County Cork and will now head to Ballyhane to be pre-trained, with a trainer to be decided in the spring.”

The February-born bay was a brave 100,000gns purchase by Abbeylands Farm last winter and on his resale, Abbeylands’s Franny Woods said, “He was a nice foal and I think he’s been very well bought today. He’s a gorgeous colt and looks an Ascot type–hopefully he’ll be just that for his new owners.” Woods is also a key member of the Rathbarry team, and when questioned on trade over the two days, he said, “Trade has been solid for the right horse and these days, you need a quality horse no matter what sale you bring it to.”

The post Coulonces Again To The Fore At Donny appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

View the full article