Coolmore Strikes For One Last Scat Daddy

[Wandering Eyes]

DEAUVILLE, France—It was a case of saving the best until last as the final offering from a sextet of Scat Daddy juveniles at Arqana’s Breeze-up Sale brought Eric Hoyeau’s gavel down at €825,000 in favour of Jamie McCalmont, bidding on behalf of the Coolmore partners.

Members of the last crop of the late Coolmore stallion have been in demand throughout the breeze-up season and five of the six for sale in Deauville changed hands for a total of €2,355,000.

“This is one of the last opportunities to buy a horse by him,” said McCalmont. “He was an amazing stallion and his son No Nay Never had another winner today. We couldn’t leave behind a horse like this and it’s very sad that there will be no more. He didn’t look like he was breezing very fast but he actually did a very good time.”

Just as last year, the name Mocklershill featured as the vendor of the top lot, with Willie Browne having bought the half-brother to GII Futurity S. runner-up Carried Interest (Henny Hughes) privately after he failed to sell at $370,000 at Keeneland’s September Sale.

The 20 breezers sold by Mocklershill at an average of €201,800 accounted for just over €4 million, or more than a quarter of the day’s turnover of €14,768,000. That figure was up by 14% on last year but from 19 more horses sold.

Seasoned breeze-up vendors had understandably approached the sale with a degree of trepidation. After all, €7.2 million had collectively been spent on assembling the majority of the horses who comprised what was generally felt to be a strong catalogue, both on paper and physically.

Trade kicked off on a reasonably upbeat note but as the day wore on and the rain refused to relent, the mood around the sales ground turned a little off key throughout a prolonged flat spell. Ultimately, the sale’s indicators don’t read too badly—at €80,000 the median fell from €82,500 last year and the average of €130,673 again reflected only a slight drop of 5%. The clearance rate picked up towards the end of the day as private sales were agreed on a few individuals and the sale finished with a flourish but a significant number of the horses offered throughout the session failed to match their yearling price.

Brendan Holland, whose Grove Stud enjoyed yet another good run at Arqana, sounded a note of caution which has been echoed by a number of his counterparts. He said, “We’ve had a good day and we’ve done well here in the past, both in the ring and on the track. We brought a really good bunch of horses here in a tough year and we’re very grateful for these results but the overall situation this season has been exacerbated by the fact that there have been way too many horses consigned to the breeze-up sales as a result of overproduction, and I hope that will be redressed. Those extra numbers make it look worse than it is but there is still a market there for a quality breezer and I’ll certainly be going back to the yearling sales to stock up for next year.”

Leading the way from the Grove Stud draft was one of the Scat Daddy juveniles (lot 140), a colt out of the dual French listed winner Kaloura (Ire) (Sinndar {Ire}), who was unsold at Fasig-Tipton last August at $195,000, but was one of two purchases by Tom Ludt and Dermot Farrington on behalf of Phoenix Thoroughbreds at €700,000.

The duo also bought the first Scat Daddy to be offered, lot 10, from Gaybrook Lodge Stud. The $160,000 Keeneland September pinhook was bought this time for €320,000.

Farrington said of the half-brother to listed winner Crimson China (Giant’s Causeway), “He’s a nice big horse, and obviously this is the last chance to buy the progeny of Scat Daddy.”

A new name on the breeze-up consignors’ list, Ecurie de la Frenee, made quite a debut at Arqana, consigning the session’s second-top lot (144), a son of Frankel (GB), bought by Mark McStay for €770,000.

Having dipped a toe in the water at Osarus last month, Jennifer Pardanaud and Ronan Le Dantec, who run a pre-training operation at Ommeel in Normandy alongside their fledgling consigning business, brought their first select consignment of three to Deauville, including the half-brother to GI Garden City S. winner Backseat Rhythm (El Corredor) on behalf of his breeder Mitab Abdullah.

The identity of the colt’s new owner was not revealed by McStay, who signed for the horse under the name Avenue Bloodstock and said, “He’s for a new client who asked me to buy him a special horse. He’s by a special horse who looks like he’s becoming a very special sire and he’s a half-brother to a Group 1 winner. He may not have been the fastest on the clock but they don’t have to do a fast time to be a good horse and I found it hard to fault him. Hopefully we’ll be hearing plenty more about him next year.”

Among the bold pinhooks that did pay off was another Grove Stud-consigned colt by More Than Ready, already named Gift, who will be racing in Hong Kong for an undisclosed owner. Agent Matt Coleman tucked himself away in the restaurant to launch his bid for the colt out of the listed winner Generosity (Unbridled’s Song) who has already produced a stakes winner in seven-time victor Integrity (Hard Spun).

Coleman’s major rival and eventual underbidder turned out to be his business partner Anthony Stroud, who had been busy throughout the session, largely on Godolphin’s behalf. At €525,000 Stroud cried enough leaving Coleman to sign for the colt who turned two just a week ago and had cost Brendan Holland $160,000 at Keeneland in September.

“I thought he was the best horse in the sale. He looks to have a fantastic action, he breezed well and More Than Ready works well in Hong Kong,” Coleman said.

On a horse-by-horse basis, Grove Stud was the most successful consignor of the day, with seven sold for an average of €311,000.

For much of the day another member of the same draft, a Sea The Stars filly out of Ninas Terz (Ger) (Tertullian), had held the top spot after Jamie McCalmont secured lot 5 for owner Andrew Rosen at €400,000.

“Andrew raced another Sea The Stars filly called September Stars, who was a stakes winner in America for Paddy Gallagher, and this filly is very similar to her. Not only is she a very pretty filly but she has a lovely pedigree,” said the agent, who confirmed that she will be trained by Roger Charlton.

While Ninas Terz—a half-sister to Hong Kong Group 1 winner Pakistan Star (Ger) (Shamardal)—was listed-placed in Germany, the filly’s second, third and fourth dams are all black-type winners. Her damsire Tertullian, who is out of a half-sister to Sea The Stars’s dam Urban Sea, throws up some interesting inbreeding to Allegretta.

McCalmont added, “She’s not likely to be running too soon but she did one of the top 20 times in the breeze which was impressive considering she’s not a Kodiac-type sprinter.”

Kerri Radcliffe bought the top lot at last year’s Arqana Breeze-up and she played a prominent role again on Saturday, stepping in with a successful bid of €400,000 for Mocklershill’s filly by Exchange Rate (lot 111).

“She’s very fast and hopefully she’ll be going to Royal Ascot,” said the agent. “She’s for George Bolton and I hope she’ll be another Lady Aurelia.”

The filly’s dam Dying To Dance (Street Cry) ran just once but has already produced a clean sweep of winners with her four runners to date, including the Del Mar Juvenile Turf S. winner Encumbered (Violence).

Anthony Stroud made the first big splash of the sale when signing for lot 2 at €385,000 on behalf of an undisclosed client. The first foal of Nayara (Fr) (Nayef) had been selected from Book 2 of Tattersalls’ October Sale by Longways Stables for 100,000gns.

Mick Murphy and Sarah O’Connell of Longways had previously enjoyed success with a Siyouni colt at the breeze-ups when selling subsequent G1 Poule d’Essai des Poulains runner-up and G3 Jersey S. winner Le Brivido (Fr) for €105,000 at this same auction two years ago. The pair sold seven horses this time around for an average of €128,286.

Walk In The Sun, the top price at last year’s sale at €1.4 million and bought originally at Keeneland for $15,000, had been a sensational pinhook for Willie Browne, and his Mocklershill draft was responsible for several profitable returns this time around. Most notable was the colt by the recently deceased Poet’s Voice (GB) (lot 18), bought as a yearling from October Book 3 for 42,000gns and sold on to Godolphin for 380,000gns.

“He breezed very well and he’s from a very good consignor,” said Anthony Stroud after signing for the colt in company with David Loder and Richard Frisby. “He’ll go back to the UK and the boss will decide where he goes. The fact that his sire isn’t around any more was a bit of a factor but overall he was just a very nice horse.”

Another who will eventually race in the Godolphin blue is lot 51, a Scat Daddy filly out of the listed-placed multiple winner Sure Route (Ishiguru) who was a decent pinhook for Yeomanstown Stud. Bought for $125,000 at Keeneland, she was resold for €360,000.

Mocklershill also consigned the sole juvenile by Motivator (GB) in the catalogue (lot 53), a €60,000 August yearling from Haras du Quesnay bought by Alex Elliott. Charlie Gordon-Watson outlasted Richard Brown in the quest for the colt when going to €280,000 and later said that that the son of listed winner Treasure (Fr) (Anabaa) will be trained in Newmarket by Charlie Fellowes for an unnamed British owner.

Al Shaqab Racing has been conspicuous by its relative inactivity so far this breeze-up season but Sheikh Joaan’s operation returned to the buyers’ bench at Arqana and snared five juveniles for a total of €785,000. The collection included lot 40, a Lope De Vega colt out of the G2 Prix d’Aumale runner-up Single (Fr) (Singspiel {Ire}) offered by Star Bloodstock and sold for €300,000—double the price he fetched when bought at Arqana last August.

 

 

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