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Godolphin pay £675,000 for Malcolm Bastard-consigned two-year-old
A colt by former Darley shuttler Medaglia d’Oro (El Prado) was the headline act of the Arqana Breeze Up Sale on Friday after Godolphin went to £675,000 for the Malcolm Bastard-consigned two-year-old.
Catalogued as Lot 90, the colt is out of Listed-winning Smart Strike (Mr Prospector) mare Shelbysmile, who is herself a half-sister to Grade 2 scorer Debraas (Seeking The Gold) and Grade 2 winner Cheifdom (The Factor).
Further back this is the same family as Group 1 winner Sierra Madre (Baillamont) - the dam of fellow top-flight winner Alijbar (Storm Cat).
The £675,000 price-tag was a good return, with the colt having been purchased by Wycombe House for US$175,000 at the Fasig-Tipton October Yearling Sale in 2020.
“I really like the way Malcom Bastard prepares his horses - he really gets the best out of them,” said Anthony Stroud after signing the ticket. “He’s a son of Medaglia d’Oro, passed all the vet checks, and ticks all the boxes. He’ll go to Andre Fabre.”
Medaglia d’Oro finished the sale as the leading sire by average ( three or more lots sold) with three lots by the sire having sold at an average of €508,467.
Later on in the afternoon, a filly by Haunui Farm shuttler Ribchester (Iffraaj) proved popular, when she was bought by Blandford Bloodstock for £590,000 from the Church Farm & Horse Park Stud draft.
Catalogued as Lot 147, the filly is out of three time winner Cheap Thrills (Bertolini), making her a half-sister to Listed-placed filly Expensive Date (Monsieur Bond).
Cheap Thrills herself is a half-sister to Group 1 winner Muarrab (Oasis Dream) and Group 3 winner Bungleinthejungle (Exceed And Excel), who now stands at Rathasker Stud in Ireland.
The filly was purchased by Church Farm & Horse Park for £45,000 at the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale last year.
“She gave an exceptional breeze, and has a lot of scope. She’s a magnificent filly from a great Chris Wright family,” said Richard Brown of Blandford Bloodstock. “I am a big fan of Ribchester, and we’ve been hearing lots of good things about his progeny and they have already been running well. I didn’t think she’d be this expensive, but I think she was one of the best fillies in the sale. We’ll see later if I was right!”
Blandford Bloodstock finished the sale as the leading buyers having spent €1,740,000 on four two-year-olds and a few lots earlier went to £500,000 to secure a daughter of former Darley shuttler Night Of Thunder (Dubawi).
“I loved her,” said Blandford Bloodstock’s Stuart Boman. “She did a great Breeze and I really liked her way of going that she kept up throughout. I’ve bought her for Jurgen Sartori and she’ll be trained in Germany by Andreas Suborics.”
Earlier in the day Singapore-based owner Kuldeep Singh went to £500,000 for Lot 49, a son of Kingman (Invincible Spirit).
“He’s my first horse in Europe,” said the owner. “I’m delighted. He’ll stay in the UK for the moment.”
Overall on Friday 109 of the 123 lots offered were sold for €15,219,820 at an average of €139,631 and median of €98,600. With last year's sale delayed due to COVID and only 77 lots offered, comparison statistics are difficult.
Following the sale, Arqana’s executive director Freddy Powell said, “We are very satisfied with the results. We were certain of the quality of the catalogue and it was necessary to adapt to the health constraints that we all know.
“We would like to thank all our vendors who trusted us and did a superb job of bringing their horses at their best today. The numerous purchases from Europe, the United States, Australia, Bahrain and Singapore are proof of this! We must also salute the work of the Goffs team, with whom we have worked hand in hand for several weeks and whose responsiveness and involvement have largely contributed to the success of this sale.
“We have been really welcomed at Doncaster and it was a pleasure to work together. We will now concentrate on the rest of the season in Deauville.”