€38,000 colt advertises his sire's potential at Sapphire Sale

The only foal in the Sapphire Sale from the second crop of Manton Park Stallions' Group 1 Commonwealth Cup, Prix Maurice de Gheest and Phoenix Stakes winner Advertise forced buyers to dig deepest at Tattersalls Ireland on Saturday.

Offered by Olive O'Connor, the February foaled colt, who topped the sale at €38,000, boasted an aristocratic pedigree. He is a half-brother to three winners including Sun Lover, by Advertise's grandsire Oasis Dream, out of Come Touch The Sun, who is a winning Fusaichi Pegasus half-sister to the quadruple Group 1 winner Misty For Me, dam of US Navy Flag.

That Coolmore first-season sire was European champion two-year-old by virtue of his victories in the Dewhurst and Middle Park Stakes and went on to be successful in the July Cup at three.

US Navy Flag is the sire of Listed winners Love Reigns and Ocean Vision, and is also a full-brother to the triple Group 1 winner Roly Poly and a half-brother to Group 3 winner Cover Song.

Micheal Orlandi was entrusted with bidding duties by Paul McCartan of Ballyphilip Stud, who had to be elsewhere when the foal took his turn in the sales ring.

"I had seen some of the sire's stock through the autumn at the yearling sales and liked what I saw," remarked McCartan over the phone.

"The fact he is a Group 1-winning juvenile who went on to win the Commonwealth Cup is a positive for Advertise. I saw this colt yesterday and again this morning, before I had to leave; he has a fine pedigree and has four champion two-year-olds on his page."

Come Touch The Sun is also a half-sister to Group 1 Prix Marcel Boussac winner and French champion two-year-old Ballydoyle and their dam, Butterfly Cove, is a Storm Cat half-sister to the European champion two-year-old of 1999 - the Prix Morny and Phoenix Stakes winner Fusaichi Pegasus.

Busy Buckley stocking up

Sophie Buckley of Culworth Grounds stud was one of the most active buyers during the Sapphire Sale, purchasing three foals, and her most expensive was a colt from the first crop of Yeomanstown Stud's Shaman.

Shaman colt foal out of Cochabamba takes his turn in the ringCredit: Www.healyracing.ie

Consigned by Hamford Stud, he preceded the Advertise colt into the ring and was knocked down to Buckley for €22,000.

She said: "The mare is rated 100 and so far she has produced one horse rated 92 and two more rated over 80. The foal is a nice sort but his page really sold him to me, he will be offered for resale."

That page contains plenty of black type; his dam Cochabamba was second in the Rockfel Stakes and has produced four winners from six foals, while her Declaration Of War daughter, Collegiate, is the dam of this season's Group 3 Oh So Sharp Stakes third Small Oasis, by Sioux Nation.

Cochabamba is a half-sister to Crown, the dam of Listed Scarbrough and National Stakes winner Global Applause and of Revelstoke, who was third in the Group 2 Premio Gran Criterium.

Under his third dam is this season's Derby hero Desert Crown and the Juddmonte-bred Proviso and Byword.

Team Marnane on the inspection trailCredit: Www.healyracing.ie

The foal's sire Shaman is a son of Shamardal from an outstanding Wertheimer family. Winner of the Group 2 Prix d'Harcourt and placed at the highest level in the Poule d'Essai des Poulains, Prix Jacques le Marois and Prix Ganay, he is out of Listed winner Only Green, a half-sister to the Group 1 winner Occupandiste, dam of Mondialiste and second dam of Intello.

Buckley also purchased a Raven's Pass yearling filly out of Tea Cup, a winning Danehill Dancer half-sister to the Listed-placed Forest Storm, who has outdone herself as a broodmare, foaling the 2,000 Guineas and Lockinge winner Night Of Thunder, sire of Group 1 winners Highfield Princess, Thundering Nights and Kukeracha.

Offered by Michael Shefflin's Annshoon Stud, the filly cost €11,000 and she was followed by a daughter of another Lockinge winner in Belardo, who will stand next season at Bearstone Stud having begun his career at Darley's Kildangan Stud.

Consigned by Neilstown Stud on behalf of Blackcut Stud, she is the first foal out of Madame Eraada, a winning daughter of Iffraaj, and cost Buckley €6,000.

Pivotal choice for Curran

The mares' sale was topped at €35,000 by a daughter of the outstanding broodmare sire Pivotal. Offered from the yard of trainer John McConnell, she was bought by the BBA Ireland's Paul Curran.

"I have bought her on behalf of a client, we like her a lot and she is by a brilliant broodmare sire, which is very important," he said. "She has some well-bred younger half-siblings to come and the page is very nice."

Those siblings he referred to include her unraced two-year-old half-brother by Sea The Stars, already named Amphibian, a Golden Horn yearling half-brother and a foal half-sister by Masar.

Their dam Tadpole won at two and is a Sir Percy half-sister to the Group 1 Doomben Cup winner Beaten Up, Harris Tweed, successful in the Group 3 John Porter Stakes, and Listed Lingfield Oaks Trial winner Vow.

Tadpole is also a half-sister to Tweed, dam of the triple Group 3 winner Hamish, who was runner-up to Kyprios in this year's Irish St Leger.

"We haven't made plans for her yet, but with her pedigree she has plenty of options. We were expecting to pay more for her so we are pleased to get her," added Curran.

A winner last year as a three-year-old for William Haggas, Super Proud was bought for 16,000gns by Midland Equine at the 2021 Autumn Horses In Training Sale and ran on 12 occasions in Ireland.

Calyx filly tops yearling section

The shrewd father and daughter team of Con and Amy Marnane were hunting for the final members of their breeze-up squad for next season and may have snapped up a bargain in the Calyx half-sister to Easton Angel at €30,000.

The filly from the first crop of Calyx that topped the yearling sectionCredit: Www.healyracing.ie

Consigned by Browne Brothers Bloodstock, the chestnut is a half-sister to the Listed Westow and Scurry Stakes winner by Dark Angel, who was also placed in the Queen Mary and Lowther Stakes for Michael Dods and is the dam of the Group 3-placed Galileo colt Lough Derg.

Con Marnane said: "We'll take her home and prepare her for the breeze-ups next spring. She has a gorgeous pedigree with black type under every dam on the page."

The family have been impressed by the Coventry Stakes-winning son of Kingman and have already been rewarded for their support of Coolmore's purchase from breeders Juddmonte.

"Calyx was unbelievable the day he won at Royal Ascot and we supported him with our own mares," added Amy Marnane. "We sold a colt by him out of Mia Divina to Andrew Balding at Book 2 for 145,000gns."

Statistics

The first renewal of the sale under the Sapphire moniker grossed just €600 shy of €600,000, which was the best figure since the 2017 Flat sale. At €5,994, the average price on Saturday fell by 13 points from €6,915 last year, which was the second highest average since the days of the Celtic Tiger.

Saturday's median of €4,000, a decline of 27 per cent on last year's figure, was still the third highest recorded at the sale in two decades. A total of 100 of the 184 horses offered were sold, which resulted in a clearance rate of 54 per cent, compared to 58 per cent last year.

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