€820,000 sale-topping sister to Sea The Moon makes eyecatching winning debut

Sea The Sky has plenty to live up to being a full-sister to German Derby winner and excellent young sire Sea The Moon, but the two-year-old made an impressive start when winning in cosy fashion at Chantilly on Tuesday.

Bred by Gestut Gorlsdorf, Sea The Sky sold to Gestut Ammerland for €820,000 at last year's BBAG September Yearling Sale, equalling the record for the sale set the previous year by another daughter of the Gilltown Stud superstar.

The Andre Fabre-trained youngster is the sixth foal out of the unraced Monsun mare Sanwa, who is in turn a full-sister to German Derby winners Samum and Schiaperelli as well as German Oaks winner Salve Regina.

Facing nine rivals on her debut over a mile on the Polytrack at Chantilly, and ridden by Maxime Guyon, Sea The Sky raced in midfield and was among those niggled early in the home straight. However, the filly knuckled down really well, showing a good attitude, and a bit of zip too to get to the front before being geared down by her rider.

She beat Al Wukair's daughter La Mehana by three-quarters of a length, but was value for a bit more, while Shadwell and Godolphin supplied the third and fourth, Tahasun and Pulcheria, in what might have been a reasonable race.

Sea The Moon also won on his sole start at two, before two Group-race wins the following year and then a bloodless 11-length triumph in the German Classic in 2014.

He retired to Lanwades Stud following a second to Ivanhowe in the Grosser Preis von Baden, and stands for a career-high fee of £22,500.

Sea The Moon: top-class performer and proven sireCredit: Lanwades Stud

The ten-year-old has made a good start to his second career, having sired nine individual Group winners and eight stakes scorers from 33 stakes performers overall.

These include the Niarchos family's hugely talented Coronation Stakes heroine Alpine Star, this season's Prix Eugene Adam scorer Pretty Tiger, and two German Group 2 winners in Quest The Moon and Wonderful Moon.

Sea The Moon and Sea The Sky are half-siblings to Sansiwa, a stakes-placed daughter of Dansili, while their dam produced a filly by Frankel this season. Sanwa returned to Sea The Stars earlier this year.

Read more

St Mark's Basilica stud fee set at €65,000 as he arrives at Coolmore

Archipenko's broodmare daughters and their role in Lanwades' annus mirabilis

Aga Khan's Erzindjan tops sale at €160,000 with Dubai Carnival mission ahead