Aidan O'Brien set to unleash 925,000gns Kodiac filly at Naas

Aidan O'Brien is on Monday set to take the wraps off the two-year-old filly who is the most expensive yearling by her sire Kodiac to have sold at auction – having cost more than double the next dearest.

Fairyland was bought by Coolmore and Mayfair Speculators for 925,000gns from the draft of her breeder Tally-Ho Stud at Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale.

She is declared for the Coolmore and EBF-sponsored fillies' maiden over six furlongs at Naas (1.40).

The previous best price for a Kodiac yearling was 460,000gns, given by Flaxman Stables for the subsequently unplaced Thrilled at the same sale three years earlier.

View the racecard for the 1.40 at Naas

Fairyland's record-busting price came in the season that Tally-Ho Stud's rags-to-riches sire Kodiac set a new benchmark for number of two-year-old winners in a single crop with a jaw-dropping 61 by the end of December.

Known as a fine source of juveniles and sprinters, Kodiac also revealed a new aspect to his brilliance as sons Best Solution and Danehill Kodiac emerged as high-class middle-distance performers in 2017.

Fairyland's pedigree also holds significant appeal on the distaff side as she is a half-sister to Now Or Never (rechristened Now Or Later in Australia), who finished third in the Irish 1,000 Guineas and fourth in the Coronation Stakes for Michael O'Callaghan before taking the Group 2 Blazer Stakes at Flemington for Robert Smerdon.

Fairyland and Now Or Never are out of Queenofthefairies, an unraced Pivotal half-sister to the brilliant sprinter Dream Ahead. The dam was bought by Tally-Ho Stud for just 32,000gns in the season that Dream Ahead was about to show his hand as a fine talent.

Fairyland, one of three newcomers in the race for O'Brien, is the mount of Ryan Moore.

Donnacha O'Brien, fresh from 2,000 Guineas victory aboard Saxon Warrior, gets the leg up on Gossamer Wings, a Scat Daddy half-sister to Secretariat Stakes third Laureate Conductor bought by Coolmore for $500,000 at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale.

Seamie Heffernan meanwhile has been paired with Coral Beach, a Zoffany half-sister to German Oaks third Amona who was a 90,000gns Tattersalls October Book 2 buy.

However, the Ballydoyle battalions might have their work cut out against Mater Matuta, a daughter of Dawn Approach who was a short-head second on debut for Jim Bolger and Godolphin at Navan last month.

Daddy of them all

The late Scat Daddy – whose penultimate crop yielded Saturday's impressive Kentucky Derby hero Justify – also holds a strong hand in the other two-year-old race at Naas on Monday, the 6f Irish Stallion Farms EBF Race (2.10).

Ger Lyons sends out California Daddy for his debut in the contest. The brother to sprint winner Conquest Slayer will carry the colours of Howard Y S Liang after being bought by Asian Bloodstock Services for $325,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Yearling Sale.

View the racecard for the 2.10 at Naas

The Aidan O'Brien-trained Van Beethoven – a Scat Daddy colt out of a sister to the dam of three-time US Grade 1 winner Stopchargingmaria – finished third on debut at Newmarket last month and looks set to start a short-price favourite.

Two of the other four opponents to California Daddy and Van Beethoven in the race are debutants by Scat Daddy's freshman sire son No Nay Never – North Wind, a stablemate to Van Beethoven, and Parkers Hill, trained by Johnny Murtagh for Paul Smith after being bought at Book 2 by MV Magnier for 50,000gns.