Frankel half-sister to Sea The Moon sells for €550,000 at Goffs November Sale

A Frankel half-sister to German Derby hero and Lanwades Stud stallion Sea The Moon proved the headline act on day three of the Goffs November Foal Sale on Wednesday when selling to Juddmonte Farms for €550,000.

An opening bid of €100,000 suggested the filly was in a different league to the other foals on offer, and Barry Mahon, general manager of Juddmonte Ireland and European racing, was duly forced to push the price from €500,000 to €550,000 in one fell swoop to seal the deal.

"It's an outstanding pedigree with Group 1 horses throughout," said Mahon. "Obviously she's by Frankel, who's the champion stallion this year, and is an outstanding physical, she's been very well prepared by Newtown Stud. She's just a lovely filly that Prince Khalid's family were very keen to acquire.

"It's not too often that a filly of this calibre comes on the market so the family were keen to add a filly with such an outstanding pedigree to the broodmare band. Hopefully she'll join the broodmare band in time and go on to breed good horses of her own."

While Juddmonte's public auction purchases have tended to be few and far between, the operation has been a notable presence at sales on both sides of the Atlantic in recent months.

They secured the $1.7 million Nay Lady Nay at Fasig-Tipton earlier in the month, and also took home a 800,000gns Dubawi filly from Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale.

Banstead Manor Stud resident Frankel has enjoyed a sensational season on the track and will soon be crowned champion sire of Britain and Ireland for the first time, an accolade that doubtless contributed to his fee rising from £175,000 to £200,000 for 2022.

Mahon added: "Frankel has had a phenomenal season. He's been threatening to deliver something like this for a while now and the stars aligned this year. It's been great to see."

Lot 652: the Frankel filly out of Sanwa sells for €550,000Credit: Peter Mooney

The filly was offered by Newtown Stud on behalf of breeders Niko Lafrentz and Heike Bischoff of Gestut Gorlsdorf, who bred the filly from Sanwa, a Monsun sister to Group 1 winners Schiaparelli and Salve Regina. The mare has not only bred Sea The Moon and his stakes-placed half-sister Sansiwa, but has also enjoyed some stunning results in the sales ring.

Last year a sister to Sea The Moon topped the BBAG Yearling Sale when bought by Gestut Ammerland at €820,000. Since named Sea The Sky, the daughter of Sea The Stars made a winning debut for Andre Fabre at Chantilly earlier in the month.

"I nearly cried!" said an emotional Bischoff. "I will save my tears for the first time she enters the racecourse though. It's great to have Juddmonte buy her, they're such lucky owners and it's fantastic to have part of the family with them.

"Of course you'd love to keep such a fabulous filly but the stud has to earn some money, so if the price came to more than half a million then we had to part. I'm very happy with the result though.

"Cathy [Grassick, Newtown Stud] is doing a brilliant job with the horses and they have a lovely stud farm and are very well cared for there. Normally I don't sell foals but she was a foal share so we had to part. Bringing the filly here seemed the obvious thing to do because Cathy is only ten minutes away from Goffs."

The stallion career of Gestut Gorlsdorf's homebred Sea The Moon continues to go from strength to strength at Kirsten Rausing's Lanwades Stud, with the Group 1 winner-producing stallion set to stand for a career-high fee of £25,000 in 2022.

"Sea The Moon is oversubscribed so we can really pick which good mares are coming to him," said Bischoff. "This season was his best book and the lovely thing was that the Queen sent two mares to him.

"I was so honoured and so happy about that. The Aga Khan is using him too, so it really is the best breeders using him now. I'm really looking forward to his coming foals."

The Frankel filly was the most expensive of 162 foals who found a new home on Wednesday, with the premier session of the November Foal Sale generating a clearance rate of 82 per cent.

In turn, those transactions brought turnover of €11,756,000, a 13 per cent year-on-year increase, an average of €72,568, which was down by six per cent, and a median of €52,000, which was on par with last year.

Woods eyes pedigree updates with €270,000 pinhook

High-rolling pinhookers continued to dominate the upper echelons of the market, including Frannie Woods of Abbeylands Farm who gave €270,000 for the Sea The Stars colt out of Newton's Angel offered by Jockey Hall Stud.

The colt is the second foal out of the unraced daughter of Dark Angel, meaning the first dam is free of black type. However, Woods said he was hopeful of some pedigree updates in the coming year as a number of near relatives had sold for big money in recent times, including the full-sibling who made 170,000gns to Bridlewood Farm and Madaket Stables at Book 1.

Lot 623: the Sea The Stars colt out of Newton's Angel sells for €270,000Credit: Peter Mooney

"He's a lovely colt and he's for resale next year," said Woods. "We've been trying to buy a Sea The Stars for a few years now and we finally got one. I'd like to have had him a little bit cheaper, of course, and the family needs to improve a bit as it's a little light up top but if things fall into place he could be well bought for a big sale next year.

"The relatives all seem to be in the right place so we'll just hope for a bit of luck. That's what these good colts are costing now; the market seems strong and there's nice stock out there so you just have to get stuck in if you want to play at that level. We didn't have that many yearlings but we had a good year with the ones we pinhooked. It's all about luck though."

Clarke family dreams realised with Sea The Stars colt

While there were plenty of hard-nosed commercial decisions being made as pinhookers continued to restock for next year, the foal sales represent the culmination of months, if not years, of hard work for those selling.

No vendor seemed more delighted with the fruits of their labour than the Clarke family of Wardstown Stud, who saw their Sea The Stars colt out of Holda go the way of Camas Park Stud's Timmy Hyde at €270,000.

"I've dreamt of this moment for a long time," said Mark Clarke after he had finished leading up duties. "I've always wanted to breed a top horse for the sales ring and that day is finally here. It's a very special moment, especially to have all the family here.

"Obviously he was bred on a foal share, so I'm fully aware of the finances, but when it got to €210,000, then €220,000, I was thinking this is just great. But to go beyond a quarter of a million, it was into an area I've never been before. It's a lovely feeling."

Mark Clarke shows Wardstown Stud's Sea The Stars colt out of HoldaCredit: Peter Mooney

Holda, a Ballymacoll Stud-bred daughter of Docksider, is one of just 13 mares residing at Wardstown in Athboy, County Meath, and is best known as the dam of EP Taylor Stakes heroine Blond Me.

Her Sea The Stars colt has the rare distinction of boasting a top-level winner under each of his first three dams, as Holda is a half-sister to Mackinnon Stakes victor Glass Harmonium, while the third dam bred Conduit, a champion three-year-old in Europe and a dual winner of the Breeders' Cup Turf for Ballymacoll Stud.

Holda has been a fine servant for the Clarkes since she joined the Wardstown broodmare band at a cost of just 30,000gns in 2006, with Blond Me one of four winners.

Clarke added of the Sea The Stars colt: "He's a lovely horse and I think he'll make up into a lovely yearling and has a chance of being a serious racehorse; he has all the right attributes as he's by a phenomenal stallion and out of a very good broodmare.

"Holda is still with us and we also have a daughter of hers called My Brunette. It's a wonderful family and what I like about it is that it's a Group 1 taproot, because of that you can rely on it to produce good horses. She's barren at the moment but we have several options for next year's covering and she'd be desirable for a range of stallions."

O'Leary secures Frankel colt

Eddie O'Leary of Lynn Lodge Stud got in on the action when going to €210,000 for the Frankel colt out of Noyelles offered by Neilstown Stud, agent for breeders Nick Nugent and his wife Alice.

"He's by a very, very good sire and is a very, very nice horse, so hopefully he'll be lucky next year," said O'Leary. "Frankels are hard horses to pinhook."

Noyelles, another daughter of Docksider, has been the gift that keeps on giving since she was purchased by Alice Nugent for €22,000 at Arqana in 2007.

Not only have her four successful daughters included the Group 3-winning Lily's Angel and the Listed-winning Zurigha, but her offspring have fetched €1.281 million in the Goffs ring alone.

Sole Kingman sells for €200,000

The catalogue contained just one lot by Kingman, and the colt out of Majestic Silver from Moyglare Stud went the way of Mick Flanagan, acting on behalf of Baroda Stud, at €200,000.

The dam boasts a perfect record with her seven previous foals all having won, including dual Group 3 scorer Carla Bianca, the Listed-winning Joailliere and the Beresford Stakes runner-up True Solitaire.

"He's a lovely colt with a great pedigree who'll come back for resale next year," said Baroda Stud's David Cox, before adding with a grin. "Where hopefully he'll make three times what we paid for him!"

He added: "He's a great moving horse with loads of quality and he's only an April foal so I can see him doing well over the winter. I think he'll make a lovely yearling so we'll look forward to selling him next year. We've had a few Kingmans before, I thought he had a bit more substance to him than the others I've had, so fingers crossed it goes the right way."

With Baroda Stud also offering a strong draft of foals as well as pinhooking for next year's yearling sales, Cox was well placed to assess the state of trade.

He said: "It's very strong. Obviously we're selling as well and we're getting a good clearance rate. The guys who are buying are telling me they're struggling to buy, so that's always a good sign."

Another lot to fetch €200,000 was the New Bay colt out of Queen Mary Stakes third Hairy Rocket. Offered by The Castlebridge Consignment, the half-brother to smart two-year-old The Acropolis was signed for by WH Bloodstock.

"We loved him from the minute we saw him and he's by a stallion we're huge fans of," said WH Bloodstock's Mimi Wadham. "I think he's one of the nicest New Bays I've ever seen at the foal sales. He's got a lovely active pedigree with a lot of sharp types in there and a really good temperament too.

"We went back and saw him a few times and he gave a fantastic show each time. We're thrilled to get him and we're looking forward to reoffering him next year. He's been bought in partnership with Grove Stud."

Manning moves for Waldgeist filly

There has been a real buzz around the debut crop of foals by Ballylinch Stud's Arc-winning resident Waldgeist, and a blue-blooded filly bred by Swordlestown Little saw a six-figure clash between Clare Manning of Boherguy Stud and David Redvers, with the former winning out at €180,000.

The filly is out of Ezalli, a Listed-placed Cape Cross half-sister to Ezima, who is best known as the dam of Shadwell's Oaks and King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes heroine Taghrooda.

Manning, a daughter of Classic-winning jockey Kevin and wife Una, confirmed that the filly had been bought as a long-term racing and breeding prospect for her grandfather Jim Bolger, who saddled Ezima to win three Listed races in the colours of Mary McDonald.

"She's a lovely model with a great walk and obviously it's a smashing page," said Manning. "It's a family that's hard to get into so it's nice to get her. Obviously this is the sire's first crop of foals but they seem to be really nice individuals and she's got plenty of broodmare potential in the future too, so she'll be one to race and then add to the broodmare band in time.

Des Leadon, Ella Moylan and Mariann Klay with Swordlestown Little's Waldgeist filly out of EzalliCredit: Peter Mooney

"We had Ezima, she was a nice filly and then went on to produce Taghrooda, so it's a page we know a bit about already. We didn't own Ezima though so it's nice to have something from the family of our own."

There is real depth to the filly's page, as Prince Faisal's stakes winners Tammani and Solomon's Bay also appear beneath the second dam, while further back it is the Aga Khan family responsible for producing the likes of Ebadiyla and Estimate.

Waldgeist, a son of Galileo, stood his debut season at Ballylinch at a fee of €17,500. By the close of trade on Wednesday eight of his foals had sold at Goffs for an average price of €58,688.

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