Furthur takes flight for Waldgeist with Leger emerging as a target for 58,000gns purchase

It looked as if it was a case of the Furthur the better at Newbury with Andrew Balding's grey emerging as a legitimate Classic contender for his sire Waldgeist in the Highclere Thoroughbred Racing Geoffrey Freer Stakes.

This Group 3, an all-aged affair but a St Leger trial in parallel, represented the first Pattern-race victory to date in the career of the decorated Waldgeist, who has just concluded his first season standing at Gestut Lunzen in Lower Saxony.

Furthur, whose previous victory was in a maiden at the same track in the spring, was not one of the stallion's three other previous stakes winners, but holds the highest Racing Post Rating of any of his three crops of racing age. He had finished a very game second to Carmers in the Queen's Vase at Royal Ascot.

Waldgeist, a son of Galileo bred and raced in a partnership between Gestut Ammerland and Newsells Park, is from a fabled family. His dam, the Prix Penelope winner Waldlerche, has produced two other Group winners and is a Monsun half-sister to the 2011 St Leger hero Masked Marvel. Waldlerche's Dubawi filly has been engaged by Newsells Park as lot 508 of this year's Tattersalls October Yearling Sale Book 1.

Successful in the Criterium de Saint-Cloud as a two-year-old and a narrow runner-up to Brametot in the Prix du Jockey Club at three, Waldgeist was ultimately the party-pooper for the hat-trick seeking Enable in the 2019 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. He spent his first five seasons at Ballylinch Stud in Ireland before returning to his German roots at a reduced fee of €6,000.

His total of 46 winners from 132 individual runners worldwide include Forest Fairy, winner of last year's Cheshire Oaks for Ralph Beckett and seventh in the Classic at Epsom.

Furthur is looking a snip at 58,000gns when knocked down to Balding at Tattersalls Book 2 from the Motherway family's TDM Bloodstock as his career earnings have already passed £140,000 and his entry in the Leger means his delighted collection of owners can begin to dream.

Zahrann: winner of the Royal Whip Stakes under Ben Coen

Zahrann initiated a quick Group-race double for Night Of ThunderCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

The purchase was very much a collective one with connections deferring the credit to Tattersalls associate director Jason Singh, who tries to find one staying-bred yearling each autumn and syndicates it among a collection of friends and industry associates as The Merry Pranksters, many of whom were present.

He is the tenth foal from what has been a productive sequence for his breeder Max Morris out of Danamight, a 15-times raced maiden by Danetime who is closely related to the Group 1 winner and champion British and Irish sire Danehill Dancer.

Danamight's daughters have already produced Abernant Stakes winner Garrus and top-notch juvenile-turned Tally-Ho sire Persian Force.

This year's leader in the sire standings, Night Of Thunder, is much less of a stranger to big-race success. Indeed, he produced a double of new Group winners within the space of ten minutes. First came the Aga Khan Studs' Zahrann, who built upon his fine second in the King Edward VII Stakes by grinding out the Newbridge Silverware Royal Whip Stakes at the Curragh.

The Visit Malta Hungerford Stakes represented More Thunder's first attempt outside handicap company but the Bunbury Cup winner is starting to look like a proper sprinter-miler in the making in his defining performance to date. It is a big bonus for Corduff Stud, which consigns More Thunder's Saxon Warrior half-brother at Book 2 in October. This colt was bought by Blandford Bloodstock on behalf of Saeed Suhail for €270,000 at the 2022 Goffs Orby Sale.

Night Of Thunder, seemingly at the peak of his powers for Kildangan Stud, is now up to 35 individual Group winners.

Furthur takes flight for Waldgeist with Leger emerging as a target for 58,000gns purchase

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