Italian Derby winner Molveno a delight for Chasemore Farm

Book 3 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale has proven a highly fruitful hunting ground for buyers of Chasemore Farm-consigned horses. 

Cheveley Park Stakes heroine Lezoo is the team's standout at the sale to date, having sold to Hamish Macauley for 77,000gns in 2021, although their recent Italian Derby winner Molveno is not far behind after his Group 2 win at Capannelle.

The son of Almanzor had been bought for a modest sum of 32,000gns by Enrica Baragiola Sagam at Park Paddocks in 2023, although he has earned just over £240,000 in his career to date. The three-year-old won on his third outing at Kempton in December for Marco Botti and kept in Britain until relatively recently, a decision that has led to Classic success. 

On that Italian Derby win, Chasemore Farm's manager Conroy said: "We were watching, although I think they called the wrong winner - I thought I was following the right one and when they called the other one we thought 'agh'. But I was pretty sure number ten was Molveno. 

"I think since 2017 we've bred a Pattern winner in every crop and we only breed 25-30 a year so we're very happy with that."

Molveno is a half-brother to the smart Acclamation gelding Zero Carbon, being out of the Dubawi mare Clotilde, a three-time winner for William Knight and third in the Listed Midsummer Stakes at Windsor. As fate would have it, Clotilde sold for 10,000gns at last year's Tattersalls December Mares Sale, a few months before her son picked up his first Group success. 

Jack Conroy: "We were really happy with that"Credit: Laura Green

Conroy said of the colt: "He was a bit narrow in front and behind, he wasn't overly big but he was a nice model. He didn't have an expansive walk, that's the problem with that family with Clotilde and her dam Mary Boleyn, they were always on their toes and never really walked so they never really got you any sales returns.

"He was a nice enough physical and in fairness we've sold some nice horses in Book 3, Lezoo and now him. The mare started to have a few fertility issues and we sold her barren last year. The plan was to take her half-sister, Waxing Gibbous, to Australia last year and she's had one run down there recently. She should be very good down there over middle distances.

"We've also got Clotilde's daughter by Havana Grey who is a yearling and one we'll retain. She's a nice model and isn't too big, more like the sire which should bode well considering how he's doing."

The countdown to the yearling sales is now under way and Chasemore Farm's draft looks set to contain a number of well-bred individuals. Andrew and Jane Black, owners of the Surrey stud, could send a number of fillies to auction alongside the usual colts. 

Conroy added: "We've got a really nice bunch, particularly fillies, and it'll be up to Andrew and Jane [Black] to decide. We've got quite a few horses in training and a lot of young mares, it's hard for us to let fillies go but they might be tempted to sell a few from our nicer mares to help everything pay.

"There's a very, very nice Kingman filly out of a mare called Madame Zeroni, who is a Frankel half-sister to [Gimcrack Stakes winner] Noble Style. The mare never made the track herself but very early doors I said her filly was the nicest first foal I'd ever seen, she was beautiful from day one. If she went to sale she'd probably be our star, while we've also got a lovely New Bay colt out of Boomer - hopefully Pride Of Arras can win the Derby for him!"

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