Reina Madre breaking through for owner Leopoldo Fernandez Pujals

Leopoldo Fernandez Pujals has caused quite a stir in sales rings over the last couple of years, with the Cuban-born entrepreneur making a string of ambitious foal and broodmare purchases as part of a long-term aim to build a leading breeding empire.

It looks as if the spree has already unearthed a star in his adopted homeland of Spain, with Kingman filly Reina Madre making a striking winning debut for the owner's racing operation, Yeguada Centurion, in Madrid last weekend.

The half-sister to winning pair Baydar and Aktabantay was the €350,000 top lot of the 2018 Goffs November Foal Sale. With Spain's royal family dogged by controversy in recent months, the performance of a juvenile whose name translates as Queen Mother can be considered a sliver of good regal news.