'Every year at this sale we buy solid horses that go on to win races' – Zelzal colt leads the way at Osarus after €45,000 transaction

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Marseille-based Christophe Escuder was among the busiest buyers on day one of the Osarus Yearling Sale and his purchases were led by the session-topping colt by Zelzal.

Currently fifth in this year’s French trainers’ standings on prize-money, and second behind only Francis Graffard on individual winners, the prolific Escuder added to his stable with a handful of signings at La Teste racecourse headed by the €45,000 representative from Haras de Castillon as lot 79.

The late April-born colt has encouraging signs in his immediate family, with two siblings having already claimed black type. His dam Moonlight In Paris was twice a runner at this very venue for Jean-Claude Rouget 11 years ago and was second in the Group 3 Prix de Lieury over a mile at Deauville.

Her progeny to date include Bellaciaociao, who was twice Listed placed, and Czajkowski, a runner-up in the Group 3 Prix du Conde.

“He is very well-bred and has a good temperament,” Escuder said. “I have worked with Haras de Castillon before; I know the horses are well-raised there. He was well-presented. There's nothing to fault.

Lot 79, Haras de Castillon’s Zelzal colt out of Moonlight In Paris, was bought by Christophe EscuderCredit: Zuzanna Lupa

“Generally, every year at this sale, we buy solid horses that go on to win races. So, we’re going to try to keep that going!"

The colt was among a handful of more significant signings, by the traditional standards of this sale, towards the end of the session. A €40,000 Van Beethoven filly already named Candelia (86) was bought from Haras du Saz by FR Bloodstock and is expected to head to Christophe Ferland.

Armor-plated recommendation

Irish pinhookers made their presence felt in South-West France with the purchase of one of the more sought-after lots to come under the hammer. 

It was former breeze-up consignor-turned-trainer Diego Dias who was on bidding duties for Gary de Souza's Gary Bloodstock to secure a colt by Armor (63) for €38,000, having saddled one of the Haras de Bouquetot sire's early trailblazers at Longchamp last week.

The Kildare-based Brazilian has already won a juvenile Listed race at the Curragh this season with Armor Supreme, who was a close third in the Prix d'Arenberg.

Dias recommended the first foal out of Wootton Bassett mare Maiti offered by Haras de Grandcamp, who is from the distant family of smart miler and sire Diamond Green.

"I bought him on behalf of Gary Bloodstock, so he's probably going back to breeze," Dias said. “It was because I trained Armor Supreme, Gary asked me what I thought of the horse, I thought he looked very straightforward and looked sharp. I think he's bought a nice horse.

Irish-based trainer Diego Dias was on buying duties in FranceCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

"I think Armor looks a good stallion, he can bring a bit of speed into the horses and [Armor Supreme] has a good mind as well.”

It was the first time Dias had attended the Osarus Sale and he was also searching for new residents for his own stable.

"It's a long way but you've got to try to go anywhere there's nice horses," he said. "I bought another one cheaply enough and I've got a couple more on the list."

Dias had sympathy for his former colleagues in the breeze-up profession, many of whom are licking their wounds from a difficult time offering their two-year-olds in the spring in a bearish market. He envisaged many will tighten their spending accordingly this autumn.

"Last year the yearling sales were very strong and most of the pinhooks haven't done very well coming back with them at the breeze-ups, so I think they'll probably try to buy a little more cheaply," he said.

De Watrigant reaches for the Moon again

Nicolas de Watrigant reaffirmed his support for promising new sire Thunder Moon as he reached €30,000 for a filly whose page he was already well acquainted with.

The agent who trades as Mandore International seemed enthusiastic about one of the first crop of runners by Joseph O'Brien's National Stakes winner in the shape of Moondance, a filly he purchased for €51,000 at last year's Arqana v2 event for US client Michael Kisber, who owns her in partnership with Omar Ghrghar.

She was Thunder Moon's first winner and first runner at Le Mans in April and has performed well in hotter contests since.

The Castillon-offered filly appeared early in the piece as lot 3. She is distantly related to the 2009 Irish 1,000 Guineas winner Again as well as sire and Prix de la Foret winner Aclaim.

Nicolas de Watrigant was back for another of Thunder Moon’s progenyCredit: Zuzanna Lupa

"I know the family a bit, I bought the second dam [Iltemas, by Galileo], for Al Shaqab and was in training with Francois Rohaut, a nice mare," De Watrigant said.

"This filly was a very good individual physically and I love the sire, we've been lucky in that last year we bought one who became Moondance, who is a stakes filly now and is going to run in the Prix Eclipse [on September 19], hopefully she'll run well because she's a filly we want to target the Breeders' Cup with.

"So we're back again and I've bought another nice Thunder Moon for the same owner, Mr Kisber. I think he's a good sire, he's got small numbers of horses and he's doing well.”

Thunder Moon, who switched from Bouquetot to Benoit Jeffroy’s newly-founded Castillon Stallions this year and was standing at a reasonable price of €5,000, has made an impressive start. From 14 runners he has six winners, with Moondance one of two to have earned black type placings.

Skyridge provides perfect advert

While the average and median were tracking healthily above last year at the half-way stage, organisers had the added bonus of a graduate who epitomised the best of last year's catalogue strutting their stuff across country during the course of the afternoon.

Skyridge, a Goken two-year-old on the up, won the Criterium de Lyon, having been picked up by his trainer Nicolas Perret here for just €26,000.

Marta Kubicka, who works alongside the legendary agent Gerard Larrieu as Chantilly Bloodstock, got in on the action for the only representative by Mishriff in the catalogue (32).

These are the first progeny of the hard-as-iron world traveller, who missed his debut 2023 season at Sumbe's Montfort et Preaux. Kubicka snapped up the third foal out of dual-winning Wootton Bassett mare Kalani, for €26,000.

The Osarus Yearling Sale opened up on the track at La Teste racecourse on Tuesday

"Mishriff is a horse I liked as a racehorse and I've been following his progeny at the sales," she said. 

"When you buy a horse by a first-season sire, it can be a risk and, for smaller clients especially, there is a bit of time to wait, but I have liked the individuals I have seen by Mishriff physically. He's the first one I've bought and he's going to stay in France."

Trainer Anastasia Wattel was pushed harder than she imagined for a son of the local hero Dabirsim, whose racing career began on this very track back in 2011 before he went on to major league juvenile glory in Deauville and Longchamp.

Her €27,000 purchase (51) is the third foal out of the hard-knocking Myboycharlie mare Lilly Kafeine, placed at Group 3 level in a long career.

"Some Irish bidders came quite late, I was hard to get her!" Wattel said. “I liked the mother, she was a good filly, and I thought this was a nice type of horse, I liked his head and he comes from a good breeder [Haras de Buff]."

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