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‘We’re taking a chance but hopefully he’ll be lucky’ - meet the intriguing unknown stallion son of Dubawi with lots to offer

Aisling Crowe speaks to Clive Brazil of Gurteen Stud ahead of the two-day Goffs February Sale

The well-bred Dubawi stallion Sassofortino at Gurteen Stud in County Offaly
The well-bred Dubawi stallion Sassofortino at Gurteen Stud in County OffalyCredit: Gurteen Stud

Familiar names, their stallion careers long established or their racecourse exploits as fresh in the memory as last summer's holiday, dominate the stallion indices at the beginning of the catalogue for the Goffs February Sale which takes place over the next two days.

However, there is one sire, whose name crops up in two separate lists, who is a little more of a mystery, with his moniker memorable but unrecognisable. Not quite a Rumsfeldian 'known unknown', perhaps closer to an 'unknown known', nor quite sure from whence the familiarity of the richly Italian sounding word rings.

Sassofortino, a beautiful remnant of the Renaissance in the Tuscan hills, was the inspiration for the naming of a now six-year-old stallion who was bred by Eva-Maria Bucher-Haefner's Moyglare Stud but resides at Gurteen Stud in Killeigh, County Offaly.

The son of Dubawi appears as the sire of a pair of youngsters who are early lots on both days of the sale: a two-year-old filly (lot 8) from New Approach Investments and a weanling colt (215) consigned by the Brazil family's Offaly farm.

So how did this beautifully bred stallion with a name that recalls olive groves, chestnut trees and trattoria come to stand at Gurteen Stud?

It all comes back to the Irish midlands, as Clive Brazil explains.

"David Mooney of Treascon Stud mentioned to my father [Donal] that this horse was available, so we went and had a look at him, really liked him and decided to take him on," he says.

It was a pivotal decision as the Killeigh farm is also home to the regally bred Urban Poet, a Dynaformer half-brother to Pulpit who was knocked down to John Ferguson for $2.9 million at Keeneland in 2007. 

As it transpired, Urban Poet possessed unlimited stamina, finishing third to Harbinger in the Group 3 Gordon Stakes for Mark Johnston on just his second start and winning the 2m2f Phil Bull Trophy at Pontefract for Saeed bin Suroor.

Covering mainly the Brazil family's own mares and a handful of outside mares, it was make your mind up time as to whether to continue with a stallion or change tack. The emergence of Sassofortino convinced them to keep going.

"Urban Poet was 16 at the time and he's been with us since 2011 but we weren't sure what to do, then Sassofortino arrived and we said we'd give it another go," Brazil says of the importance of the grey stallion.  

"We're not a big outfit, we have only a few mares ourselves but we thought we might as well cover them with our own stallion instead of going outside to other farms and stallions. We're taking a chance but hopefully he'll be lucky."

Although unraced, Sassofortino certainly has DNA worth imparting.

Queen Of Colour's first foal by Sassofortino is this filly, the full-sister to Lot 215
Queen Of Colour's first foal by Sassofortino is this filly, the full-sister to Lot 215Credit: Gurteen Stud

His sire Dubawi has emerged like a stream bubbling up from limestone hills as the source of a mighty river of stallion sons.

The name at the head of his matrilineal line is Aptostar, victorious in the Grade 1 Acorn Stakes of 1988 and purchased by the late Walter Haefner for $750,000 at Fasig-Tipton's 'Night of the Stars' sale a year later. The daughter of Fappiano was sent to Sadler's Wells and the resulting foal was In Anticipation, who was an ordinary enough talent on the track, winning two of her four starts, but as a broodmare became a matriarch.

In Anticipation's best runner is Irresistible Jewel, a daughter of Danehill and successful in the Ribblesdale and Blandford Stakes, and runner-up in the Prix de l'Opera for Dermot Weld. She in turn is the dam of Tommy Carmody's Irish St Leger winner Royal Diamond.

Her daughter by Indian Ridge, Mad About You, was a Group 3 winner and placed four times at the highest level, and is the dam of last year's Grade 1 Takamatsunomiya Kinen winner Mad Cool.

Princess Highway, Irresistible Jewel's daughter by Street Cry, emulated her dam in winning the Ribblesdale and was also third in the Irish Oaks. However, it is Diamond Trim, the Listed Finale Stakes winner and Highest Honor half-sister to Irresistible Jewel, who is of more importance here.

A five-time winner, her best runner was triple Group 3-winning stayer Profound Beauty, who was also runner-up in the Irish St Leger and is the dam of Dubawi's Listed Heritage and Platinum Stakes winner Rose De Pierre.

In an echo of her ancestors, it is an unraced daughter of Diamond Trim who has transpired to be the most influential broodmare. Majestic Silver is by Linamix and has a perfect strike-rate with her seven runners. 

Her Dubawi daughter Joailliere was a Listed winner and has produced Moyglare's 2022 Irish 1,000 Guineas heroine Homeless Songs and Reve De Vol, winner of the Listed Orby Stakes.

Majestic Silver foaled Dansili filly Carla Bianca in 2011 and she went on to win the Group 3 Dance Design Stakes, named for Moyglare's 1996 Irish Oaks principal, and the Group 3 Meld Stakes, in addition to a pair of Listed contests.

She is the dam of the Listed-placed Emilie Gray, who is a full-sister to Sassofortino.

Homeless Songs: winner of the 2022 Irish 1,000 Guineas
Homeless Songs: winner of the 2022 Irish 1,000 GuineasCredit: Patrick McCann

Moyglare consigns two weanling colts themselves at Goffs on Thursday. One is by Blue Point and is the second foal out of Tina Angelina (266), a winning full-sister to Carla Bianca.

With his Linamix colouring, Sassofortino has seven juveniles registered, covered four mares in 2023 and just two last year as the Brazil family like to rest their young mares to give them time.

Both of Sassofortino's progeny at Goffs this week were bred by the Brazils in Offaly and are out of mares who are homebred half-sisters, from a family that has scaled new peaks in recent years.

The bay filly consigned by New Approach Investments is the second foal out of Poeta Amore, a daughter of Urban Poet, and her Excelebration half-sister Queen Of Colours is the dam of the grey weanling colt, also a second foal.

Both young mares are half-sisters of Tullius, who was successful at Group 2 level in the York Stakes and Sandown Mile and in Group 3 company in the Diomed and Sovereign Stakes. Also winner of three Listed races for Andrew Balding and Kennet Valley Thoroughbreds, the son of Le Vie Dei Colori was second in the Lockinge to Olympic Glory.

The last of his seven black-type victories came as an eight-year-old, when he defeated subsequent multiple Group 1 winner Decorated Knight at Epsom.

Tullius's year-younger Verglas half-sister Maglietta Fina is the dam of Emma Banks' beloved Nassau Stakes winner Lady Bowthorpe and Group 2 Greenlands Stakes winner and Prix de la Foret third Speak In Colours.

Nassau Stakes heroine Lady Bowthorpe and her colt by Dubawi
Nassau Stakes heroine Lady Bowthorpe and her colt by DubawiCredit: Jason Bax

"We were lucky to get their dam Whipped Queen when Tullius was a three-year-old, before he had won any of his Group races," says Brazil. "He was bought by Kennet Valley at the end of his three-year-old season and sent to Andrew Balding. He kicked on from there and that really lit up the page for us."

Poeta Amore's first foal is a three-year-old Kuroshio colt named Surf On Jamie and he too was bought by New Approach Investments, who acquired his half-sister privately from her breeders, while Queen Of Colours' first foal has been retained by Donal Brazil to go into training.

"Queen Of Colours hurt her neck as a weanling, which is why she never raced, but we kept her to breed from because the family really came good," says Clive Brazil. "Her first foal is a two-year-old filly by Sassofortino and she is going well and is being broken at the moment."

Poeta Amore is in foal to Marie's Diamond, while Queen Of Colours was rested last year but is likely to reconnect with Sassofortino this spring.

He may not be a familiar name but Sassofortino is certainly no longer a known unknown.


Goffs February Sale Factfile

Where Kildare Paddocks, Kill, County Kildare

When Wednesday from 11am, Thursday from 10am

Last year's stats From 370 lots offered, 239 sold (65 per cent) for turnover of €3,082,400 (down 29 per cent year-on-year), an average price of €12,898 (down 19 per cent) and a median of €8,000 (down 11 per cent)

Notable graduates Sonshi (sold by Shadwell, bought by Abbeylands Farm for €125,000); Alburno (sold by Oghill House Stud, bought by Yeomanstown Stud for €35,000); Ostraka (sold by Conyngham Lodge Stables, bought by Liam Clarke Bloodstock for €9,000); Amade (sold by Ringfort Stud, bought by Jamie Railton for €80,000); Bolthole (sold by Glenspring Farm, bought by Hegarty Bloodstock for €12,000); Honky Tonk Highway (sold by Thistletown Stud, bought by Jason Higgins for €24,000); Walnut Beach (sold by The Cottage Stud, bought by BBA Ireland for €11,000)


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