‘He’s by a proper young stallion’ - Pinatubo colt caps second Premier Sale session as £16 million traded in Doncaster

Godolphin’s buying team may have departed Doncaster on Wednesday but that didn’t stop the operation’s name appearing on the docket of the headline act at the second and concluding session of the Goffs Premier Yearling Sale. 

With Anthony Stroud and David Loder en route to Baden Baden for the BBAG Yearling Sale, Rabbah’s Jono Mills was on bidding duties and landed Longview Stud’s well-related Pinatubo colt at £180,000. 

“He’s been bought on behalf of Godolphin,” said Mills. “The buying team are currently on their way to Germany so I was talking to Anthony and David on the phone throughout the bidding. The team have all been here and looked at him and were very keen. He’s from a great farm, is a lovely individual and by a proper young stallion. Fingers crossed he’ll be a good racehorse.” 

Bred by Highview Bloodstock, the colt is out of the Listed-winning Fig Roll, making him a sibling to four winners, most notably Group 3 Prix d'Arenberg scorer Al Raya. That daughter of Siyouni set a Doncaster Breeze-Up Sale record when knocked down to Stroud at £450,000 in 2019. 

Pinatubo was unbeaten during a sensational juvenile season that included victories in the National and Dewhurst Stakes. He landed his third Group 1 in the Prix Jean Prat at three. The son of Shamardal retired to Dalham Hall Stud at a fee of £35,000 in 2021 and duly served a debut book of 151 mares. 

Jono Mills signs for Thursday's top lot on behalf of Godolphin

Bidding was fairly frenetic throughout the two sessions, particularly at the top of the market, and by the close of trade 355 lots had found a buyer for a healthy clearance rate of 86 per cent.

Those transactions yielded turnover of £16,262,000, a two per cent year-on-year increase despite eight fewer lots selling. The average price across the two sessions was £45,809, a four per cent increase, while the median held firm at £35,000. 

St Lawrence and co continue making waves

George Scott is hoping the Dark Angel brother to Juliet Capulet will be heading to his Newmarket base after an enthusiastic wave of his catalogue secured the youngster on behalf of Fawzi Nass’s Bahraini interests at £170,000. 

Oliver St Lawrence signed the docket for Yeomanstown Stud’s offering, after which the agent commented: “He was our pick of the day, I’m sure other people have theirs but he was ours. He’s a lovely colt and the mare has done well with Dark Angel. She’s virtually only ever gone to the one stallion. He looks like a readymade two-year-old who could get us to Ascot.” 

On the subject of training plans, St Lawrence added: “George is definitely trying to get him but we’ll take him home and work out what we’re going to do.” 

The colt is a full sibling to four winners. Group 2 Rockfel Stakes scorer Juliet Capulet is not the only talent among the quartet either, as the dam has also bred the Listed-placed Juliette Fair and high-class sprint handicapper Strike Red. 

Oliver St Lawrence (right) with George Scott and Fawzi Nass on ThursdayCredit: Sarah Farnsworth

The colt was St Lawrence’s third six-figure purchase at this year’s Premier Sale.

Reflecting on trade in Doncaster, the agent said: “There’s been lots of nice horses that have deserved to be making between £150,000 to £200,000. We’ve mostly been towards the top half of the draw and it’s been competitive. The top is strong across the world at the moment. There’s a real appetite from people who have money to spend and are happy buying a nice horse.” 

Later in the session Yeomanstown also sold an Australia filly to Mark McStay’s Avenue Bloodstock, Medallion Racing and Bawnmore in a private transaction worth £100,000. 

Tate’s Twilight purchase

The 28th and final six-figure lot of the two-day sale came close to the end of trading when James Tate saw off Anthony Bromley to secure Tally-Ho Stud’s Twilight Son colt at £160,000. 

The Cheveley Park Stud-bred youngster is out of the Listed-placed Invincible Spirit mare Ice Gala. He was making his second appearance at public auction, having brought 68,000gns from Tally-Ho at last year’s foal sales. 

“He’s an extremely good-looking colt,” said Tate. “Physically I thought he was probably the pick of the sale so let’s hope he’s the pick on the racecourse too. He’s bred on the same cross as Twilight Calls, and if he’s as good as him that would be great. He’s for an existing client.” 

Another agent who was busy towards the head of the market was Alex Elliott, with Wednesday’s haul headed by the £120,000 Mayson sister to Dance Diva from Manister House Stud. Elliott signed the ticket alongside Billy Jackson-Stops’ JS Bloodstock. 

Manister House Stud's Mayson sister to Listed winner Dance Diva sells to Alex Elliott and JS Bloodstock for £120,000 Credit: Sarah Farnsworth

“She’s been bought for a new partnership that Billy Jackson-Stops and I have put together,” said Elliott. “We’ve bought a couple of horses to go to George Scott and a couple to go to Andrew Balding. Potentially a couple might go to Ralph Beckett too.” 

He continued: “We’ve got two for George this week, a Mehmas colt who was early into the ring yesterday for £95,000, and this filly. She was both of our picks and the trainer loved her too, so she’s one we really wanted to have a go at. She’s a full-sister to a stakes horse and a beautiful physical. Hopefully she’ll have a bit of success next year.” 

Dual Listed scorer Dance Diva is the best of four winners out of Cheveley Park Stud homebred Dance East, who was sold on to Cormac McCormack for 30,000gns at the Tattersalls July Sale in 2021 when the six-figure Mayson filly was in utero. She was the first produce of the mare bred under the banner of Newstead Breeding. 

Elliott was unable to reveal the identity of the owners involved in the new partnership, but when asked if they would consider breeding from the Mayson filly in due course he said: “If she’s good enough. She’s always going to have that page and that physical, so if she stubs her toe she’s got some residual value.” 

The agent also shared his assessment of trade, saying: “I think it’s been a very fair market to buy horses. Goffs have done their usual great job and you can see from the turnout that everyone loves coming here. They put some good horses on show and vendors are getting rewarded if they bring the right horse.”

Aloha relation on her way to Stack

McCormack’s name also appeared on the docket of a Starspangledbanner filly later in the session. Bidding duties were entrusted to Mick Flanagan, who sealed the deal for Redpender Stud’s youngster at £115,000. 

“She’ll go into training with Fozzy Stack for a partnership,” said Flanagan. “She’s a nice filly by a very good stallion who’s popular in both hemispheres. He’s proven and gets both colts and fillies. She looked like a good filly up here.” 

Stack and Starspangledbanner have already combined to good effect with this family as the filly is the first foal out of Eye Smiling, an Equiano half-sister to the trainer’s Airlie Stud Stakes scorer Aloha Star. The Group 2-winning and Group 1-placed performer is also by Starspangledbanner. 

Another first-crop sire to enjoy a big result was Shadwell’s Mohaather, with Johnny McKeever and Charlie Hills striking at £105,000 for the filly out of Blue Geranium from Folland-Bowen Bloodstock. 

“She was sold on behalf of her breeder Jane Keir, our former landlord at Elkington Stud, and we’re delighted for her,” said Natalie Folland, who now operates out of Fonthill Stud near Salisbury with partner Matt Bowen. “She’s a very loyal client. When we left to set up at Fonthill Stud she said she’d close up and send her mares to us as she didn’t want anyone else looking after them.

Natalie Folland had a fine result with MohaatherCredit: Sarah Farnsworth

“The filly prepped beautifully and we thought she might make 40 or 50 thousand, but you never really know what you’ve got until you bring them to the sales. She’s been showing well all week; she’s never put a foot wrong. In fact, the more shows she did, the better she got.” 

Mohaather’s racing career was capped by success in the Group 1 Sussex Stakes, after which he retired to Nunnery Stud at a fee of £20,000. The son of Showcasing covered 146 mares in his debut season. 

Explaining the decision behind the mating, Folland said: “I chose Mohaather for Blue Geranium as I thought they’d be the perfect match on physique. Both the sire and the dam have an outstanding walk, and that’s what you’ve got to aim to produce, as that’s what people want to see when you get to the sales. We love selling at Doncaster, and that’s the second year in a row we’ve had a bit of a touch as we sold a Land Force colt here last year for £85,000.”

Cox proud of Angel connection

In winning two Group 1 sprints, Harry Angel didn’t just highlight Clive Cox’s talents as a trainer. He also showcased Cox’s renowned eye for future talent when he was bought as a yearling in Doncaster for £44,000 back in 2015. 

The story came full circle on Wednesday when Cox landed one of Harry Angel’s sons at the rather more significant sum of £100,000. Offered by Kildaragh Stud, the colt is the first foal out of Anna Of Lorraine, a Dutch Art half-sister to Dark Angel’s Group 3-winning daughter Dark Lady. 

“I’m pleased by the way Harry Angel is proving positive [as a sire] and I’m delighted we’ve secured a nice horse for Jason Goddard, who’s been a long-serving owner with us,” said Cox. “It’s a very exciting purchase. This colt was very pleasing to the eye and conducted himself well so we’re very pleased to have got him. 

“Harry Angel’s stock are looking very positive sales horses as well as racehorses, so we’re thrilled with how he's doing. He was just very quick but watching his progeny develop, he definitely stamps them with a lot of quality.” 

Clive Cox: "To see horses that you’ve trained developing into stallions of such regard is a source of real pride"Credit: Sarah Farnsworth

Harry Angel was not the only horse Cox trained who had progeny in this year’s Premier Yearling Sale, with Golden Horde, Kodi Bear and Profitable also represented in the catalogue. 

“It’s extremely exciting and fills me with great pride to see horses in the catalogue that I’ve trained,” said Cox. “It’s a wonderful feeling as it’s all very much a dream in the early stages. To see horses that you’ve trained developing into stallions of such regard is a source of real pride and I’m very proud that there’s seven horses standing in Europe that I trained.” 

Sumbe’s Golden Horde is the latest horse Cox trained whose yearlings have reached the market, and the Commonwealth Cup winner’s stock have caught the attention of some good judges on both sides of the Channel. 

“I haven’t got a Golden Horde yet and I’ve only seen the one so far as a lot of his offspring are in France, but he was the most amazing horse, just a wonderful horse to deal with in training,” said Cox. “He won the Commonwealth Cup as we all know, as well as the Richmond Stakes, so I’m very much looking forward to seeing his progeny as they come through.”

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