‘I don’t know if it’s more important that she wins the Oaks or becomes the granddam of the Derby winner’ - Sea The Stars filly brings €600,000 in Baden-Baden

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An impeccably bred Sea The Stars filly out of the Group 3-winning Soldier Hollow mare Sconset, whose only previous foal is this year’s Schwarzgold-Rennen scorer Santa Catarina, led the way at the BBAG Yearling Sale in a baking hot Baden-Baden on Friday when bought by Jeremy Brummitt for €600,000.

Suzanne Roberts was the underbidder on the attractive bay, who has already been named Saxifraga by her breeder and consignor Gestut Ebbesloh.

“She’s for Newsells Park Racing Syndicate 27, which is an enterprise to race horses in the hope that they can go to the top level, win a Classic and be retired to Newsells and breed the next generation of Classic winners,” said Brummitt, who has signed for top-notchers Tamfana and Lazy Griff in previous editions of Germany’s premier yearling sale.

“I told [the Newsells team] that this is the only horse that would fulfil their requirements. I liked that she's from a Classic German family with staying roots and that the dam won over a mile at Group level and bred a Group winner over a mile by Zarak, who isn’t an influence for speed. 

“When you have Sea The Stars, who is the best stallion available to breeders, and a mare who produces horses who are Group-class over a mile, can you think of a better way to breed an Oaks winner?

Jeremy Brummitt: "I like that she’s from a Classic German family"Credit: BBAG

“I don’t know whether it’s more important that she wins the Oaks or becomes the granddam of the Derby winner, but most people will know what I think. Nothing is more dear to my heart than trying to buy the dams of Classic horses.”

The transaction provided Gestut Ebbesloh with the perfect way to celebrate its 100th year of operation. The farm, based near Bielefeld, was founded by Richard Kaselowsky in 1926 and is now run by his granddaughter Ingeborg von Schubert and her son Paul.

“That’s a record for an unraced horse for us,” said Paul. “We expected something like that, as we sold another Sea The Stars filly for half a million some years ago, but of course you never really know what the market will be like.”

Ebbesloh’s previous big-selling daughter of Sea The Stars, sold at BBAG by Ronald Rauscher for €500,000 in 2016, was Enchanting Skies, a half-sister to Group 1 hero Empoli who was Listed-placed herself and produced last year’s Challenge Stakes winner Beauvatier.

Gestut Ebbesloh team pictured with the €600,000 Sea The Stars fillyCredit: BBAG

Regarding Saxifraga, Von Schubert added: “We acquired her granddam [Sine Tempore] from Schlenderhan. She was by Monsun and from a lovely Aga Khan Studs family. She gave us Sconset, who won a Group 3 and produced a Group 3 winner as her first foal, so we thought this filly must have a good chance of selling well.

“We’re very relieved that it all went well. She was bred on a foal share and so I’m happy that she made a good price as you always want to be a good business partner.

“Sconset has no foal but she’s in foal to Fantastic Moon, who stands with us. This is the 100th year of Gestut Ebbesloh’s existence, so it’s all the more satisfying.”

A good day for Ebbesloh got even better when it sold a Farhh full-brother to this year’s Group 2 Hansa-Preis winner Global Health to Brummitt again, this time sitting in the front row beside colourful owner Clive Washbourn, for €280,000.

Washbourn is known for his exuberant celebrations, both in the sales-ring and on the track, but he really surpassed himself after the hammer fell, springing to his feet to strut in front of the auditorium while pumping his fist and professing his love for Baden-Baden, causing auctioneer Daniel Delius to pause for a few minutes. 

“He’s so beautiful,” said Washbourn outside the ring, after he had come back down to earth a little. “He’s going to Georgie Scott. George sourced us Bay City Roller, who we sold, so we owed him another nice horse. I phoned him this morning and said, ‘I think we’ve found one for you, mate’.

“But, otherwise, what we’re really trying to do is buy nice fillies, and they’re going to Ralph Beckett."

Washbourn apologised for his performance in the sales-ring, even though the locals had lapped it up, giving him a round of applause.

“Sorry, I was probably too loud in there," he added sotto voce, before quickly switching back to fortissimo. "But come on! Up the Chels!”

Clive Washbourn gets animated in the BBAG ring after purchasing a Farhh colt for €280,000Credit: Martin Stevens

Ebbesloh had yet another touch when it sold a Sea The Moon half-sister to German 2,000 Guineas runner-up Dhitjari out of the Group 3-placed Areion mare Democracy to Ross Doyle for €200,000.

Doyle revealed that the purchase represented the next generation of an enduring trainer-agent partnership.

“She’s for Jan-Erik Neuroth, who trains in Norway, and she'll be owned by Stall Perlen, a long-time client,” he said. “My father Peter and Jan-Erik’s father Wido worked the sale together for many years, and this is mine and Jan-Erik’s first time doing the same. 

“The filly reminded us of Nouvelle Lune, another Sea The Moon filly who came from here and was a champion in Scandinavia for Wido, so hopefully lightning will strike twice.”

Neuroth jnr added: “I just loved the way she looks, her movement and her pedigree, but mostly the way she looks. The idea is that she will run in our fillies’ Classic races in Scandinavia, and she might even go to the German Oaks if she’s good enough.”

Bente and Magne Jordanger’s Stall Perlen also played at the top of the market at last month’s Arqana August Yearling Sale, giving €800,000 for a Wootton Bassett colt out of Irish 1,000 Guineas and Irish Oaks third Just Pretending through Doyle.

“Stall Perlen have their own stallion in Denmark, the German Derby fourth Appel Au Maitre, and he breeds very well,” explained Neuroth jnr. “They also have some lovely mares, including Nouvelle Lune, whose first foal [Nouvelle Fleur] I trained to run fourth in the Norwegian Derby this year.”

A Juddmonte first

Juddmonte made its first-ever purchase at BBAG when it gave €460,000 for one of the clear picks in the catalogue – Gestut Rottgen’s Frankel colt out of blue-hen mare Wellenspiel, the dam of two Deutsches Derby winners in Windstoss and Weltstar.

Juddmonte’s nominations manager Shane Horan, who did the bidding, said: “We’ve worked with Rottgen for quite a few years now and I contacted them about Wellenspiel a few years ago.

"She ended up coming to Banstead Manor Stud with her high-class daughter Well Disposed, with Wellenspiel going to Frankel and Well Disposed going to Kingman.

“The Kingman filly out of Well Disposed sold for 625,000gns last year, which was a great result. She was the only foal bought by Godolphin last year, I believe. She really was beautiful and we wouldn’t have minded owning her either.

“Rottgen waited a year to sell the Frankel colt out of Wellenspiel. He’s a fine horse. Simon Mockridge [Juddmonte general manager] was here earlier this week and had a good look at him, and liked what he saw, and hopefully he’ll prove to be well bought.

Shane Horan: 'Rottgen waited a year to sell the Frankel colt out of Wellenspiel. He’s a fine horse'Credit: Alisha Meeder

“Wellenspiel has a serious page, this is a proper Classic family, and so she deserved to go to a stallion like Frankel. She’s a complete outcross to Frankel and one thing we’ve learned is that Frankel is especially effective with outcross mares. Something like half of his Classic winners are bred that way.”

Wellenspiel, a dual winner but without black type, is a true daughter of Gestut Rottgen as she is by the Cologne operation’s homebred top-class middle-distance performer Sternkonig and out of its homebred champion two-year-old filly Well Known, making her a half-sister to its Group 1 winner Well Made. 

She has been a remarkable success as a broodmare for Rottgen, whose founders the Mulhens family gave the world the famous 4711 eau de cologne, as not only were her first two foals the back-to-back Deutsches Derby heroes Windstoss and Weltstar, but she also later produced the Group 3-winning racemares Well Disposed and Weltbeste.

Marnane buys up

Amy Marnane, better known for her pinhooking exploits, was busy buying in Baden-Baden for an end-user for a change.

Accompanied by her breeze-up legend father Con and trainer uncle David, she signed for several lots on behalf of Northern Ireland-based Paul Rooney – not to be confused with the former owner of My Dream Boat and Willoughby Court – including a striking Baaeed half-brother to Derby Italiano victor Goldenas at €210,000.

“He was our pick of the sale,” said Amy Marnane of the Gestut Fahrhof-bred and consigned colt. “He's been bought for Paul Rooney, an owner of David’s. He and his father were very much involved in selecting him. 

“That was absolutely our last bid, we had to stretch to get him, but we thought he was just a real quality colt. He had everything: he vetted well and we think the sire is going to go from strength to strength, we’re very excited by him. 

Amy Marnane signed for several lots including a Baaeed colt at €210,000Credit: Laura Green

“We bought a horse for him here last year called Moliere, by The Grey Gatsby. He was beaten a neck at Dundalk by a well fancied Ballydoyle colt by Gun Runner and out of Campanelle [Ile De France], so he’s obviously very promising. Hopefully this guy turns out to be a talented racehorse as well.

“You have to really admire Paul's enthusiasm for the game. It’s his passion, he loves his racing and he’s such a good person to deal with. He tells us exactly what he wants and we try to find it. He’s very involved. We have to thank him so much for his trust in us.”

This year’s BBAG Yearling Sale drew a large international crowd, including many other owners, trainers and agents from Britain and Ireland. William Haggas, who was sitting with Brummitt when the top lot was sold, was making his debut at the auction.

Among the other British and Irish entities on the scoresheet were:

• Dan Astbury, who signed for four lots including a Japan colt out of the Group 2-placed Dalakhani mare Wilddrossel on behalf of Michael Bell for €67,000.

• Andrew Balding, who sent out Nakila Sun, a son of Torquator Tasso bought at this sale last year for just €8,000, to win a Windsor novice stakes last month. He bought, with Richard Venn and Paola Beacco, three lots – colts by Nerium, Sea The Moon and Phoenix Of Spain for €24,000, €24,000 and €15,000 respectively.

• Dennis Coakley, who bought a filly each by Cracksman and City Light for €75,000 and €55,000.

• Alex Elliott, acting for Ralph Beckett, who teamed up with Rock In Japan, a €36,000 purchase at last year’s sale who won a Salisbury novice stakes on debut on Thursday. They bought three lots this time, including a Torquator Tasso colt out of a Gleneagles half-sister to Melbourne Cup hero Rekindling for €110,000.

• Roderic Kavanagh’s Glending Stables, which secured a Blue Point half-brother to Group 3 winner Armira for €155,000 and something more out of leftfield, a colt by Waldpfad, for €24,000.

• Luke Lillingston, who bought a Nathaniel colt out of a winning Sea The Stars half-sister to Prix Chloe winner Tariyana for Kennet Valley for €80,000.

• Joseph O’Brien and Anthony Bromley of Highflyer Bloodstock, who together bought three lots – a Palace Pier half-brother to Listed winner Raposa for €85,000 and two colts and a filly by Torquator Tasso for prices ranging between €70,000 and €47,000.

• Freddy Tylicki, who signed for two lots – a half-brother to stakes-placed Suffrage and Vigatata from the first crop of Onesto for €75,000 and a Japan colt from the family of Preis der Diana winner Palmas on behalf of Tim Easterby for €22,000.

The visitors’ expenditure contributed to total turnover of €9,316,000, up by 15 per cent last year, but with 16 more lots sold than in 2025, the average dipped by around one per cent to €55,124. The clearance rate improved by four points to 81 per cent.

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