'She just looked to have a bit extra' - Shadwell make Doncaster comeback with £190,000 Minzaal filly

Shadwell rolled back the years to secure the £190,000 top lot during a strong opening session at the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale on Wednesday.

Although the outfit spent many years as a leading buyer at this particular event, Shadwell’s name has not appeared on a Doncaster docket since 2019. However, long-serving racing manager Angus Gold dusted off his bidding boots to secure a well-bred daughter of Minzaal on behalf of Sheikha Hissa’s operation. The purchase consigned agent Henry Lascelles to the role of frustrated underbidder.

The session-topping filly is from the debut crop of Minzaal, who carried the famous Shadwell silks to victory in the Group 1 Haydock Sprint Cup before taking up residence at Derrinstown Stud in Ireland.

“Obviously we like to support our stallions where we can and I came up here to have a good look at all the Minzaals,” said Gold. “We’ve got three at home which we like a lot and, like everybody, I was impressed with the foals last year. I’ve been impressed with what I’ve seen up here too but I thought this filly had a bit extra about her.

Angus Gold: "I thought this filly had a bit extra about her."

“She was as nice a filly as I saw here; she’s a lovely model with a great outlook on her and a very good mover. We’ll get her home and see where we go from there. She’s a good advertisement for the sire – if there’s a few more that look like her then he’ll have a real chance.”

Minzaal is not the only Shadwell stallion with his first yearlings hitting the market, with champion Baaeed also being represented by his debut crop. Gold understandably kept his cards close to his chest with regards future buying plans, but was evidently relishing seeing the stock of both stallions at the upcoming sales at Tattersalls.

“We’re not going to be buying huge numbers like the old days, obviously, but there’s a whole lot still to come from both Baaeed and Minzaal,” he said. “At the same time, we can’t only have yearlings by unproven horses so we’ve got to balance things. But if you see a filly like this, as I said, she just looked to have a bit extra. She could be a real advertisement for the sire so it’s nice to get her in those colours.”

The filly is out of Listed-winning Hateya, a daughter of Footstepsinthesand bought by Hugo Merry for 70,000gns in December 2020. The youngster was consigned by Merry’s partner Jane Allison of Manor Farm in Wiltshire.

Hugo Merry: "It's great to see the Sheikha back in business"

“I bought the mare as a maiden, and she got off to a bad start by producing a not very attractive first foal,” said Merry. “This was a beautiful filly all the way through, though. I like Minzaal and I like using Derrinstown stallions. We bred Anisette by Awtaad, who won three Grade 1s in America, and I use him still every year.

"The dam is one of six mares owned in a partnership by myself, Jane Allison and a man called Jose Morera, and it's called the Morera Partnership. We bred together Anisette and Making Dreams, a good filly by Make Believe.”

Merry added: “It's great to see the Sheikha back in business, and I'm delighted for Angus as he's a pal of mine. We go back a long way!”

Although a smaller offering meant turnover was always liable to fall, all other market metrics showed a healthy set of returns. The average price rose by 12 per cent year-on-year to £45,326, while the median went up by 13 points to £34,000. Aggregate sales reached £7,796,000, just a six per cent drop despite 43 fewer yearlings (18 per cent) coming under the hammer. The clearance rate was a rock-solid 87 per cent as 172 sold from 198 offered.

Bromley gets busy

Shadwell may have secured the top lot but no buyer was busier in Doncaster than Anthony Bromley. The Highflyer man was primarily recruiting for Phil Cunningham’s Rebel Racing outfit, with six purchases made for an outlay of £717,000.

Three of the team’s priciest pickups came within a matter of seven lots. First came a Starman filly out of a half-sister to Cornwallis Stakes scorer Electric Waves who fetched £125,000 when presented by Galbertstown Stables.

The very next lot into the ring, Bearstone Stud’s Showcasing half-brother to Group 3-winning sprinter Washington Heights, fetched £180,000 after Billy Jackson-Stops had been consigned to the role of underbidder.

Expanding on the back-to-back six-figure brace, Bromley said: “We’ve kept our powder dry for most of the day. We bought two early on, a Sioux Nation filly for £70,000 and a Space Traveller colt for £52,000, but the Starman filly was one of our picks of the sale.

“She’d actually been picked out by Phil Cunningham snr, she was the only one he highlighted on pedigree, and after we came and looked at her we actually gave her a five star rating. She’s a really smashing filly. Rebel Racing already have a nice Starman filly called Gold Digger who won at Yarmouth and was a good sixth in the Albany. The ground was a bit quick for her that day but she’s still going to be a nice filly. Starman needs very little introduction because he’s doing fantastically.”

Anthony Bromley: by far the busiest buyer in Doncaster

Bromley continued: “We expected to have a bit of opposition on her so we weren’t totally surprised at the figure she made. It definitely surprised me how much the Showcasing colt made, although I think he deserved it because he’s a very athletic, scopey horse. We loved him and wanted to take him home but it was definitely more than I expected to pay for him.

“This is a sale for smaller horses, but when you get a nice scopey one they really stand out. Billy pushed us very hard but Phil was on the phone and didn’t want to get beat. He comes from a great nursery, I love buying from Bearstone. I’ve hardly bought a horse from them that hasn’t won. The most famous one is Bradsell, who came from Newmarket. They’ve been great breeders for many years and Terry Holdcroft and the team there are very straightforward to deal with. I’m pleased that a nice English stud has had a good sale.”

Bromley was back in business just five lots after securing the £180,000 Showcasing colt when bidding £140,000 for the son of Perfect Power out of the Listed-winning Excelette. The half-brother to dual Listed scorer Well Done Fox was another offered by Bearstone Stud.

The £180,000 half-brother to Washington Heights

Reflecting on a productive period of selling, stud manager Mark Pennell said: “That’s a great result, we were expecting about half of what they’ve made. You never really know, but we knew we had some nice horses here. They were precocious types and we chose this sale because it’s early and it’s fresh in the season, people are keen, people aren’t bored of sales.

“We’ve never had more shows, during the first two hours on the first morning we did 175 shows, so the staff are all very tired, but they’ve worked hard and hopefully it’s paid off.”

Having secured 12 lots for a range of clients at a combined spend of £836,000, Bromley was ideally placed to assess the state of trade.

“I’d say it took a little bit of time to get going but it’s been quite a healthy market with plenty of bidders at all levels,” he said. “I bid for eight horses in the first 50 lots and got seven. Then, the next nine I bid for I was underbidder on seven or eight. I’ve got these two but I’ve had to give big money for them. I think there’s some nice horses tomorrow too.”

Bond back in business

The £180,000 mark was hit for the first time when agent Jason Kelly snared the Havana Grey filly out of Cotai Beauty from Ashbrooke Stud. The youngster, who was bred by Whitsbury Manor Stud, was a €55,000 pinhook from last year’s Goffs November Foal Sale.

“She’s for Bond Thoroughbreds to go to Bryan Smart,” said Kelly. “They have a long history together, they’ve had a lot of success with sharp two-year-olds, so hopefully she’ll be the next one. Bryan was on the ground working hard and he loved her so he’s very happy to have her.”

The Havana Grey filly brings £180,000 from Jason Kelly

Asked to expand on the filly’s appeal, Kelly said: “The stallion is the main thing but she just looks like a good, racy filly; tough and strong. Obviously we had to give plenty to get her but the stallion is exceptional. That price is a bit stronger than we’d hoped to go but that’s the way the market is at the moment. The ones you like, everyone’s on.”

The Bond Thoroughbreds operation, which is headed up by Charlie Bond, son of the late Reg Bond, has been in good form on the track of late. Recent acquisition Maranoa Charlie was a keeping-on third in the newly minted Group 1 City Of York Stakes during the Ebor meeting, where Air Force One, Big Leader and Pocklington also reached the frame.

“It’s exciting times for the whole project,” said Kelly. “Charlie really enjoys his racing, especially local runners, so it’ll be nice to have some sharp two-year-olds in Britain next season. He keeps a keen eye on pedigrees and is heavily involved himself. He loves the game so hopefully we can have some luck for him.”

The transaction provided the County Durham-based Ashbrooke Stud team of Alice O'Brien and Bradley Wood with their best ever result.

Alice O'Brien and Bradley Wood with their Havana Grey filly

“That's our first six-figure lot, we've gone close a few times but not quite made it, so we're over the moon,” said Wood. “We were surprised she made that much, but coming into the sale we knew we’d get well paid to a degree. It's just the way of the world at the moment that you don’t know what the market will be like.

“She’d been vetted seven times, and she had some powerhouse names on her like Alex Elliott, Billy Jackson-Stops and George Scott. It's nice when you've got the right people on them, it makes the job a lot easier.”

Hughsie rides again

Group 1-winning trainer Richard Hughes harked back to his riding days when bidding £175,000 for the Blue Point filly out of Fig Roll from Longview Stud. The youngster is a sibling to five winners, most notably Group 3 scorer Al Raya, while the dam is out of the St Hugh’s Stakes scorer Cake.

“It's a great family that I know well,” said Hughes. “I rode both Fig Roll and Cake, and other relations down the years. They’re all very small, and I think this is almost the biggest one I've seen.

“She has loads of quality and looks very fast. She should be early, I'd like to think she could be a Queen Mary filly, hopefully we'll be going to Royal Ascot with her. I had a client there that said he’d go to a certain figure but I've just gone over that so I hope he still has her! But I don’t mind owning her on spec if need be.”

By the close of play, Hughes and agent Ted Durcan had signed for five lots for a combined outlay of £384,000. Despite bending the budget on the Blue Point filly, the trainer said he felt trade was proving even for buyers and sellers alike.

Richard Hughes is all smiles after signing for the Blue Point filly

“It's fair trade, not bonkers,” he said. “If you like one you’ve got a good chance of getting it. You might have to pay five or ten thousand more but not fifty-thousand more, which is nice.”

Earlier in the day Hughes went to £90,000 for a filly from the debut crop of Coolmore’s Blackbeard from Manister House Stud. The son of No Nay Never showed his share of personality as well as precocity during a juvenile campaign that included wins in the Prix Morny and Middle Park Stakes.

“Blackbeard’s exciting, hopefully he makes it,” said Hughes. “She had a good nature, and I liked her demeanour. I was a bit worried to see what she might do when she came into the ring, as the sire had his antics, but I actually don’t mind that too much. A lot of good racehorses have a little bit of a kink in them, that’s what makes them brilliant.

“She was straightforward anyway. She's a nice model, looks fast, has a bit of a pedigree and she's from a good outfit so she ticked all the boxes. I had hoped I might get her for £75,000 to £80,000 and we had to work hard to get her, but when I really like them I don’t mind going a bit extra.”

Kent bags ‘quality’ Starman filly

The progeny of flying first-season sire Starman were, predictably, in high demand, particularly his daughters. Trainer TJ Kent was among the buyers after he went to £130,000 for a filly out of the Group 3 Prix d’Arenberg winner Corazon from Tally-Ho Stud.

“She’s just quality all the way through, and she has a great page,” said the Newmarket-based handler, who signed the name Rabbah Bloodstock on the docket. “She’s for Mohammed Al Suboosi, who has horses in the yard already.”

Tally-Ho's Starman has sired 21 European winners in his first crop, including four who have struck in Group company. His leading light is the unbeaten Venetian Sun who took her record to four from four in the Group 1 Prix Morny.

McStay on the mark

A sizeable delegation from Coolmore had been working the sales grounds and that led to Mark McStay being instructed to buy a Sioux Nation filly with a black type-rich pedigree at £120,000. The youngster, who was consigned by Owenstown Stud, was bought on behalf of MV Magnier.

“She’s a particularly nice filly from an excellent nursery in Owenstown, who’ve bred so many fast fillies over the years,” said McStay. “She was really well presented and Sioux Nation is a sire very much on the up. He should be on everybody’s radar. I happened to point this filly out to some of the Coolmore team, who I think we’re already on her, and they asked me to bid on MV’s behalf.

“I thought she was definitely one of the nicest individuals here in the sale and she’s from a great family. The stallion just keeps getting black type performers and personally he’s been lucky for me. I bought a good horse called Letsbefrankaboutit who won a Group 3 a couple of years ago and a nice filly [City Of Memphis] that ran well in the Irish 1,000 Guineas.”

Cox collects early

Doncaster regular Clive Cox stepped up to sign for the first six-figure lot of the session when bidding £100,000 for the No Nay Never colt out of Zain Art from Camas Park Stud. The colt is a sibling to three winners, most notably Aloha Star, winner of the Group 2 Airlie Stud Stakes and third behind Lucky Vega in the Phoenix Stakes.

“It’s always good to strike early,” said Cox. “I thought he was a nice colt, so I’m pleased to get him. I’ve had a couple of No Nay Nevers over the years, he’s obviously well able to get a nice horse, and this fella really caught the eye. He looks sharp enough for me, there’s a lot of speed on the page.”

Clive Cox signs for Camas Park Stud's No Nay Never colt out of Zain Art for £100,000

Clive Cox signs for Camas Park Stud's No Nay Never colt out of Zain Art at £100,000Credit: Sarah Farnsworth

Cox has won the last three runnings of the Harry's Half Million sales race at York, striking most recently with Song Of The Clyde just last week. He added of his latest recruit: “He could be one for Harry’s Half Million, there’s a lot of prize-money on offer.”

Zain Art, a daughter of Excellent Art whose pedigree goes back to names like Galiway and Gold Away, joined the Camas Park broodmare band when she topped the 2020 Goffs November Breeding Stock Sale at €390,000 in the afterglow of Aloha Star’s exploits.

The Premier Sale continues on Thursday at 10am.