Son of Starspangledbanner out of Pontefract maiden winner tops Hong Kong International Sale at £540,000

A Starspangledbanner gelding out of Pontefract maiden winner Wowcha returned the highest price at the 2024 Hong Kong International Sale at Sha Tin on Friday night, attracting a bid of HK$5.4 million (£541,837/€634,458).

Selling as lot 20, the final offering in the auction, the three-year-old was purchased by Cheung Kwok Wing. He had been acquired by the Hong Kong Jockey Club as a yearling at the Tattersalls October Sale for 550,000gns in 2022, when consigned by breeder Chasemore Farm.

Coolmore Stud's Starspangledbanner has enjoyed notable success in Hong Kong, courtesy of the Group 1-winning California Spangle, Beauty Eternal and the five-time winner Nordic Dragon, a recent graduate of this sale.

Wowcha, by Zoffany, was bred by Desert Star Phoenix and acquired by Chasemore at what was the DBS Premier Yearling Sale for £150,000 in 2014. She was at her best as a three-year-old for the John Quinn yard, getting off the mark at Pontefract and finishing runner-up four times subsequently.

So Wing Keung bought the next highest-priced lot, a son of Savabeel, whose progeny in Hong Kong includes the Group 2-winning Rattan, out of the New Approach mare Kona. He cost HK$4.2m. 

The son of Savabeel who went the way of So Wing KeungCredit: Hong Kong Jockey Club

Trainer Caspar Fownes was active and purchased two horses, a son of Per Incanto for HK$2.8m and an Australian-bred gelding by Dundeel for HK$3.5m.

Alan Kiang Ping Fai, who owns Gummy Gummy – a dual winner at Sha Tin last year – in partnership, secured a gelding by Deep Field out of Onemorezeta for HK$3.8m. 

Acclamation's six-time Group 1-winning son Romantic Warrior is the sale’s highest earner in history, with HK$127.07m in the bank, and his trainer Danny Shum purchased the only chestnut in the sale, by Deep Field out of the Pins mare Whistling Dixie, for HK$3.6m. 

The Kwok family landed the son of I Am Invincible out of Lipari – meaning he is a half-brother to the Group 1 winner Levendi – for HK$3m.

Yeung Kin Man, owner of BMW Hong Kong Derby entry Galaxy Patch, bought the first lot through the ring, by the recently retired Exceed And Excel, for HK$3m.

The next offering, a son of Starspangledbanner's studmate No Nay Never, went the way of Nikki Ng Mien Hua, who raced 2018 Hong Kong Classic Cup winner Singapore Sling, for HK$3.2m.

A total of 14 lots went under the hammer in the parade ring at Sha Tin on Friday nightCredit: Hong Kong Jockey Club

Danny Rolston of the Hong Kong Jockey Club said: “We have a lot of confidence in the horses we have offered and what we’re probably seeing is that when we bought these horses two years ago is that we were operating in a very intense yearling market, so we’ve bought these horses at the very top of the market and we’re seeing a softening in horse sales around the world, which we’ve seen tonight. We’ve also seen a softening in our wagering turnover and also in the local stock market.

“I think the story of the night is the sale has seen a bit of a drop in average, but with that comes an opportunity that we were able to give forward to our permit holders with some really nice horses.”

In all, the 14 lots produced turnover of HK$46,300,000 (£4,645,749/€5,439,891), with the average weighing in at HK$3,307,143 (£331,839/€388,564), which was down 31 per cent on 2023, and the median HK$3,200,000 (£321,088/€375,975), down 27 per cent year-on-year.

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