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Nicconi colt catches Noblet’s eye.

Andrew Noblet said the $370,000 he had to stretch to to take home a colt by Nicconi (Bianconi) was more than he had expected to have to pay, but was very happy to be taking home the Newhaven Park-consigned colt back to his Victorian stable. 

Catalogued as , Lot 377 the colt is out of two-time winning Danehill Dancer (Danehill) mare Poison Ivy, making him a half-brother to Listed winner Lotion (Good Journey) and this is a family Noblet knows well with the trainer having saddled the colt's other half-sister, Indigo Lass (High Chaparral), to two wins, but she died last year. 

Further back the pedigree is littered with stakes winners, including Grade 1 winner McKinzie (Street Sense), Grade 2 winner Runaway Model (Petionville) and Grade 3-winning quartet Sea Ditty (Afleet), M B Sea (Alphabet Song), Saham (Lemon Drop Kid), Southern Honey (Colonel John). Meanwhile this is also the family of Listed winners Ghost Story (Silver Ghost), Ticket To Houston (Houston). 

"I trained the half-sister Indigo Lass who I had a big opinion of, but unfortunately she died late last year," Noblet said.

"She was a beautiful, athletic filly and he is a great moving colt and I know the family quite well.

"Indigo Lass was very slight - she was by High Chaparral and very much in that mould - while he's got some similarities to her but he is just all quality." 

Danehill Dancer (Danehill) has proved himself a top-class broodmare sire with his daughters producing 116 stakes winners, headlined by ten elite-level performers including this seasons VRC Oaks (Gr 1, 2500m) winner Miami Bound (Reliable Man) and Doomben 10,000 (Gr 1, 1350m) winner Music Magnate (Written Tycoon).  

Newhaven Park's John Kelly said he was very pleased with the way the yearling was received by the buyers. 

"I couldn't have been happier," said Kelly. "He sold fantastically well. We're thrilled he made that price. Nobby [Noblet] trained the half-sister who he thought was very good so it's great that he's shown the faith in the mare and the family and the farm to come back and buy him.

"The sale, it's been very good. We had a pretty wet start to it yesterday but it's fined up today and it's been excellent, we really couldn't be happier. Inglis' have done a wonderful job providing a good market under difficult circumstances."

Newhaven have sold 17 yearlings over the past two days for an aggregate of $1,735,000, while their average is $194,167.