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Godolphin continue spending spree at Tattersalls

Having spent 7,220,000gns on the first of Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale on Tuesday, Godolphin picked up the pace on the second day of the Europe’s premier sale, buying nine yearlings for an aggregate of 5,480,000gns and the first seven figure lot of the day came when Anthony Stroud fought off fierce competition to buy a Dubawi (Dubai Millennium) colt out of Group 1-winning Fastnet Rock (Danehill) mare Intricately for 1,100,000gns.

Catalogued as Lot 225 and offered for sale by John and Jake Warren’s Highclere Stud - who picked up the Intricately for 1,700,000gns at the 2017 Tattersalls December Mares Sale on behalf of breeders Mike and Michelle Morris.

By Coolmore Stud shuttler Fastnet Rock, Intricately won two races, headlined by a victory in the Moyglare Stud Stakes (Gr 1, 7f) as a two-year-old and this colt is her first foal. 

The colt’s third dam is Offshore Boom (Be My Guest), who in turn produced multiple elite level winner and now successful Coolmore Stud stallion Rock Of Gibraltar (Danehill), while she is also the grandam of Group 3 scorer Precious Gem (Sadler’s Wells). 

Further back this is the same family as 2008 Hobart Cup (Gr 3, 2400m) winner Offenbach (Danehill) and Spanish Whisper (Lope De Vega), who won the A. V. Kewney Stakes (Gr 2, 1400m) in 2019. 

"It is very exciting, I am absolutely thrilled for the Morris's,” said Highclere Stud’s Lady Carolyn Warren. “They stepped up and bought a fantastic mare and she has really repaid them today. He is a gorgeous colt and has been since the day he was born, he has the most fantastic temperament. I am thrilled for the breeders and everyone."

Her son Jake Warren, who selected the mare in 2017 with his father John, said: "It is a real group affair, a lot of team work is involved in this. Mike and Michelle bought the mare, she is a beautiful quality mare. She has a stallion in her pedigree, she was a Group 1 two-year-old winner, she is by one of the best stallions in the world, and she is an outstanding looker. She had everything as a broodmare, which is why we stepped up to buy her then. And she has done nothing but please us since. It is testament to that, and to the efforts by stud manager Rachel Spindlow and the staff at Highclere.

"It was the intention through this process to be playing at this end of the table, and thank you very much to Anthony Stroud for buying him. I want to say thank you to him and the underbidder – he is a fantastic horse, and it was wonderful that two people valued him to such a level."

Intricately foaled another colt by Dubawi this year and she is now in-foal to Juddmonte Farms’ stallion Kingman (Invincible Spirit).

"He really was as good a first foal as you would wish to see," said Warren. "She has got a colt foal who is equally as good who might be coming back here next year and she is in-foal to Kingman. Down the line some of the progeny might be kept to race, but the mare owes a few quid so she needs to clear the balance sheet first. And she needs to produce a filly.”

Earlier in the day, Sheikh Mohammed’s operation made another play for another son of their superstar stallion, forking out 800,000gns for a yearling from Nicolas Jones’ Coln Valley Stud draft. 

Catalogued as Lot 186, the colt is out of the winning Galileo (Sadler’s Wells) mare Great And Small, who is herself the daughter of Group 3-placed Gryada (Shirley Heights) - the dam of ten winners headed by multiple Group 1 winner and ill-fated sire Fame And Glory (Montjeu). 

Gryada is also the grandam of three-time Group 1 winner Legatissimo (Danehill Dancer), Group 3 scorer Gravitation (Galileo) and Greatwood (Manduro), who won twice at Listed level in Australia.

Jones admitted to being nervous before the colt entered the ring: “I am delighted, it is a nerve-wracking game this – in that three minutes is the only revenue for the stud in 365 days, that's the one time we only have cash in rather than cash out.”

Great And Small has foal by Dubawi at foot and is currently in foal to Bated Breath (Dansili) and Jones was quick to pay tribute to Gryada. 

"She died a few years back, she was quite old when I bought her, but she produced these lovely fillies for me. She was bred by Lord Howard de Walden and was a wonderful broodmare."

Later on in the afternoon, Godolphin made their presence felt again, snapping up a colt by Ballylinch Stud-based sire Lope De Vega (Shamardal) for 900,000gns, after Anthony Stroud came out on top of a lively bidding battle with David Redvers. 

Offered as part of the Hillwood Stud draft and catalogued as Lot 320, the colt is out of French Listed-winning Teofilo (Galileo) mare Moi Meme, making him a brother to one winner, while other brother King Vega provided a timely update when finishing second in the Solario Stakes (Gr 3, 7f) in August.  

The colt’s second dam is Prix Chloe (Gr 3, 1800m) winner Di Moi Oui (Warning), whose nine winners are headed by Listed winner Toi Et Moi (Galileo). 

Further afield this is the same family as Italian Group 3 winners Gimmy (Lomitas) and Stay Alive (Iffraaj) and Listed winner Being Alive (Champs Elysees), while Less Is More (Beat Hollow), who won the 2013 Premier’s Cup (Listed, 1800m), also features on the page. 

Hillwood’s Charlie Vigors could not hide his excitement after the sale.

"It is beyond our wildest dreams to get a result like that,” said Vigors.

"We put what we thought was a sensible reserve on him as we knew we'd have lots of interest in him, and you could see from the live bids around the ring that there were plenty of people on him. There were plenty in up to the 400,000gns-500,000gns and we were hoping to fetch in that range. That is the beauty of public auction, isn't it, when two people then lock on.

"The mare has a lovely Lope De Vega filly on the ground and she is back in-foal to him again," said Vigors. "She has been married to him because the first ones were so nice. I don't think there is a much better sire to be married to at the moment – he is one of the top young sires around . We picked him out as a sire 'on the up' a few years ago and these were bred off a €60,000 nomination, and he has gone up to €100,000 now. You need pay days like this to keep going back to him!"

Wednesday’s purchases now Godolphin’s total aggregate for the first two days of Book 1 to 12,700,000gns on 17 yearlings.