INTERNATIONAL FEATURE
DECEMBER 3, 2013
Dancing Rain sells for 4 million guineas
by Emma Berry and Kelsey Riley
In front of a ring packed to bursting point, the dual classic winner Dancing
Rain (Danehill Dancer) became the 4 million-guineas topper of the first session
of the Tattersalls December Mares’ Sale, and will join Sheikh Mohammed’s
broodmare band after being bought with a single bid from Darley supremo John
Ferguson.
Despite the crush of onlookers, only the sound of the Oaks (Eng-G1) winner’s
hooves could be heard above the hushed solicitation of auctioneer Edmond Mahony
as he challenged the crowd for an opening bid for Lot No. 1533. Grant
Pritchard-Gordon obliged at 2 million guineas, with David Minton and Pinar Araci
quickly joining the fray. Araci, taking telephone instruction and sitting with
Rob Speers, appeared to have won the day until Ferguson emerged in his favored
spot in the gangway to land the deciding play.
“We haven’t bought mares at public auction for a while, but at the end of the
day, Sheikh Mohammed felt that this was one that ridiculous expression that
ticks all the boxes,” said Ferguson of the Clairemont Stud-consigned mare who
the first in the United Kingdom to be offered in foal to Frankel.
The first-day appearance of Dancing Rain — who, at 4 milllion guineas,
became the second-highest broodmare ever sold in Europe behind Magical Romance
at 4.6 million guineas – -created a 64 percent rise in the turnover of
18,693,000gns. With 203 of the 246 lots offered sold for a 2 percent climb in
clearance rate to 83 percent, the median and average were also boosted
significantly, the former to 42,000gns (+40 percent) and the average to a
whopping 92,084gns (+51 percent).
Ferguson continued: “When you’ve got an Oaks winner who is beautiful and who
is from the family of a Derby (Eng-G1) winner, you’ve got an enormous amount
going for you. This is a game whereby all you’re trying to do is reduce the odds
and give yourself every chance of winning classic races and winning the Derby.
By buying a mare like that, whether it be through her or one of her daughters,
you are just reducing the odds — you’re making it more possible than if you
don’t buy her.
“And for an operation like ours, you can have lots of mares, but you have to
have the jewels. To Sheikh Mohammed, she was a jewel.
“I have to say that obviously on paper she looked the part, but I just loved
two things about her: the fact that she’s such a beautiful, straightforward
mare, and secondly, I was lucky enough to have dinner with William and Maureen
Haggas on Saturday night, and they were telling me what a pleasure she was to
train. So you’re dealing with a straightforward mare who is a classic winner,
from a family of a Derby winner, and of course she’s in foal to Frankel. That’s
obviously an attractive covering.”
For all involved at Clairemont Stud, which is owned in partnership by Dancing
Rain’s owners Martin and Lee Taylor with Liam and Jenny Norris, the great mare
has provided plenty of memorable moments. Her star turn in the ring is just the
latest, to add to a first classic success at Epsom, followed by a German Oaks
(Ger-G1) victory and a leading role on the inaugural British Champions’ Day.
Parting with her was never going to be easy, as was evident in the emotion in
the voice of Liam Norris, who first set eyes on her as a yearling at Goffs,
where the relation of Derby winner Dr Devious and Group 1 heroine Maybe was
purchased for €200,000.
“What can I say really? Having bought her as a yearling and then brought her
here today with all these people, it’s quite a lot to take in,” he said. “I love
her to bits, she’s a queen, and Jenny has just done a wonderful job with her.
She’s a beautiful mare and she’ll have a great home. I don’t suppose we’ll ever
experience anything like this again.”
The Niarchos family announced Sunday the retirement of their Prix d’Ispahan
(Fr-G1) and Prix du Moulin (Fr-G1) winner Maxios to Andreas Jacobs’s Gestut
Fahrhof in Germany for next season, and they wasted no time recruiting a
high-profile future mate for the five-year-old when making the winning bid of
960,000gns for Group 2 winner Fiesolana (Aussie Rules) (Lot 1543) at Tattersalls
Monday night.
“She’s a lovely filly and a tough racemare, and will have a long-term date
with Maxios,” confirmed Alan Cooper, racing manager to the Niarchos family’s
Flaxman Holdings.
Purchased for a mere €35,000 by Italian
agent Federico Barberini at Goresbridge in Ireland in May 2011, Fiesolana began
her career in Italy, breaking her maiden in Naples before relocating to France
the following season. A conditions winner in that country for trainer
Jean-Claude Rouget, she came to life this year when transplanted to Ireland,
winning the Ballyogan S. (Ire-G3) for Willie McCreery in June before adding the
Brownstown S. (Ire-G3) at Fairyhouse two weeks later. She took Tipperary’s Fairy
Bridge S. (Ire-G3) in August before collecting a career high in Newmarket’s
Challenge S. (Eng-G2) October 12.
Cooper noted that the mare could race on before being bred.
“We’re going to think about that, it’s not impossible,” he said. “We’ve been
watching her throughout the year. I watched the (Challenge), and she had a lot
of guts and determination, and the team here liked her very much. She’s a lovely
filly.”
Fiesolana has the page to match her rising reputation on the track, being a
half-sister to Honeymoon (G2) and Premio Dormello (Ity-G3) winner Innit
(Distinctly North).
The demand for mares carrying the first crop of Frankel continued just four
lots after Dancing Rain lit up the board when Lot 1537, the four-year-old Drops
((Kingmambo) was hammered down to Silfield Bloodstock’s Charlie Mason for
750,000gns. The first foal from the champion European three-year-old filly and
triple Oaks victress Alexandrova (Ire), Drops, from the draft of the
Castlebridge Consignment, was the only other mare of the session offered in foal
to the dual Cartier Horse of the Year. Eight others will be offered throughout
the week.
“She was bought for an existing client of mine, and she’ll be staying in
England,” Mason said. “She has one or two mares with me at the moment, and
horses in training with various trainers, and she deserves a lot of success. I
hope this mare will be part of it.”
Mason noted that the Frankel covering played a big part in the decision to
buy the mare, and that the resulting foal, regardless of gender, will be
retained by the new owner to race.
“If his foals are half as good as he was, we’ll be laughing,” he said.
While Drops went winless in four outings in the Derrick Smith, Mrs. John
Magnier and Michael Tabor silks placing third in her final start at Ballinrobe
last July, her pedigree well warrants a shot in the breeding shed. Also
featuring on her page is Magical Romance (Barathea), Alexandrova’s Cheveley Park
S. (Eng-G1)-winning half-sister whose 4.6-million gns winning bid at this sale
in 2006 stands as a European record for a broodmare; and Chicquita (Montjeu),
this year’s Irish Oaks (Ire-G1) winner who set Goffs alight last week when
selling for an Irish record of €6 million.
Imad al Sagar and Saleh al Homaizi have been steadily gathering a decent
array of broodmares for their recently purchased Blue Diamond Stud, and the
former owners of Derby winner Authorized struck twice on Monday. Top of the list
was Group 3 winner Lady Wingshot (Lawman) (Lot 1538), a three-parts sister to
listed-winning sprinter Bahama Mama (Invincible Spirit), who was hammered down
at 650,000gns.
“She’s a very good filly, a proven performer, with excellent conformation and
very balanced. We think Lawman is a real up-and-coming sire,” said al Sagar, who
was at the sale with advisor Tony Nerses.
Their fondness for Lawman was also evident in the purchase of Ellbeedee (Dalakhani)
(Lot 1515), who was sold in foal to the Ballylinch sire for 220,000gns.
Al Sagar added: “It’s a cross we like — she has a lovely page and is a
lovely individual. Let’s hope she will pass that on to her progeny.”
Lawman has worked well with the family before. His classic-winning daughter
Just the Judge is out of a daughter of Ellbeedee’s half-sister Uncharted Haven
(Turtle Island).
While the Parks Paddocks pavilion had largely emptied after the buzz of a few
hours earlier, Atalanta S. (Eng-G3) winner Ladys First (Dutch Art) set the sale
alive again late in the session when notching the co-fourth highest price of the
day when knocked down to Blandford Bloodstock for 650,000gns.
A 16,000gns weanling at this venue four years ago, Ladys First was picked up
by Helen and Norman Steel the following year at Goffs September, and was raced
by that pair, under the care of trainer Richard Fahey, to a pair of black-type
victories, highlighted by her Atalanta win in August. Ladys First also finished
second to Duntle (Danehill Dancer) in the Duke of Cambridge S. (Eng-G2) at Royal
Ascot. She was offered as Lot 1575 by Fahey’s Musley Bank Stables as the
property of Helen Steel.
“We thought she was the best physical of the fillies off the track today,”
said Blandford Bloodstock’s Tom Goff, who declined to say who the mare was
purchased for. “She’s an absolute queen; she’s just a lovely filly. She’s a nice
mixture of Dutch Art and Danehill, and she has a nice back pedigree. She’s just
a beautiful physical specimen with poise, quality, action, and she’s very
correct.”
The first foal out of the winning Like a Dame (Danehill), Ladys First is from
the family of multiple French group winner Animatrice. Goff noted that the
four-year-old was “almost certain” to go to stud in Ireland next year, but said
the decision had not yet been confirmed.
Lady Eclair (Danehill Dancer), the sole offering from Goldford Stud on behalf
of Martin Lightbody’s Netherfield House Stud, was the first to breach the
half-million-mark when knocked down for 525,000gns to John Warren, buying on
behalf of Newsells Park Stud.
In her racing days, Lady Eclair (Lot 1407) was talented enough to beat
globetrotter Red Cadeaux by a neck when winning the listed Chester Handicap.
Sold carrying her third foal by Henrythenavigator, her offspring have already
proved popular at this sale, with her Canford Cliffs filly foal selling for
180,000gns in the same ring just last week, while last year’s foal, a filly by
Dubawi, was sold for 150,000gns.
“I liked her foal last week,” said Warren. “She was a tough, sound mare and
there’s great depth to the family.”
Lady Eclair’s dam Bex (Explodent) and grandam Bay Street (Grundy) are both
Group 3 winners, while her full sister Savethisdanceforme is also a listed
winner. Other half-siblings include French Group 2 winner Crimson Quest (Rainbow
Quest) and the listed-winning duo of Ballarat and Hijaz, both by Sadler’s Wells.
As the ring started filling up ahead of the appearance of Dancing Rain,
Adrian Nicoll of BBA Ireland, buying for New Zealander Peter Vela, went to
475,000gns for four-year-old Highclere filly Forgive (Pivotal) (Lot 1523).
“She’ll be staying here at New England Stud so she can go to a top commercial
stallion,” Nicoll said. “It’s a good, fast family — we thought she might make
400,000gns.”
John Deer has been shopping for mares to send to his homebred Al Kazeem, who
is about to stand his first season at the Royal Studs, and he added an
attractive future mate to the list early on Monday morning when his stud manager
Tim Lane signed for Poplin (Medicean) (Lot 1318) at 320,000gns.
Bred, owned and trained by Luca and Sara Cumani, the five-year-old is a
descendant of the Fittocks Stud foundation mare Souk (Ahonoora), from a family
that constantly throws up plenty of good winners, including Chicquita.
“She has an amazing pedigree, her page speaks for itself really,” said Lane
of the listed-placed Poplin. “She’ll be going to Al Kazeem. Mr. Deer has eight
breeding rights to him, so we’re buying one or two mares.”
Patricia Boutin and Henri Bozo spent €550,000
on Group 1 winner Alpine Rose (Linamix) for Ecurie des Monceaux at Arqana in
2008, and the team has been handsomely rewarded by the mare’s first two foals —
by Sea the Stars and Galileo — selling as yearlings for 1.2 million and 1
million, respectively.
The duo struck for another member of the family at Tattersalls on Monday when
securing the Montjeu mare Silent Ninja (Lot 1391) for 115,000gns from
Kirtlington Stud’s draft. Bred by Ben and Martyn Arbib, the five-year-old is out
of Alpine Rose’s listed-winning sister Farfala.
New Zealand’s Raffles Farm has been a regular buyer at the December Sale, and
manager Bruce Sherwin returned this year, with agent Guy Mulcaster, to snap up
Lot 1329, Stella Senza Cielo (Elusive City) for 100,000gns. The five-year-old’s
year-younger half-brother is the Hong Kong-based Gold-Fun (Le Vie Dei Colori),
winner of the Jockey Club Mile (HK-G2) at Sha Tin on November 17 and a contender
for Sunday’s Hong Kong Mile (HK-G1).
Their dam Goodwood March (Foxhound) is one of 10 mares in the catalog in foal
to Frankel, and sells Tuesday as Lot 1812. Offered by Houghton Bloodstock,
Stella Senza Cielo is in foal to Kyllachy.