Equinties - big yesterday, bigger today

Gm Equinauts

Day 2 of Book 1 at the Tatts Yearling Sales gets underway today and I have a feeling it’s going to blow the back doors off.

Book 1 is a collection of the best-bred yearlings in the world for sale with pages to die for. What is a page? It’s one page showing their family lineage on the dam side, and their successes on track. The more big, black bold print on the page, the bigger the races and prize money the family has won (hence the phrase ‘black type’). Naturally, there’ll be more white space on the page the further down the books you go… but Book 3 and 4 aren’t to be sniffed at – that’s where the gems can be found!

The catalogues are organised by the first letter of the Dams name (on rotation of letter each year to make it fair for everyone, otherwise people moan if their yearling isn’t in a good spot). This year it is ‘J’ (lovely initial) and it jumps forward 5 letters each year.

The yearlings today are supposed to be very strong. 5 x Galileo’s, 6 x Dubawi's, 13 x Frankel’s, 6 x Lope De Vegas, you get the jist. These are big, big harvests for some people. Here are some of the Lot highlights going in the ring today:

Lot 201 - FRANKEL filly o/o the SHAMARDAL l mare SHAMBOLIC. SHAMBOLIC (bought for 800k as a Horse in Training) was Listed placed and is a half-sister to Champion COMIC STRIP (later known as VIVA PATACA when he moved to HK). Great residual value being a filly. Lovely individual, strong with good bone and a great walk. She’s the first foal out of the mare which I love.

Lot 210 - KODIAC full sister to GIFTED MASTER. Out of a SHAMARDAL mare. Great nick, the same as HELLO YOUMZAIN. Holds good residual value being a filly. Lovely type.

Lot 219 - KINGMAN colt out of Champion 3yo SKY LANTERN who has already produced Gr1 winner SNOW LANTERN. She’s yet to produce a good colt but this lad looks like he might buck that trend.

Lot 221 - FRANKEL colt out of Gr3 winner SO MI DAR. SMD is a full sister to Champion TOO DARN HOT and Gr2 winner LAH TI DAR. From the family of DARSHAAN. The colt comes from the acclaimed stud of music maestro Andrew Lloyd- Webber.

Lot 245 - LOPE DE VEGA colt out of Gr1 Epsom Oaks winner TALENT. Talent has produced a Gr2 winner and Gr1 placed horse already and this lad looks an athletic type.

Lot 272 - Dubawi colt out of URBAN FOX. Many people might remember URBAN FOX running for the Shaggas yard, she won the Gr1 Pretty Polly S. and was Gr1 placed in the Nassau S. at Goodwood. This colt is her first foal, he’s a February foal who is strong, compact and short backed just like his Daddy.

Lot 284 - GALILEO colt who’s a full brother to Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner WALDGEIST. Big German family, the half-sister was sold for 2 million last year, the half-brother by DUBAWI was sold for 1.2million last year as well. He’s a May foal so a bit of a late bloomer, I don’t think he’ll go for as much as his half-brother but he’s a nice type who’ll get a trip.

Lot 303 - FRANKEL colt, a full brother to Gr1 St James’ Palace S. winner WITHOUT PAROLE.

Lot 328 - DUBAWI colt, a half-brother to Gr1 St James’ Palace S. winner BARNEY ROY. (BARNEY ROY was retired to stud at Godolphin but was found to be shooting blanks).

Lot 344 - LOPE DE VEGA colt, a half-brother to BATTASH and THE ANTARTIC.

If you’re interested in finding out how it works, bloodlines or just want to watch some big players move real size, here’s the link (starts at 11am):

Anyway, let’s dive in.

Headline Roundup

Mo moves money  

Big Sheikh Mohammed made an appearance on day one of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale yesterday as Godolphin splashed out 6,025,000gns on new talent. I would call it obscene size moving but it’s a drop in the ocean for the boys in blue.

Their biggest buy of the day, a half-sister DUBAWI colt to Joseph O’Brien’s VOICE OF ANGELS, was snatched up for 1.5 million guineas – the dam is a full sister three Group 1 winners in HERMOSA, a duel Classic winner, HYDRANGEA, and THE UNITED STATES.

Mohammed also secured Lot 3, a DUBAWI filly out of JAZZI TOP (the 2015 Gr2 Prix de la Nonette winner), for 1.3 million guineas before spending another milly on another DUBAWI colt, this time out of the Gr1 winner PERSUASIVE. Woof.

It wasn’t just the boys in blue who grabbed all the attention, Shadwell ended their two-year sales ring hiatus yesterday as they went as high as 880,000gns for a SIYOUNI filly out of LAH TI DAH. The dam, trained by John Gosden, placed in the 2018 Gr1 St Leger and Gr1 Qipco British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes a month later.

More:

HuntingDONE early

It happened again. Racing at HUNTINGDON was abandoned after just two races yesterday as the on-course stewards deemed that track conditions were unsafe. This meant the Twitter jokes about Paddy Brennan going through the whole card were out in force and overused.

Jockeys reported slipping around the bend in the opening race of the day, a two-mile juvenile hurdle, causing an inspection to be held after race two – racing was abandoned after just two races.

Obviously, this follows the countless abandonments we experienced earlier in the year, something that is becoming more common now and I wouldn’t be surprised if Chepstow were a little worried ahead of their big season opening as track conditions there are currently quick (and unsafe?).

More:

Quick fire news

2021’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner TORQUATOR TASSO was retired by connections yesterday after his bold run to finish third from stall 18 in Sunday’s feature race at Longchamp. That was a huge run by him. Watch the race back, I'm quite sure he would have won the race with a luckier stall position.

Connections of VERRY ELLEEGANT are having one more roll of the dice with their Melbourne Cup winner following her disappointment in the Gr1 Prix Royallieu on the weekend – she will run in the Gr1 Fillies & Mares race on Champions Day.

And HEWICK, last season’s Bet365 Gold Cup winner, began his journey to the USA yesterday for the American Grand National at Far Hills Racecourse – go well boy!

Risk On

Bets will be posted on Twitter.