The four-year-old gelding DORTMUND PARK was one of 13 Wild Card entries in the Summer Sale and commanded €230,000 from Margaret O'Toole. The Fabrice Foucher trainee is unbeaten in two starts on the flat to date, including an impressive display in the Grand Prix des AQPS at Nantes over a mile and a half. With a physique to match his form, the son of Great Pretender raised a lot of hands and Margaret O'Toole had to offer a final bid of €230,000 to prevail over Harold Kirk and Pierre Boulard.
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A Wild Card entry from the yard of Francois-Marie Cottin after running 4th in the Gr.3 Prix Aguado at Auteuil last month, HELL BOY went the way of Tom Malone for €150,000 . A three-year-old son of Martaline, he has hit the board in four of his five starts this season, also including a 3rd in the L. Prix Stanley hurdle. He is from the family of the talented hurdlers ST DEVOTE and L'UNIQUE as well as of Gr.1 winners on the flat CORRE CAMINOS and RECITAL.
He is a lovely horse who looks a nice Fred Winter type, commented the agent. He will go to Paul Nicholls and his future is over fences.
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Yannick Fouin's four-year-old DIEG MAN lost his maiden tag in timely fashion, scoring over the Auteuil hurdles June 14 on his sixth outing. He remains a Novice in both disciplines and his progressive form combined with his handsome looks appealed to several buyers on attendance with Hubert Barbe finally prevailing at €200,000.
He is a beautiful horse who has progressed with every race and looks like he still has some room for improvement, said Barbe. He was conditioned by Yannick Fouin, off whom we have bought a number of top class horses so we know we can trust him. He will make a nice chaser in the future.
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Guy Petit had the final say at €130,000 for CHEF D'EQUIPE, a five-year-old AQPS with remarkably consistent form. Having filled the runner-up spot five times whether over hurdles or fences and finally broke his maiden in a steeple-chase at Auteuil last month. Philip Hobbs will take delivery of the son of Presenting on behalf of amateur rider David Maxwell, who aims to ride him with the prestigious Fox Hunter Chase at Cheltenham in mind.
I am delighted to have bought him for Mr. Maxwell, who also owns Ballotin with Guillaume Macaire, commented Guy Petit. This is very good value in my opinion and he will have a lot of fun with him.
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DEFY DE MEE came through the ring as a half-brother to the Gr.1 Scilly Isles Novices' Chase runner-up AS DE MEE and the winner of his latest start, over 2300 metres on the flat. Willie Mullins went to €190,000 for the Jerry Planque trainee and commented:
He is a half-brother to a very good horse and has enough size and scope. I am very happy with the price.
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The four-year-old Lord Glitters has done nothing wrong since his debut at the provincial track of Morlaix back in April 2016, winning four of his nine starts and finishing in the money on all other occasions. He ran second in the L. Grand Prix du Lion d'Angers at three and won both his starts so far in 2017, beating competitive fields at Chantilly and Saint-Cloud over a mile.
Bids fired from all around the sales ring until Willie Mullins, Nicolas de Watrigant and David O'Meara were left to battle it out and it was the latter who prevailed at €270,000, signing the docket on behalf of Middleham Park Racing's Jason Kelly and Geoff Turnbull's Elwick Stud. The Yorkshire-based trainer and the ebullient Turnbull will be hoping for a repeat scenario of MONDIALISTE, who topped this sale three years ago at €190,000 on a bid from David Powell's EURL du Chêne and went on to take the Gr.1 Arlington Million and Woodbine International.
He is a very consistent horse and if all goes well we will be aiming for an international campaign with him, said O'Meara.
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Ghislain Bozo of Meridian Bloodstock was left smiling after signing the docket alongside his brother Henri at €280,000 for the ten-year-old mare SAILOR MOON, one of the star acts of the catalogue as the dam of two Stakes winners. Her first foal was the L. Prix Solitude scorer STONE ROSES, who sold for the exact same price at last year's December Breeding Stock sale, and her third is the Siyouni colt STRAIGHT RIGHT, the cosy winner of the Prix de la Californie L. earlier this year and 3rd in the Prix Texanita last month. She also has a foal and yearling both by Dabirsim and was offered by Haras du Petit Tellier carrying to Olympic Glory.
Herself a winner at two, Sailor Moon is out of the Prix Yacowlef scorer SERALIA, of which the Gr.1 winner in Australia CONTRIBUTER and Stakes winners GLORY POWER, SOTTEVILLE etc. are all descended.
She is for Ecurie des Monceaux and some partners, explained Henri Bozo. I am very fond of this beautiful and very current family developped by Haras de la Louvière. We normally try to buy slightly younger mares but she has a rare profile as a Stakes producer with great upside - Straight Right could win a Group race this year and the Dabirsims might be good as well! She will go back to Siyouni next year.
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Six-year-old LA SULFUREUSE was one of the best jump performers in the catalogue as the winner of the L. Prix Rose Or No over hurdles at Enghien and placed on several occasions at Listed and Group 3 level both over hurdles and fences. She is also a daughter of Saint Des Saints from the family of DOM PARIS and MARTALIN. Leading National Hunt owner Xavier Papot, bidding from the top of the stairs, had the final say at €100,000.
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MISS COUNTRY was a very rare proposition in a public sales ring as a winner over jumps, half-sister to a Grade 1 performer in SAINT PISTOL and whose first foal is the dual Grade 2-winning Novice chaser FRODON. Pierre Boulard, seating alongside Harold Kirk, was determined not to let her get away and went to €135,000 for the ten-year-old. Offered by Christelle Rébillon's Elevage de Guerre, she boasted a Kapgarde cover on top of her many assets.
She's been bought for a British client who has several horses in training. She is from a very current family with Frodon reaching his top level earlier this year and Saint Pistol also a Group winner at Auteuil this year. This appealed to us. Mares like this are very hard to come by.
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The second last lot through the ring was the fourth to break the six-figure mark when selling to Bertrand Le Métayer for €100,000. A grandson of the Gr.1 Prix Maurice Gillois scorer POLIVALENTE, the bay was consigned by Haras du Saubouas.
He is a lovely big horse who a lot of scope who looks like he could be anything, said Le Metayer. He will go into training with Arnaud Chaillé-Chaillé and race for James-Douglas Gordon and Hubert Mauillon, the same partnership as in [debut winner at Auteuil last month] Chikito du Berlais.
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A full brother to multiple champion chaser SPRINTER SACRÉ, the winner of 18 of his 24 starts including 13 at Grade 2 or Grade 1 level, was always going to be a rare commodity. Offered by Beatrice Nicco, who was consigning for the first time at Deauville, the bay attracted vivid interest from a range of buyers with Charlie Swan and Hubert Barbe's Horse Racing Advisory prevailing at €125,000.
He is a very nice horse who was born late and will continue to mature, said Swan. We had seen him a couple of times at the farm and are delighted to be able to buy him. If he is half as good as his brother, we will be happy!
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Jacques Cyprès's Flashkille, a two-year-old AQPS gelding by Network, will fledgling stable of freshly retired champion jockey David Cottin after being knocked down for €100,000 to Bertrand Le Métayer. A half-brother to two winners, he hails from the family of leading chasers VANITEUX and VIEUX MORGAN and had already turned many heads at the Cercy-La-Tour AQPS Show last month where he topped the two-year-old section.
He will go to a promising young trainer, quipped Le Métayer. I have bought him for James-Douglas Gordon, for whom David rode many times including the Gr.1 filly Liberté d'Aimer. This is a family we know well as Janville, who appears under the third dam, was Mr. Gordon's first horse and gave us a lot of fun, only coming down by a nose in the Gr.3 Prix du Président de la République.
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A three-year-old AQPS gelding by Coastal Path and the Video Rock mare Maitresse de Maison, making him a half-brother to the Gr.2 Grand Steeple-Chase d'Enghien and Gr.2 Prix Leon Olry-Roederer winner TIR AU BUT commanded a closing bid of €115,000 from Tom Malone. The pedigree also features Gr.1 Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris hero ARENICE and Gr.1 Punchestown Champion Novice hurdle BACARDYS, who is also by Coastal Path.
What a horse! commented the agent. He has a lovely pedigree and is a magnificent individual. I've seen enough sons of Coastal Path and I thought this one wouldn't suit the French system, being so big and rangy, he almost looks like an Irish-bred. I am delighted to have him.
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The Summer Sale started with the second and final offering of Breeze Up two-year-olds which returned very satisfatory results despite a high number of withdrawals. 75% of the 28 juveniles to go through the ring change hands at an average price of €20,571, up 38% from last year's figure. The highest price was achieved by lot 8, a son of Holy Roman Emperor out of Milena's Dream, a winner on debut at 2 and 4th in the Gr.3 Prix des Réservoirs. He hails from the family of the classy sprinters MESSOEURS and ALADDINE as well as Gr.1 winners SEPTIEME CIEL, THE GREY GATSBY etc. Offered by Brendan Holland's Grove Stud, he was purchased by Chantilly-based trainer Alessandro Botti.
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