Kia Joorabchian (Credit: Tattersalls)

Amo Racing and Godolphin dominate Book 1 of October Sale

By John Ingles

Horse Racing

Sun October 13, 2024 · 2M ago

John Ingles looks at the pedigrees of the five most expensive yearling purchases at Tattersalls this week.

Lot 68 – 4.4m guineas: filly by Frankel out of Aljazzi

Kia Joorabchian’s Amo Racing stole most of the headlines during the sale thanks to a total spend of more than 22m guineas which included four of the top six lots. That included the sale-topper, a filly by Frankel out of smart miler Aljazzi. Trained by Marco Botti, the daughter of Shamardal and listed winner Nouriya won in all four seasons that she was in training, and while that included her only two-year-old start, she earned her peak Timeform rating of 117 as a five-year-old when winning the Duke of Cambridge Stakes at Royal Ascot.

Aljazzi’s dam is closely related to the dam of another Duke of Cambridge winner, Running Lion, who was runner-up in the Prix de l’Opera on the Sunday before the sale, while the only Group 1 winner on the filly’s catalogue page further back in the family is St James’s Palace Stakes winner Zafeen. With agent Alex Elliott on Amo’s behalf seeing off Japanese interest for the winning bid, Aljazzi’s daughter became the second most-expensive yearling ever to be sold in Europe (see lot 332) almost six years after Aljazzi herself set a Tattersalls Autumn Horses In Training Sale record when changing hands for a million guineas at the end of her racing career.

The screen says it all (Photo courtesy of Tattersalls)

Lot 332 – 4.3m guineas: colt by Wootton Bassett out of Park Bloom

Amo’s other major purchase was this son of Wootton Bassett, the most expensive yearling colt ever sold in Europe. It’s not the first time, either, that his family has broken records in the Tattersalls ring as his dam’s sister Al Naamah set a record price for a yearling in Europe when selling to Al Shaqab for 5m guineas in 2013. She went on to be placed in Group races in France for Andre Fabre so didn’t reach the same heights as her elder sister Was, the 2012 Oaks winner, who had herself cost the Coolmore partners – also the underbidders for this colt - 1.2m as yearling.

Also a sister to Derby third Amhran Na Bhfiann and Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial winner Douglas MacArthur, this colt’s dam Park Bloom won a mile maiden at the Curragh at three and a minor event over a mile and a quarter at Deauville at four, earning a Timeform rating of 92. Park Bloom’s grandam was Phoenix Champion Stakes winner Park Express who later became dam of Derby winner New Approach. Wootton Bassett has been notably successful with his two-year-olds this year, including with Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere winner Camille Pissarro and Prix Thomas Bryon winner Maranoa Charlie (also out of a Galileo mare) in the week before the sale, and he’s also the sire of Amo’s Champion Stakes winner and Derby runner-up King of Steel.

The record-breaking numbers for lot 332 (Credit: Tattersalls)

Lot 407 – 3.7m guineas: filly by Siyouni out of Shambolic

Between them, Amo Racing and Godolphin bought the sale’s top eight lots, with Godolphin purchasing eight of the 16 yearlings who fetched a million guineas or more. Godolphin’s most expensive buy was this half-sister to last year’s Fillies’ Mile winner Ylang Ylang who was consigned, like the top lot, by Newsells Park Stud. Her dam Shambolic (Timeform Rating 99), a daughter of Shamardal like the dam of the top lot, was herself fourth in the Fillies’ Mile and was twice runner-up in listed company at three in the Pretty Polly Stakes and Height of Fashion Stakes.

Ylang Ylang had also been a seven-figure Book 1 purchase, bought for 1.5m guineas by Coolmore who were the underbidders for this filly. Shambolic’s current two-year-old colt, Kaizen, a son of Kingman who could make his debut for John & Thady Gosden in the coming days, sold for 425,000 guineas last year. Their dam had changed hands for 800,000 guineas at the Tattersalls December Mares Sale in 2019. Shambolic is a half-sister to Hong Kong champion Viva Pataca and smart US turf mare Laughing, a Grade 1 winner in the Diana Stakes and Flower Bowl Invitational.

Lot 183 – 2.9m guineas: filly by Dark Angel out of Futoon

Charyn’s owner Nurlan Bizakov was naturally keen to secure this full sister to his Queen Anne Stakes and Prix Jacques le Marois winner but when he dropped out of the bidding it was left to the week’s two biggest buyers to fight out, with Godolphin coming out on top of Amo Racing on this occasion. She therefore sold for more than ten times the 250,000 guineas Charyn had cost as a Book 2 purchase at the same sale three years ago.

Their dam Futoon (Timeform Rating 98) was a useful listed-placed sprinter for Kevin Ryan who was sold for 100,000 guineas at the end of her racing career. Besides Charyn, she has also produced the Mill Reef Stakes winner Wings of War, now in Hong Kong where he was successful this year, while her two-year-old filly Shinara (secured by Bizakov’s Sumbe operation for 850,000 guineas last year) is yet to race. They too are both by Dark Angel whose bid to be champion sire for the first time would receive a big boost if Charyn wins next weekend’s Queen Elizabeth II Stakes.

Lot 402 – 2.9m guineas: filly by Camelot out of Sense of Style

The result of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe 48 hours before the start of the sale was a timely boost for Camelot’s yearlings going through the ring this week as he was the sire of not only Bluestocking but the third at Longchamp too, Los Angeles. Camelot’s third Group 1 winner this year was Luxembourg, successful for a fourth time at that level in his career when winning the Coronation Cup. This filly by Camelot was understandably popular, therefore, being out of Luxembourg’s useful half-sister Sense of Style (Timeform Rating 101), a daughter of Zoffany trained by Joseph O’Brien who won a maiden at Naas at two and was placed in listed and Group 3 company.

Another Amo purchase, she’s Sense of Style’s first foal with the dam’s other winning siblings including the Mooresbridge Stakes winner Leo de Fury. There are some big names further back in the pedigree too, this also being the family of Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Arcangues, Prix de Diane winner and Arc runner-up Aquarelliste and 1000 Guineas winner Cape Verdi.

Safer gambling

We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.

If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.

Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.