Amo Racing and Wathnan Racing among the winners from this year's breeze-up sales

Striking debut from Amo filliy

The newcomers' race for two-year-old fillies at Lingfield on Thursday had a most impressive winner in Cathedral, trained by Ralph Beckett for Amo Racing.

All the rage in the betting beforehand despite the field of unknown quantities, she duly landed the odds in the manner of a very promising two-year-old, sprinting clear once quickening into the lead and going on to win by just over four lengths, entering the 1000 Guineas betting and earning Timeform’s 'large P' symbol for horses expected to make above average improvement.

'Should think so too' might be the reaction of many on seeing the filly’s eye-watering price-tag of €800,000. That’s partly down to her pedigree as she’s a Too Darn Hot half-sister to three winners, including the useful pair Tolstoy, winner of four handicaps this summer, and three-year-old Firebird, beaten a head in last week’s Group 3 Balloygan Stakes at Naas. Moreover, Cathedral’s unraced dam by Frankel is closely related to her stable’s very smart middle-distance filly Bluestocking, winner of the Pretty Polly Stakes and second in the King George this year.

Cathedral’s breeding is only a part of the story, though, as her big-money purchase came in May at the Arqana Breeze-Up at Deauville when she evidently showed much the same dash as she did at Lingfield this week. Robson Aguiar, bidding on Amo Racing’s behalf, confirmed as much at the time, adding "I think she has all the qualities to run in the Classics." Cathedral had previously changed hands for 110,000 guineas as a yearling last October.

Cathedral is just the latest among several very expensive breeze-up purchases to make their mark this season. While she fetched the joint-highest price by a filly at that sale, she wasn’t Amo’s most expensive buy.

That honour went to a colt by City Of Troy’s sire Justify and out of a sister to 2000 Guineas winner Churchill who had fetched $135,000 as a yearling. With a pedigree like that, Coolmore were understandably keen bidders too but it was Amo who came out on top again, this time with Alex Elliott making the successful bid of a million euros.

Named Angelo Buonarroti, the imposing colt shaped with plenty of promise given he faced a stiff task on his debut in the Coventry Stakes and, a couple of months later having been switched to join Cathedral at Beckett’s yard, he won the season’s most valuable event of its kind, the Convivial Maiden at York last month, in the manner of a potentially smart colt. He’s well entered up this autumn.

Court remains a work in progress

It was another son of Justify who topped the Arqana sale, and this time it was Godolphin who saw off Coolmore to secure a colt who is out of a sister to the Racing Post Trophy runner-up Johann Strauss. Subsequently named Ruling Court, he broke the European record for a breeze-up purchase when selling for €2.3 million, having been bought for just $150,000 as a yearling. The vendors were Oak Tree Farm, the operation run by former jump jockey Norman Williamson and wife Janet, from whom Godolphin had previously bought Native Trail (a 210,000 guineas breeze-up buy), winner of the Irish 2000 Guineas after an unbeaten two-year-old campaign.

Making his debut for Charlie Appleby at Sandown in July, Ruling Court could hardly have created a better first impression, sprinting clear to land very short odds by five and a half lengths. As a result, Ruling Court started the even-money favourite for the Acomb Stakes at York and, while only third, showed improvement but didn’t look as mature as winner The Lion In Winter. He’s a useful-looking colt with scope, though, and remains a smart prospect.

Given the success of this trio, it may well be worth looking out for the other filly who fetched €800,000 at the Arqana Breeze-Up. Also by Justify, it was Alex Elliott who made the winning bid for her too, though this time acting on behalf of Coolmore. She has much more of a three-year-old/middle-distance pedigree, though, as she’s out of the very smart French-trained mare Sarah Lynx whose wins included the Canadian International.

Wathnan enjoying their Share of success

Another expensive graduate from the Deauville sale to have made his mark at a high level already is Shareholder, bought for €460,000 on behalf of Wathnan Racing. He too was strongly fancied to make a winning debut and, less than a month after going through the ring, overcame greenness to win the Two-Year-Old Trophy at Beverley for Karl Burke before following up just 12 days later in the Norfolk Stakes at Royal Ascot. Disappointing in the Prix Morny on his latest start, Shareholder is one of just two runners in Britain this year for his American sire Not This Time, a son of Giant’s Causeway and runner-up in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.

Among others on Wathnan’s shopping list at the same sale were Realign, a €550,000 son of Blue Point who has been placed in both his starts for William Haggas, including when third behind Angelo Buonarroti at York last time, and Dropshot, a son of New Bay bought for €350,000, second for Francis-Henri Graffard in a newcomers race at Longchamp last weekend.

Wathnan Racing were also big spenders at the Goffs UK Breeze Up Sale in April where they netted several speedy youngsters. Archie Watson’s Aesterius, a strong-travelling son of Mehmas who cost £380,000, has won three of his five starts, including last Sunday’s Prix d’Arenberg at Longchamp which could earn him a crack at older sprinters in the Prix de l’Abbaye next. Aesterius was beaten at Royal Ascot but Leovanni, a daughter of Kodi Bear and a less expensive purchase than some of these at £190,000, was another winning two-year-old at the meeting for her owners and Karl Burke when successful in the Queen Mary Stakes.

The same sale was also the source of the Wathnan pair Electrolyte (£220,000, by Hello Youmzain) and Columnist (£170,000, by Ardad) who both went close to being another Royal Ascot winner for the Qatari owners in the Coventry Stakes.

Who else is finding it a breeze?

Wathnan weren’t the only ones to strike gold at the Doncaster sale, though, as Michael O’Callaghan was the buyer of American-bred colt Black Forza. A son of Grade 1-winning two-year-old Complexity who was bought for £220,000, he got the better of Wathnan’s The Strikin Viking (originally a 65,000 guinea breeze-up buy for Middleham Park Racing) in the Richmond Stakes at Goodwood.

There are no guarantees, of course, that an expensive breeze-up purchase will excel in a race environment. For example, Royal Officer, who topped the Tattersalls Craven Breeze-Up Sale in April when selling to Godolphin for a million guineas, has failed to make the frame in a couple of maidens so far. Amo Racing lost out on this occasion on bidding for a colt with the unique selling point of being the very last unraced offspring of Galileo to be offered at public auction.

Another Godolphin purchase at the same sale, Anno Domini, a son of New Bay and half-brother to this year’s Poule d’Essai des Pouliches runner-up Kathmandu, bought for 525,000 guineas, has made a much brighter start, winning his two races at Newbury and Sandown in the manner of an exciting prospect and is another with a ‘large P’ attached to his rating.

A couple of Craven Breeze-Up graduates have struck in pattern company so far, with Simon & Ed Crisford’s 525,000 guinea purchase Arabian Dusk, a daughter of Havana Grey, winning the Duchess of Cambridge Stakes and Hotazhell, a son of Too Darn Hot who joined Jessica Harrington for 200,000 guineas, winning the Tyros Stakes before a good second to the smart Henri Matisse in the Futurity Stakes at the Curragh recently.

It certainly looks as though the breeze-ups are challenging the traditional yearling sales, as a source of juvenile talent at the very least, particularly with new big-spending owners such as Amo Racing and Wathnan Racing becoming heavily involved.

But it’s not all about six- and seven-figure sum two-year-olds. Yet another pattern winner to emerge from this year’s breeze-ups is bargain buy Anshoda, a daughter of Inns of Court picked up for just 5,000 guineas at the Tattersalls Guineas Breeze-Up Sale by her trainer David Loughnane. She’s now reportedly heading for the Breeders’ Cup after winning the Prestige Stakes at Goodwood.

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