Tuesday 20 April 2010
Progeny of His Highness the Aga Khan’s second-crop sire AZAMOUR were highly sought after last week at Tattersalls Craven Breeze Up Sale, where three of his four representatives were sold for an average of £95,667 (€106,938), which is seven times the Gilltown stallion’s covering fee. His highest bid of 180,000 Guineas was gained by Lot 77, a grey colt out of a winning full-sister to Listed winning and Group-placed Welcome Millenium. The half-brother to a Stakes performer had earlier changed hands for €70,000 at Arqana’s August yearling sale and therefore represented a healthy profit for his breeze-up consigner Malcolm Bastard. He will now join trainer Ed Dunlop for Turkish owner Vefa Ibrahim Araci.
AZAMOUR also proved a successful pinhook sire for connections of Lot 93, whose full-sister No Explaining was one of her sire’s winning first crop juveniles last season. This filly was purchased for €20,000 at the Goffs Orby Sale by Oak Tree Farm and was re-sold for 65,000 Guineas to Charlie Gordon-Watson. Blandford Bloodstock picked up the third AZAMOUR youngster, Lot 102, the first son of a winning mare, for 42,000 Guineas.
AZAMOUR has made a brisk start to his breeding career, with 13 individual winners to date headed by Sunday’s Ballysax Stakes Group 3 winner, PUNCHER CLYNCH and Listed scorer Azmeel who is entered in the forthcoming Gr 2 Dante Stakes as well as both Epsom and Irish Derbies.
Buyers will have another chance to acquire a juvenile by the champion racehorse at Arqana’s breeze up sale on 15th May as AZAMOUR is represented by lot 23. Rock Quercus is the third offspring of multiple Stakes performer Berroscoberro and is the half-brother to one winner.
Fellow Gilltown sire DALAKHANI enjoyed his share of success at Tattersalls with four youngsters sold for an average of £85,000 (€95,014).The top price of these was 170,000 Guineas, raised by lot 63 who is a son of a Sadler’s Wells mare out of Gr 1 Prix de la Foret winner Field of Hope. Bought by bloodstock agent Angie Sykes, the striking grey colt is yet another successful pinhook as he was sold for 92,000 Guineas in the same sales ring last October.
The Arqana breeze up catalogue features three of DALAKHANI’s progeny, lots 11, 48 and 155. All out of young broodmares, they notably include a grandson of Gr 1 Acorn Stakes runner-up C’est L’Amour and a filly out of a half-sister to Group 1 winner Shake The Yoke.
Updated on 20/04/2010.
