Australian connections have put their Breeders’ Cup disappointment behind them by celebrating a A$7.73 million windfall after selling prized French Group 1-winning Justify filly Ramatuelle at Fasig-Tipton’s glittering breeding stock sale.
Justify three-year-old Ramatuelle, a last-start Group 1 Prix De La Foret winner at Longchamp a month ago, was bought by Coolmore’s MV Magnier for US$5.1 million in the one-day sale in which Australian industry heavyweights Yulong and Arrowfield were also prominent on the buyers' sheet.
Ramatuelle’s huge price was only bettered by Grade 1-winning Frankel mare McKulick, who was sold for US$6 million late in a furious session of selling which grossed almost US$94 million at an average of US$545,212.
The Belmont Oaks winner, a half-sister to Group 3 winner Just Beautiful and Group 2 winner Fearless King, was purchased by Narvick International’s Emmanuel de Seroux on behalf of Yoshiyuki Ito of Japan’s Grand Stud.
Ramatuelle’s co-owner Matthew Sandblom, who is a shareholder in Hunter Valley operation Newgate Farm and owns his private breeding operation Kingstar Farm at nearby Denman, flew to America last week for the iconic Breeders’ Cup in Del Mar only for his star filly to be a shock race-eve scratching.
Officials withdrew the Christopher Head-trained three-year-old after a PET (positron emission tomography) scan identified bone remodelling in her legs.
Sandblom owned the filly with a syndicate that also included well-known Hong Kong owner and breeder Ben Kwok as well as well-travelled French bloodstock agent Arthur Hoyeau.
In what was a day to remember for Kwok, he also co-owns Tuesday’s Flemington Listed TAB Trophy winner Opening Address, a three-year-old also raced by Windsor Park Stud and trained by Liam Howley at Mount Macedon, the same facility used to prepare upset John Symons and Sheila Laxon-trained Melbourne Cup winner Knight’s Choice.
Kwok, Sandblom, Hoyeau and company paid €100,000 for the filly at the 2022 Arqana August Yearling Sale at Deauville.
A daughter of Germany’s champion older female sprinter of 2018, Group 2 winner Reven’s Lady, Ramatuelle won four of her nine starts and she was placed on another three occasions at Group 1 level.
MV Magnier indicated that Ramatuelle would be retired to the breeding barn, with Coolmore sire Wootton Bassett, whose first southern hemisphere-bred crop are two-year-olds, a probable maiden mating early next year.
"She's a lovely filly, and in fairness to Christopher Head (trainer), he's done an incredible job with her," Magnier told media at Fasig-Tipton.
"Arthur Hoyeau, in fairness, spotted her as a yearling, and everybody else didn't really. She's a very good filly, and well done to them."
Hip 310 RAMATUELLE sells for $5,100,000 at The November Sale! A 3YO daughter of Justify, Ramatuelle won the G1 Prix de la Floret in October, defeating a field of older males.
— Fasig-Tipton (@FasigTiptonCo) November 5, 2024
Congrats to the connections:
B: M V Magnier
C: Bedouin Bloodstock, agt#FasigNovember @coolmoreamerica pic.twitter.com/RAfUIgdqUI
Yulong’s Zhang Yuesheng, signing under Willingham Stud, bought two mares at the Fasig-Tipton sale, going to US$1.8 million for War Like Goddess and US$1 million 50 lots later for Full Count Felicia.
War Like Goddess, who has been trained by Bill Mott, was fifth in Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf at Del Mar while Full Count Felicia won the Grade 1 EP Taylor Stakes at Woodbine in Canada in September.
Trained by Kevin Attard at her past four starts, Full Count Felicia was seventh in the Filly & Mare Turf over 11 furlongs at the weekend.
Still in the afterglow of breeding Saturday’s Group 1 Coolmore Stud Stakes-winning colt Switzerland, who is out of Fasig-Tipton graduate Ms Bad Behavior, Arrowfield’s Jon Freyer also struck twice in quick succession in Kentucky, paying US$800,000 for Into Mischief stakes-winning mare Downtown Mischief and US$750,000 for Grade 3-winning Twirling Candy mare Evvie Jets. Downtown Mischief is in foal to exceptional young American stallion Gun Runner.
Yulong general manager Vin Cox, also a Victoria Racing Club director, received confirmation that Zhang Yuesheng had bought Lot 210 just as Tycoon Star was returning to scale at Flemington after winning the Group 3 Maribyrnong Plate on debut.
Trained by Lindsay Park’s Ben, Will and JD Hayes, who prepared the trifecta in the $200,000 two-year-old event, Tycoon Star ($18) was a $400,000 Magic Millions graduate in January.
The potential Blue Diamond-bound colt, who is out of the stakes-placed mare Miss Iano, was bred by Sheriff Iskander and he was sold as a weanling on the Gold Coast for $350,000.
“We sold him at Magic Millions and we stayed in for half, because obviously we were very keen on the breed, being a Written Tycoon,” Cox said.
“It's just a nice result to get a Group race early on and subsequent to keeping that share in that horse, we bought the mother at the Magic Millions’ mare sale, so that's even better.”
Amo Racing’s Kia Joorabchian, who splashed close to A$50 million in just three days at the Tattersalls Yearling Sale in October, was also back in the thick of the action at Fasig-Tipton, spending US$4.25 million on three mares.
He bought Eda, who is in foal to Justify, for $2.55 million and Amo Racing paid $1.4 million for Agartha, a daughter of Caravaggio who is in foal to Frankel.
While Grand Stud bought three mares, Ito’s compatriot, Japan’s breeding supremo Katsumi Yoshida, was also active, purchasing five mares, two of them for $2.8 million and $1.5 million respectively.
Buyers and vendors will cross town for Fasig-Tipton’s rival Keeneland's nine-day offering, which starts on Wednesday (AEST).
