Shocking; Uncle Mo; Redoute's Choice; Giant's Steps; Spendthrift Australia; DBS Sale; Tapit'; OBS Sale.
• MELBOURNE Cup winner Shocking sired his first winner on April 24 at Echuca in Victoria.
Shocking (Street Cry) is standing at Rich Hill Stud in New Zealand.
• SHUTTLE sire Uncle Mo sired his first winner April 23 when Outwork (Uncle Mo x Nonna Mia by Empire Maker) won a maiden event on debut at Keeneland in Kentucky.• HORSES with family ties to notable Group One winners landed midweek victories at the rescheduled Canterbury meeting on April 2.
The superbly bred Defender, by Redoute's Choice from the outstanding Encosta De Lago mare Alinghi, broke her maiden while former New Zealander Bonete, a three-quarter sister to G1 winner Terravista, posted her first win in Australia.Defender was bred by Arrowfield Stud and carries the stud’s familiar gold and black silks. Arrowfield race the filly with several partners include radio broadcaster Alan Jones.
Bonete, like Terravista, is trained by Joe Pride. She is by Captain Rio from the Gold Brose mare Golden Sparkle.• Giant’s Steps, a son of Giant Causeway who was Chile’s champion 3YO colt and related to the successful imported sire Hussonet, will stand in New Zealand this spring.
A dual G1 winner of six races Giant's Steps is from the Hennessy mare Hamsaat Hi Haat while his third dam is the champion US filly Sachuista, dam of Hussonet and Ekraar.
Giant's Steps will stand alongside Ekraar and Echoes Of Heaven at an introductory fee of $5000 plus GST.• A G1-wining son of Medaglia D’Oro will be the first shuttle sire to stand at Spendthrift Australia.
Warrior’s Reward (Medaglia d'Oro-For All You Do, by Seeking The Gold) will shuttle to the former Yallambee Stud in Victoria.A G1 winner on dirt in the Carter Handicap at Aqueduct, Warrior’s Reward will stand on a fee of $11,000 including GST.
• A colt by Footstepsinthesand sold for the highest price of £185,000 at the Doncaster Bloodstock breeze-up sale on April 22 with the auction realising records for average and median.Following last year's record sale the average increased a further 8 percent to a record £38,725. The median increased by 36 percent to £30,000 after 129 horses were sold for a total of £4,995,500, up 7.5 percent from 2014. The clearance rate was an outstanding 88 percent.
Stephen Hillen purchased the sale-topping Footstepsinthesand colt, one of nine horses to sell for six figures, up from six last year.Bred in Ireland by Northern Bloodstock, the colt is out of the Brazilian multiple Group winner and G1 placed Notting Hill, dam of Brazilian G2 winner Notting Tomorrow among her three winners.
The Footstepsinthesand colt was pinhooked for €15,000 by George Mullins at the Arqana October yearling sale.• A daughter of Tapit set an all-time Ocala Breeders' Sales Co. record when selling for $1.9 million during the second session of the four-day OBS spring sale.
Alex Solis and Jason Litt, acting as agents for LNJ Foxwoods purchased the filly, surpassing the previous OBS benchmark of $1.8 million for a Belong To Me colt at the 2004 March Sale.The record filly is out of the unraced Silver Deputy mare Silver Wolf, a half sister to G1 winner Corinthian and G2 winner Desert Hero.
Tapit stands on a fee of $300,000 at Gainesway Farm in Kentucky and is the leading sire in North America in 2015 with progeny earnings of $5.8 million.• The OBS four-day spring sale of two-year-olds in training closed on April 24 with 676 horses sold for $53,711,400, compared with 770 youngsters bringing a sale record $56,965,000 a year ago.
However the average price was a sale record $79,455, up 7.4% over last year's $73,981 while the median figure was $45,000, equalling the record set at the 2014 sale.The overall buyback percentage was 22% with 60 horses selling for $200,000 or more, compared with 52 at the 2014 sale.
