Coolmore Spends Big for Beach Frolic at Tattersalls

The close of one chapter invariably begets the start of another further up the racing and breeding chain, and that was certainly the case at the Tattersalls December Mare Sale on Dec. 1 as Highclere Stud bid farewell to Beach Frolic, dam of champion miler Palace Pier, as the hammer fell in favor of Coolmore's M.V. Magnier at 2.2 million guineas (US$3,077,806).

Having bred this year's two-time group 1 winner, the 9-year-old daughter of Nayef looked a standout among the 1,108 entries in the four-day sale, and auctioneer Edmond Mahony duly went in search of a bid of two million when she took to the Park Paddocks ring.

Julian Dollar made a bold play when the Newsells Park Stud man threw in an opening offer of one million guineas, but was soon joined by the likes of Alex Elliott, stationed at the top of the stairs with Kia Joorabchian, Rob Speers, who was taking instructions on the phone to the right of the rostrum, and an online bidder.

However, when Magnier, bidding outside by the parade ring, pushed the price to 2.2 million guineas the other parties cried enough. A date with perennial champion sire Galileo now looks to be in the offing for Beach Frolic, who was offered in foal to Blue Point.

"She's a lovely mare and has already bred an exceptional racehorse," said Magnier. "The Highland Reel yearling that Jamie McCalmont bought this year was a very nice horse too and obviously Palace Pier is an exceptional horse.

"She's a special mare though and they don't come up very often. I'd say we're going to cover her with Galileo next year. Let's hope she's lucky for everyone involved. Lady Carolyn and her team have done an amazing job with her the whole way through."

There was a poignancy to the result as Highclere had owned Beach Frolic in partnership with the late Duke of Roxburghe, whose Floors Stud had earlier held a part dispersal when seven of the Duke's mares fetched receipts totaling 1,308,000 guineas.

Highclere's John Warren bought Beach Frolic's granddam Miss d'Ouilly, a listed-winning Bikala half sister to Prix de Haras de Fresnay-le-Buffard Jacques le Marois (G1) heroine Miss Satamixa, for 50,000 guineas back in 2000, after which the Duke took a share.

The family has blossomed in the 20 years since, with Miss d'Ouilly and Night Shift's daughter Night Frolic having bred Betfred Dante Stakes (G2) scorer Bonfire and Windsor Forest Stakes (G2) winner Joviality, as well as Beach Frolic.

"I'm not normally emotional but she's just such an amazing mare and it's been such a long journey with her," said Highclere's Lady Carolyn Warren. "The family has given us so much pleasure and I hope for the Coolmore team that she does it for them too. I'm sure she will. All the team at Highclere do such an amazing job day in, day out. She looked magnificent today so this result is for everybody."

John Warren added: "It's a bit of an end of an era as we've been involved so closely with Floors for 35 years. This whole week has been really poignant but I'm so pleased that the Duchess and her son George will be carrying on with a few nice mares.

"The relationship with the Duke of Roxburghe went beyond the horses, he was a special friend. Beach Frolic was a magnificent mare and was a collector's item in so many ways."

Moyglare's Need for Speed

It has been a little over 12 months since BBA Ireland signed for Sonaiyla at €110,000 ($121,796) at last year's Goffs November Sale when offered by the Aga Khan Studs. The daughter of Dark Angel subsequently took her form to new heights for Paddy Twomey and Ennistown Stud and duly saw her value soar when Fiona Craig saw off Joseph O'Brien and Demi O'Byrne to add the filly to the Moyglare Stud broodmare band at a cost of 900,000 guineas ($1,259,103).

Sonaiyla's 4-year-old campaign has seen the relation to Sinndar land the listed Irish Stallion Farms E.B.F. Sweet Mimosa Stakes and a valuable Curragh handicap, while she was beaten just a length into third by Glass Slippers in the Derrinstown Stud Flying Five Stakes (G1). Craig said her purchase would bring some much-needed sprinting blood to Moyglare's blue-chip broodmare band.

"It's basically a need for speed," said Craig, Moyglare Stud's bloodstock and breeding adviser. "I think that's why Joseph and Demi were bidding on her. She has something that we find hard to breed. She has that group 1 placing and she's an outcross too."

Craig said a mating plan was still to be drawn up, but noted that Sonaiyla's pedigree meant that her new owners would not be short of options.

"With the exception of Dark Angel, she can go to any of the top 15 stallions by stakes winners," she said. "She can go to Frankel, Sea The Stars, Kingman, Galileo, Dubawi, she can go to all of those.

"She won the Sweet Mimosa, which is a good race, and hats off to Paddy—he's done an amazing job with her. I'm glad we got 450,000 ($629,552) guineas for Mia Maria earlier on. I didn't think we'd have to go that high for Sonaiyla, but we sold well and hopefully we've bought well too."

A second lot brought 900,000 guineas a short while later when Charlie Vigors from Hillwood Bloodstock secured the classy Kurious, winner of the Coral Charge Sprint Stakes (G3). The 4-year-old, offered by Whitsbury Manor Stud, is by Kuroshio and out of Easy to Imagine, who also produced the group 1-winning sprinters Tangerine Trees and Alpha Delphini.

"We're delighted and slightly amazed we got her," said Vigors. "She's a group 3 and listed winner out of a fantastic mare who is, when you consider the stallions she's been to, probably pound for pound one of the best producers of recent times—and that's no disrespect to the stallions she's been to at all.

"She's for the same clients who we sold yearlings for back in October. They're a group of British-based investors and they're reinvesting after a good round of yearling sales."