Steady Interest Ahead of BBAG Spring Auction

On a sunny afternoon May 18, the crowds are queuing outside the entrance gates to the Baden-Baden Racecourse for the first day of the spring meeting. It's Ascension Day and Father's Day, a public holiday because of the former and not the latter, but plenty of dads appear to be taking the opportunity of a spring bank holiday to spend time with their families at the races.

What many of those enjoying a card that builds to the Badener Meile (G3) won't know is that earlier in the morning 23 2-year-olds breezed on the track ahead of the BBAG Spring Auction, which gets underway on Friday morning. The sale is a mixture of breeze-up horses, those in training, and breeding prospects, including the unexpected appearance of a mare with her foal at foot.

German racing is not renowned for producing early-season 2-year-olds and the breeze-up section of the catalog presents a more eclectic selection of stallions and pedigrees than other sales of its kind.

As well as offspring of household names including Kodiac , Sea The Stars , and Sea The Moon , there are progeny of stallions who are not instantly recognizable, including Holy Roman Emperor's son Amarillo , who won the John of Gaunt Stakes, and Zazou , a group 1 winner by Shamardal who retired to stud in the Czech Republic.

The morning action is split into two groups, partly because of the limited pool of jockeys; there are three race meetings across the country on this holiday afternoon so riders are at a premium, and the differing approaches to breezing that many of the vendors employ are indicative of Germany's less intensive juvenile program.

The first 2-year-old race of the season takes place on Saturday across the tree-lined avenue from the sales complex and, while it will come too soon for the more precocious juveniles, there are opportunities in France and elsewhere before the second race of the German season, which is still several weeks away.

It's an opportunity that Stephan Vogt, the largest consignor of breeze-up horses in the sale through his Renello Bloodstock Agency, has spotted as a potentially untapped market.

Vogt, who runs Global Equine Transport, has a quintet of 2-year-olds at Baden-Baden having topped the breeze-up section last year with a Cloth of Stars  filly, his first foray into the breeze-up market. They are all quickly turned around pinhooks from earlier sales.

"This year we thought we'd give it a go, buy horses we like who we think are undervalued by the market where they were, so we bring them here, where they stand out a bit more," he says. "We planned to buy one or two but ended up with five."

The Renello draft has piqued the interest of buyers and within minutes of the breeze concluding, a queue of eager potential purchasers has formed around the corner of the barn housing the juveniles who are ready to be shown, having been washed down and groomed after their spin up the Baden-Baden home straight.

The strength of the interest has surpassed Vogt's expectations.

"They are a bit more experienced than the others here, so everybody came in right away," he says. "I was very pleased and surprised by how many people came; there were 35 at one point."

Renello's offerings bookended the breeze, with a chestnut filly by First Samurai   (Lot 63) out of the listed Grand Prix du Nord winner Gipoia getting proceedings underway. Her second dam is a Galileo sister to last season's Criterium International (G1) winner Proud And Regal .

The final filly to gallop (66) is by Kodiac and out of Rayda, a half sister to Debutante Stakes winner Raydara, who is the dam of Rajapour, successful in the listed Prix Isonomy at Deauville last autumn for the Aga Khan.

She is joined in the draft by a Kodiac colt (62) who is out of Landale, a Raven's Pass  half sister to listed winners That Is The Spirit, Khukri, and Mischief Making, who in turn is the dam of Lancashire Oaks winner Horseplay and More Mischief, successful in the Hoppings Stakes.

That Kodiac pair and a second-crop daughter of Expert Eye  (67) from the Moyglare family of Twilight Agenda, Refuse to Bend, Media Puzzle, and Go and Go have been the busiest showing for buyers.

With an eye on the timings of the season, Vogt says: "The Kodiac colt is a very nice horse and the filly is lovely. The Expert Eye and First Samurai both breezed brilliantly.

"The market in Germany isn't massive but there has been a lot of interest so, if they're all in the ring tomorrow, then hopefully they'll sell well. All of the horses, particularly the First Samurai and Expert Eye, could run in the second 2-year-old race of the season, so they're ready to race for owners."

And Baden-Baden is ready to sell on this holiday weekend.