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Horse Racing: No limit to global scope of Sheikh's spending spree T1 2007 THE YEAR IN BLOODSTOCK
(The Racing Post Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) JUST days after he swept to victory in the Derby, Authorized's stud rights were snapped up by Darley, who earlier that week secured Kentucky Derby one-two, Street Sense and Hard Spun, for their US base.
It marked the beginning of an unprecedented mammoth spending spree by Sheikh Mohammed's operation, whose acquisitions would later encompass proven top-flight performers as well as five of the leading fancies for the 2,000 Guineas.
Later purchases included 2006 champion juvenile Teofilo - a son of Coolmore sire Galileo - Japanese superstar Admire Moon, top-class Australian performer Meurice, America's Haskell winner Any Given Saturday and Manduro.
Darley also turned its attention to fledgling stars, buying shares in New Approach - another son of Galileo - plus Solario Stakes winner Raven's Pass. As a result, six of the first seven in the Dewhurst were associated with either Darley or Godolphin.
Broodmare prospect Playful Act the top lot
SHEIKH MOHAMMED also remained active at the top end in the sales ring and John Ferguson signed on his behalf for Playful Act, who broke the world record for a broodmare (or potential broodmare) when she was sold for EUR10.5m at Keeneland's November Breeding Stock sale.
The five-year-old was offered as part of the dispersal of Robert Sangster's Swettenham Stud stock.
Coolmore were underbidder.
She wasn't the only daughter of the great Sadler's Wells to hit record heights. A month earlier, a sister to this year's Fillies' Mile winner Listen and Henrythenavigator's dam Sequoyah had also set a world-record price - this time for a yearling filly - when bought for 2,500,000gns during the Tattersalls October Yearling sale.
Later named Liffey Dancer, she was bought by Charlie Gordon-Watson on behalf of Purple Moon's owner Craig Bennett.
The Goffs Million sale was also topped by a Sadler's Wells filly, with Demi O'Byrne paying EUR2.4m - a Goffs record for a yearling filly - to secure the first foal out of the triple Group 1 winner Albanova, from an outstanding family.
Emperor highlights commercial realities
THE CURTAIN had not even risen on the turf Flat season when the industry was rocked by news that leading 2,000 Guineas fancy Holy Roman Emperor had retired to stud to replace the sub-fertile (and ill-fated) George Washington at Coolmore.
On the morning of Saturday, March 10, Holy Roman Emperor did his final piece of work. By the end of that day, the three-year-old had covered the first of his 150-strong book of mares that would later include the Irish 1,000 Guineas winners Nightime and Tarascon and the dam of Kentucky Derby winner Smarty Jones.
The switch epitomised the current commercial climate as the stud value of a Group-winning colt now far outweighs the potential lustre of a high-class racing career.
In November, connections of Middle Park Stakes winner Dark Angel opted to follow the same route. In 2008, he will take up stud duties at Morristown Lattin Stud at a fee of EUR12,500.
Global ambitions behind merger of Goffs and DBS
IN July came the announcement of an Anglo-Irish merger as Goffs and Doncaster Bloodstock Sales banded together to form one of the largest auction houses in Europe.
While both companies retain their own identities, Goffs - which hosted Europe's first Polytrack breeze-up at Kempton in March - and DBS joined together under the Robert J Goff and Co banner. DBS's Henry Beeby became group chief executive, while Goffs' Eimear Mulhern was named executive vice-chairman. The move was designed, according to Mulhern, with the target of becoming a "truly global auction house".
Shuttle business counts cost of EI shutdown
THE lucrative shuttle-stallion industry took a massive hit with the outbreak of equine influenza at the Eastern Creek quarantine facility in Sydney in August, which led to a virtual shutdown of the breeding industry in Australia for several weeks.
With 43 shuttle stallions kept in lockdown, the covering season began five days ahead of schedule to allow breeders the opportunity to get their mares covered by more local stallions.
The introduction of a zoning system - mares could travel into areas of high infection as long as they stayed until the disease had passed - meant a semblance of the covering season got underway three weeks late.
Darley and Coolmore were among the operations who decided to return several of their most high-profile stallions to the northern hemisphere without covering.
While the impact of the outbreak was not as great as initially feared, estimates suggest it could have cost the breeding industry as much as AEUR150m (pounds 65m).
Overproduction: is it saturation point?
THE ISSUE of overproduction returned with a vengeance at the middle and bottom end of the market.
As vendors struggled to sell their horses, clearance rates plummeted.
In the yearling market, the problem was most keenly felt on the final day of Part 3 at Tattersalls' October Yearling Sale, in which only 39 per cent of the yearlings offered were sold, with 22 failing to attract interest above the minimum bid. It was only marginally better at the Goffs Breeding Stock Sale and both the Goffs and Tattersalls Foal Sales.
As stallions continue to cover larger books, the numbers of foals born annually has soared. Many experts believe that the market has reached saturation point.
Copyright 2007 MGN Ltd, Source: The Financial Times Limited
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