The first British yearling sale of the season kicked off on Tuesday with Darley stallions accounting for four of the top seven lots at Doncaster’s new sales complex.
Top of the first day’s trade was a January-foaled Dubawi colt (pictured with his dam last year when just a few weeks old), bred by Neville Poole of Paradise Farm in Dorset, which fetched £220,000. Sold as a foal for 55,000gns, the colt represented a good pinhooking result for Charlie and Tracy Vigors of Hillwood Stud. His dam Hasten (Lear Fan) is a half-sister to the G3 winner Fantastic View and he was bought by Dubai-based businessman Mailh Al Basti, whose aim it is to have a runner in the Dubai World Cup.
Royal Applause's son Acclamation, last-season’s leading freshman sire, accounted for the second and third highest prices of the day while Royal Applause himself, such a consistent source of sharp juveniles, also had a six-figure lot in the opening session when Blandford Bloodstock paid £115,000 for a colt out of Frascati (Emarati).
The only other six-figure lot of the day was a colt by Europe’s current leading sire of two-year-olds, Kheleyf, out of the El Gran Senor mare Jumilla, which made £100,000 when selling to Angus Gold.
Exceed And Excel filly Infamous Angel won Saturday’s G2 Lowther Stakes and the young sire was also responsible for the top-priced filly of the session when lot 87, out of Lady Oriande (Makbul), was knocked down to Amanda Skiffington for £90,000.
