Sales Season Starts With Plenty Of New Purchases
Its the time of year again where Steven and Becky Hillen go out along with Kevin to try and sources the next stars to be trained at Hambleton Lodge. Although there is still plenty of the season remaining, attention this week turns to finding the next stars who can hopefully emulate the likes of Amadeus Wolf, Astaire and The Grey Gatsby.
The DBS premier sale has always been a source of winners and for the last few years the sale has become stronger and attracted a lot higher quality of yearlings. The winners that have gone through the ring at Doncaster speak for themselves and it was again a very good catalogue, with many experts commenting on the quality of the yearlings on show. It has been a very good sale for Kevin and he always likes to be active at Doncaster which seem to produce exactly the type of horse that Kevin likes.
The list of horses that fitted the strict criteria of Kevin, Steve and Becky was quite long and it was going to be a busy couple of days as they battled it out to try and secure the yearlings they had found. There were some close calls but in the end Hillen and Ryan had signed for nine yearlings and were delighted to secure them for the prices they did. To come away from the sale with the amount they did is testament to the work put in during what was a very strong trade. Below are the lots that will be making their way to Hambleton Lodge.
Lot 30 – Acclamation x Soul Mountain £45,000 A beautiful daughter of the prolific sire Acclamation. The dam has produced 5 foals, 4 of which have run and all won. Athletic and good walking filly who really takes the eye.
Lot 45 – Foxwedge x Sunpearl £40,000 First foal from an unraced mare. He is from the first crop of Foxwedge, the group 1 sprinting star in Australia. With speed all the way through the page, this power packed, strong colt can hopefully carry on the family tradition and be a real speedball next year.
Lot 97 – Tagula x Westcote £28,000 From the hugely underrated sire Tagula, who gave us none other than Canford Cliffs. Kevin has had plenty of nice horses from his offspring and this fella looks no different. A good walking colt who has strength and scope to mature into a lovely 2 year old.
Lot 191 – Acclamation x Caption £21,000 The first foal from the dam and there is no reason to think this filly cannot start to create a pedigree. Typically a good moving, athletic type by the star sire Acclamation. Delighted to get her for the price, could be a real snip at that.
Lot 195 – Dutch Art x Carriagoona £45,000 Dutch Art needs no introduction and has been very good to Kevin with the likes of Salateen and Dutch Mist. A sweet looking filly who strides out effortlessly but has a real presence about her.
Lot 228 – Firebreak x Dayville £35,000 Look at the page and all you see is black type and Group winners, including the Group 1 winner Hearts of Fire. Strapping colt with great step and has strength and scope to continue the family page.
Lot 229 – Dragon Pulse x Degree Of Honour £40,000 First season sire who has really took the eye of many of the breeding experts. His dam is a constant source of winners, producing 4 winners from 6 foals. Racey looking colt who walks well and caught the eye immediately.
Lot 274 Dandy Man x Fields of Joy
Lot 417 Dark Angel x Miss Otis
Unfortunately these two yearling were snapped up straight away by Simon Turner for Hambleton Racing. It was easy to see why with both taking the eye and at very reasonable prices. Hambleton Racing are one of the leading syndicates in racing and have had great success with 2 year olds purchased from DBS. If interested in possibly purchasing shares then visit www.hambletonracing.co.uk for more information.
Immediately after the Premier sale it was the Silver Sale, but don’t be fooled by the title there was nothing secondary about this sale. Last year Kevin managed to secure a bargain with the purchase of a Pastoral Pursuits Colt for just £15,000. That colt turned out to be Ferryover who, after winning on his second start, went down just 1/2 length in the DBS sales race and pocketed just shy of £60,000. This year Steve and Kevin struck early and for a 30 minute slot seemed to be the only two people purchasing as they took home 5 lots in the space of 6 going through the ring.
Lot 583 – Equiano x George’s Gift £33,000 From the Group 1 winning sprinter Equiano and this colt seems to have taken after his dad. Strong, powerful colt and looks like he has all the traits of being a fast 2 year old himself.
Lot 584 – Sixties Icon x Gillstown Great £15,000 The dam has a perfect recond with two winners from two foals. She is a lovely filly with a real athletic action and although she has plenty of stamina she looks like she could be a nice early type but has the scope to continue to progress.
Lot 585 – Tagula x Gimli’s Treasure £32,000 Kevin is a big fan of the sire Tagula and its easy to see why when he produces good looking colts like this. He really takes the eye and has a nice, fluent action.
Lot 586 – Royal Applause x Giusina Mia £30,000 Royal Applause is a source of classy, speedy 2 year olds and he looks to have produced another. Half brother to Kevin’s Dominic Cork, he has black type through the page and a great walk to go along with it.
Lot 588 – Zebedee x Gone Sailing £37,000 He was a speedy 2 year old himself and Zebedee has certainly passed that on to his progeny. Power packed colt who really is a great physical and has a beautiful stride to carry him along
Kevin was delighted to secure the yearlings he did and will be counting down the days until they arrive at Hambleton Lodge. First of all they will spend time at Cliff Stud, enjoying the beautiful fields and facilities they have to offer before coming back to be broken in. With 14 new yearlings secured there is already a sense of excitement but there are many more sales to come and hopefully we will be welcoming even more fine yearlings to Hambleton Lodge.
All videos and pictures are in the Horses For Sale Section.