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Flying The Flag Relative Makes 7 Figures At Tattersalls October Sale

Flying The Flag in August 2019. Image: Candiese Marnewick
Flying The Flag in August 2019. Image: Candiese Marnewick

Record-priced lots were like London buses at the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale Oct. 14. Angus Gold struck a winning bid of 1.05 million guineas ($1,392,683) for a well-related daughter of Dark Angel (Lot 767) who will now carry the famous colours of Hamdan Al Maktoum.

An opening offer of 100,000 guineas gave little indication of the record-setting territory the Ballyhimikin Stud-consigned lot was headed for, but, after a protracted round of bidding between Gold and Kevin Ryan the filly became the first ever seven-figure yearling to be sold at Book 2.

The result provided yet another huge slice of sales ring success for Trevor Stewart’s famed Cassandra Go family, as the filly is a granddaughter of his great mare via her daughter Allez Alaia, whose first foal, Allez Sophia, added more weight to the page, winning her maiden since the catalog’s publication.

“It’s the most amazing family that just goes on and on,” said a delighted Stewart. “She’s the most lovely filly but we had a few Dark Angels here last week as well and we felt it was best to split them up and let her stand out. She went way above expectations, though.”

Stewart has seen other yearlings from this family fetch seven-figure sums in the Tattersalls ring, with Fantasy sold to Coolmore for 1.6 million guineas ($2,225,328) in 2017 and Chess Master bought by John Ferguson for 1.7 million guineas ($2,873,315) in 2014.

“I have plenty out of the family, including the half sister who is now a winner,” Stewart continued. “And then I have the 2-year-old out of Tickled Pink and a yearling filly by Gleneagles out of Cassandra Go who is going to Ger Lyons, so something had to be released. Although at lunchtime I was really thinking that I shouldn’t be selling her.

“She will probably be the last filly to be released from Ballyhimikin. Coolmore have several from the mare, including Halfway To Heaven and Fantasy. Now Shadwell are lucky enough to buy into it too.”

Stewart was not the only one shocked by the Dark Angel filly’s price, with Gold himself expressing surprise at how determined the Sheikh had proved in his pursuit of the session-topper.

“No, no I did not,” was his response when asked if he’d expected the filly to fetch such a price. “But Sheikh Hamdan saw her this morning and obviously liked her very much. That pedigree is so strong, the 2-year-old has won now too, so if she could just win a couple of races she’s worth it to get into that family going forward.”

Gold revealed he had been on the phone to his employer during the bidding, and added: “I promise you I wouldn’t have bid that much off my own back.”

Allez Alaia does not have a foal on the ground but is back in foal to Galileo. As for Cassandra Go, she has a colt foal by Churchill and is in foal to Saxon Warrior.

King’s Stand (G2) and Tripleprint Temple Stakes (G2) heroine Cassandra Go has excelled since retiring to the paddocks, with her eight winners led by Boylesports Irish One Thousand Guineas (G1) heroine Halfway To Heaven, herself the dam of Magical, Rhododendron, and Bush Hill Stud’s resident sire Flying The Flag.

Other daughters include the Connaught Access Flooring Abernant Stakes (G3) winner Tickled Pink and Evie Stockwell’s Theann (GB), winner of the Cuisine de France Summer Stakes (G3) and also the dam of Photo Call and Land Force.

Photo Call, a three parts sister to Flying The Flag will be going under the hammer at Fasig-Tipton on 5 November as Lot 166, consigned by Denali Stud. The multiple Gr1 winner is in foal to Quality Road, and has a War Front yearling and Unclo Mo weanling on offer.

Flying The Flag, whose first two-year-olds will race this season, has three lots on the 2019 Emperors Palace Ready To Run Sale, including a colt (Lot 51) from the family of last season’s graded stakes winners Cousin Liz and Gimme One Night, and a filly (Lot 58) out of the speedy, stakes placed Hancock News.

Flying The Flag stands at Bush Hill Stud for a fee of R20 000.

-extract bloodhorse.com

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