EUROPEAN PURCHASES CAP OFF A STELLAR YEAR FOR PR THOROUGHBREDS
- George van Veenendaal
- Dec 6, 2024
- 3 min read
In late September Rob and Mark headed off to Europe in a move planned at targeting some potential stayers to race in Australia. Rob commented "The racetrack success of SEA WHAT I SEE vindicated what we had believed for a while. It is possible to purchase yearlings in Europe that have a proper staying pedigree and bring the young horses back to Australia, acclimatise them and as long as you are patient you have a really strong chance of getting a horse that will be very successful at our racetracks".
"We targeted the Goffs Orby Yearling Sale, a sale that proves time and time again to be the best value yearling sale in Europe. It features a great selection of the Irish yearling crop. It also leads into Arc weekend in Paris, one of the great weekends of European racing. The bonus is that the Arqana Arc Sale has multiple opportunities to target proven European stayers as well" Mark added.
In total PR Thoroughbreds signed for four lots, three yearlings at Goffs and a horse in training at the Arc Sale. All of the horses arrived safely into Australia for Post Arrival Quarantine in early December.
Lot 12 ZELZAL x TOSIA yearling filly purchased for EUR70,000.
This filly was not an obvious choice but was a stand out during inspections. She is a lovely dark bay filly with a lot of presence. She has deep girth, great depth of range, strong quarters and is very well balanced. She moves athletically and was a filly that we just kept coming back to see again. Her sire Zelzal is not well known in Australia but he was a G1 winning son of SEA THE STARS that excelled at a mile. He had speed and class and this filly reflected that. From small numbers to race to date he has been very successful and his fillies have a slight edge over the colts at this stage. She looks an earlier type and being a January foal she will not be giving away as much age advantage as some Northern Hemisphere horses do. She will go into training with Lindsay Park.
Lot 40 SEA THE STARS x WO DE XIN yearling filly purchased for EUR160,000.
Purchasing this filly was always going to be a challenge for PR Thoroughbreds. From the first time she was inspected she was our number one target. She is simply a stand out. Great mover, wonderful attitude, a real presence and every time we saw her she filled the eye. She is a stunning filly with the upside of a strong pedigree with a full brother who is a G3 winner in Australia!! The challenge was going to be price. We believe that we were very fortunate to get her for EUR160,000 and thought that she represented great value. She will go into training with Danny O'Brien.
Lot 138 CAMELOT x CASUAL yearling colt purchased for EUR80,000.
One of the target sires for the sale was Camelot, a sire whose sons have raced very well in Australia, headlined by the outstanding Russian Camelot. The appeal with this colt was not just the sire but that he was also a half brother to multiple G1 winner HARLEM in Australia. A well grown March colt this fellow has a very good frame. He has strong quarters, is very correct and moves well. We were very surprised when he was knocked down to us for EUR80,000. The price would surely have been much higher if he was sold after the Arc where Camelot sired home the winner, the third and the fifth horses (with Sea The Stars responsible for 2nd and 4th). He will go into training with Lindsay Park.
Lot 31 SHAMARKAND (3yo colt Harzand x Shamkala) purchased for EUR170,000.
A winner of 4 of his 8 starts for owner breeder HH The Aga Khan SHARMAKAND broke his maiden as a 2yo over 2000m before a successful 3yo campaign that resulted in a win at Listed level at Vichy and then being placed 3rd over 3000m at G3 level in the Prix de Lutece at ParisLongchamp. Derby winner Harzand is a very good staying influence and this strong Aga Khan family is full of black type winners. The family trait is to race with cover and then produce a strong turn of foot to the post. This attractive colt looks to be very good value.
Bought in partnership with Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott this proven racehorse will have plenty of targets in 2025.
PHOTO: SHAMARKAND winning the Listed Prix Frederic De Lagrange at Vichy over 2000m.
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