Best ever BBAG catalogue

The annual yearling sales circus is now under way, and following on Doncaster and Deauville, we have Germany´s most important sale by far, the BBAG Yearling Sale at the sales complex just outside the Baden-Baden racecourse at Iffezheim, which takes place next Friday, September 1^st.  This sale, which a few years ago catered almost exclusively to domestic breeders and buyers, has now become a major international event. The continued worldwide success of German-breds is one reason for this, as is the much more professional preparation now given to their yearlings by most leading German studs and their willingness to see their best products sold on the open market.

The catalogue comprises 269 lots (a small number of which may be withdrawn for various reasons), most of them bred in Germany, with also quite a few from France (eligible for French premiums) and other countries. They are all also qualified for the series of 17 BBAG sales races (“Auktionsrennen”) for two-year-olds in 2018 and for three-year-olds in 2019, with prize-money totaling over one million euros.

However the two main reasons for buying a yearling at Baden-Baden are the value for money in comparison to the prices realised at other major sales and the extraordinary success rate of BBAG Yearling Sale graduates. That was evident again only a few weeks ago, when the first four home in the 2017 Group One Deutsches Derby, the most valuable race in the German calendar, were all BBAG graduates. To be sure, the winner Windstoss, a son of Shirocco bred by Gestüt Röttgen, was bought in for only 16,000 euros and won the Derby in Röttgen´s own colours, but the stud has confirmed that he was on the market and that he would have been sold had anyone offered 25,000 euros.  Not only has the colt now collected the Derby winner´s purse of 390,000 euros, he is also of course worth many, many times his 2015 valuation. Windstoss, the thirteenth BBAG graduate to win the German Derby, is expected to run in the Grosser Preis von Baden two days after the sale, and his half-brother by Reliable Man is in this year´s catalogue as lot no. 213 and can be expected to fetch a much higher price.

The way this sale has developed can be seen from the figures. The 2016 sale ended with a record turnover of 8.4 million euros, an increase of 30% over 2015. Both the median and the average, both just over 45,000 euros, were up by 10%. International buyers led the way; the biggest purchasers were Peter and Ross  Doyle, who for various clients – and in particular Mayfair Speculators- signed for 13 yearlings at a total cost of 1.75 million euros, while the Hong Kong Jockey Club bought three yearlings all near the top of the market, totaling 575,000 euros. The biggest domestic buyers were Eckart Sauren, president of the Cologne race club, and agents Holger Faust (HFTB Agency) and Rüdiger Alles (IVA).

All these can be expected to be present again as well as all the usual suspects such as Tom Goff of Blandford Bloodstock and most of the top British and Irish agents, but also several Americans, including Calumet Farm for the first time, and a large contingent from down under, including Kevin and Joanna Hickman of leading New Zealand stud Valachi Downs, also for the first time. The interest of owners and breeders from down under is clear, considering that two of the last three winners of the Melbourne Cup have been German-breds that started their racing careers in this country.

David Conolly-Smith

The catalogue this year is arguably the strongest ever, there is really something for everybody. Although there is likely to be some very competitive bidding for the top lots, there will certainly be some bargains and also plenty of opportunity for pin-hooking: a filly by Exceed and Excel was knocked down  here for 49,000 euros at the 2013 sale and resold half a year later for 340,000 GBP at the Doncaster breeze-up. However on the whole it is generally true that most German breeders are trying to produce three-year-old that excel over middle distances, rather than sharp juveniles.

Leading consignor is Stiftung Gestüt Fährhof, with a total of 32 yearlings catalogued (26 homebreds and six for clients or out of mares boarding at the stud). Ronald Rauscher, the best-known German expert at preparing yearlings for the sales, will be one of the busiest persons at the sale, he has consigned 25 yearlings (three of them for prestigious Schlenderhan), but will also be wearing his buyer´s hat. Gestüt Karlshof has 14 yearlings, as does Ohlerweiherhof (6+8) and French stud Haras du Petit Tellier (5+9); Etzean and Westerberg each have 12, Görlsdorf, Stauffenberg Bloodstock and Haras de Grandcamp (6+4) each have ten. In terms of quantity,Brümmerhof (7+2), Röttgen (6+3), and Wittekindshof each have only nine, as does agent Jamie Railton (mainly Ittlingen-breds), but in terms of quality these consignors have some of the best pedigrees on offer. Brümmerhof were in fact the leading consignors last year, when all of their 12 yearlings sold for a combined total of nearly 1.2 million euros.

Looking at the sires represented, Maxios is the most popular with 25 yearlings catalogues; the champion miler son of Monsun stands at Fährhof and is the property of a syndicate which includes the Niarchos family, who raced him. His first crop are this seasons´s two-year-olds and has already produced winners, although they are only expected to come into their own as three-year-olds. First season sire Sea The Moon, who was a sensational winner of the German Derby for Görlsdorf in 2014 and now stands at Lanwades Stud in Newmarket, has seventeen yearlings in the sale, including six for Görlsdorf, and they are certain to attract a lot of attention. German champion sire Soldier Hollow is represented by 16 yearlings. Other leading German-based sires include Jukebox Jury, who stands at Etzean, with 11 yearlings; the ill-fated Campanologist also has 11 from his final crop, while German-owned but French-based Dabirsim, who had a Royal Ascot winner from his first crop this year, has the same number. Reliable Man, who is now moving to France, but has shuttled from New Zealand to Röttgen for the past four years, has ten.

Two German sires whose produce looks certain to sell well are Areion, with six yearlings, and Adlerflug, with four. The former has been champion sire here three times and although now approaching the veteran stage, is having an excellent season, while the latter is possibly the most interesting young stallion in the country. The 2007 German Derby winner had only small crops from his time at Harzburg, but has two Group One winners to his credit this season and is now covering larger and better books at his temporary home at Schlenderhan.

The sale also includes yearlings by many top international sires,  for example three each by Kendargent and Teofilo, two each by Cape Cross, Animal Kingdom and Le Havre, and one each by Sea The Stars (whose lone yearling here in 2016 fetched the top price), Lope de Vega, So You Think, Siyouni, Kodiac to give just a small selection. The good relationship between Coolmore and the German breeding industry is also well documented by the presence here of yearlings by Australia, Camelot, Pour Moi, Footstepsinthesand, Excelebration, Canford Cliffs, Mastercraftsman and others. Coolmore sponsors a listed race at next  week´s meeting, while Darley sponsors a Group Two race, and they also have several stallions with yearlings in the sale, for example Teofilo, Exceed and Excel, Helmet, Sepoy, Authorized or Iffraaj.

Obviously there is no scope in this short review to detail every interesting pedigree, but there follows a small personal selection (with apologies to all subsequent Group One winners omitted!):

lot no. 25: Henrythenavigator filly from the family of this year´s Japanese classic winner Soul Stirring

lot no. 45, Australia filly, first foal of champion 2yo filly Diamond Dove

lot no. 48, Sea The Moon colt, half-brother to 2017 German Derby runner-up Enjoy Vijay

lot no. 50, Lord of England filly, from family of Irish Derby winner Frozen Fire

lot no. 52, Mastercraftsman filly from top German family

lot no. 57, Motivator filly, own sister to 2017 German Oaks runner-up

lot no. 59, Siyouni colt from family of champion and sire Novellist

lot no. 60, Soldier Hollow colt from top German Group One family

lot no. 65, Lope de Vega colt, half-brother to 10 winners incl. Qatar Derby winner

lot no. 68, Charm Spirit filly, dam half-sister to champion sire Soldier Hollow

lot no. 72, Maxios colt, half-brother to German Oaks winner

lot no. 77, Soldier Hollow colt from top German family

lot no. 89, Equiano colt from top German family of Animal Kingdom

lot no. 94, Soldier Hollow filly from top German family of Fame And Glory

lot no. 110, Maxios filly from top German family of Lando

lot no. 121, Reliable Man colt from top German family of champion sire Monsun

lot no. 123, Jukebox Jury colt, dam is own sister to champion Novellist

lot no. 171, Le Havre colt out of German classic winner

lot no. 182, Soldier Hollow colt, own brother to recent Group One winner Dschingis Secret

lot no. 188, Jukebox Jury colt, half-brother to German Oaks winner

lot no. 191, Sea The Stars colt from multiple classic winning family

lot no. 192, Archipenko colt from top family of Pentire

lot no. 202, Maxios colt from top family with update this week

lot no. 208, Teofilo filly out of champion filly with update this week

lot no. 211, Le Havre colt from top German “W” family of Waldgeist

lot no. 213, Reliable Man colt, half-brother to 2017 German Derby winner

lot no. 218, Tertullian colt, half-brother to 2016 Melbourne Cup winner

lot no. 219, Dabirsim filly, half-sister to two Group One winners

It is almost impossible to reduce the catalogue to such a small selection (about 10% of the entire catalogue) based entirely on the pedigrees, and we have undoubtedly omitted some real stars, so apologies again. All the top German families, often developed and nurtured at the same stud for generations are well represented, for example the Schlenderhan “A” and “S” families, the Ravensberg “W” family, the Röttgen “A” and “W” families, the Auenquelle “G” family, Fährhof´s “L” family, to name but a few. After the Deauville results, it is clear that the Dabirsims will sell well, and the same can be expected of Soldier Hollow, also the Maxios, Sea The Moons and Adlerflugs. Most pages are drowning in black type, and this is truly a catalogue of immense appeal.