Breeze-ups could be a measure of Hong Kong interest
While unraced two-year-olds take centre stage in Newmarket midweek, across town on Saturday Auguste Rodin will attempt to further enhance Deep Impact’s incredible legacy.
Deep Impact’s long reach – even in death – may be seen in England this weekend when his final crop son Auguste Rodin shoots for a Classic win in the G1 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket’s Rowley Mile, but before that there could be Hong Kong interest across town when untapped two-year-olds pass through the ring at the Tattersalls Guineas Breeze-up Sale.
The Guineas Breeze-up follows on from the more esteemed Craven Breeze-up two weeks ago, and has in recent times produced the odd bargain, notably The Platinum Queen, a 57,000 guineas knock-down that went on to win the G1 Prix de l’Abbaye before selling to Katsumi Yoshida for more than a million guineas. Given the expansion of the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s PPG (Privately Purchased Griffin) permit numbers and the roll-back of Covid travel restrictions earlier this year, it will be interesting to see how many potential if any ‘Hong Kong buyers’ are on the sales ground chasing a suitable unraced bargain to fill their requirement.
Last month, the Hong Kong Jockey Club was among those that bought at the Craven, with the Hong Kong International Sale representative Mick Kinane securing a Siyouni colt, but the HKJC team is set to sit out this week’s lesser sale.
That was the first HKJC purchase at a Tattersalls Breeze-up since the 2018 Craven sale when the Club bought a Scat Daddy colt and a Farrh colt for a combined 550,000 guineas. Any Hong Kong interest at all this week would surely be a clear sign that European PPGs are edging back up the wanted list.
It’s not taken long for things to heat up further as lot 5, a son of Scat Daddy consigned by @KilminfoyleStud, goes the way of the Hong Kong Jockey Club for 375,000gns. pic.twitter.com/ENVeppmVaf
— Tattersalls (@Tattersalls1766) April 17, 2018
“It was great to see a decent amount of Hong Kong participation at the Craven Breeze-up Sale the other day,” Tattersalls director Jimmy George told Asian Racing Report. “We very much hope that will continue into this sale; I think the success of Northern Hemisphere-bred horses in Hong Kong is plain to see for owners and trainers out there at the moment.”
Last Sunday’s G1 QEII Cup winner Romantic Warrior was not a Breeze-up purchase but having a star racehorse being an Irish-bred bought at Tattersalls – not forgetting G1 Hong Kong Mile winner California Spangle is a Goffs Orby graduate – means the European market appears more desirable, with British sales perhaps helped by a weakened pound.
The European PPG market received a boost early last month when Kaholo Angel, a gelding by Havana Grey, won the Barker Plate for Griffins. In fact, five of the first six home in the seven-runner contest were sourced in Europe, Kaholo Angel being a 57,000 guineas yearling out of Book Two at Tattersalls last October. The third and fourth were sourced at Goffs in Ireland and the runner-up was imported from Japan.