Avontuur’s Little Miss Frankel – a daughter of champion Val De Ra
A filly foal of racing legend Frankel has sold for an Irish record of 1.8 million euros (about £1.45m).
The horse, a daughter of Finsceal Beo, was bought at Goffs sales by Dermot Farrington for an unnamed Irish client.
It is the highest amount paid for a foal at public auction in Ireland.
Frankel was retired in 2012 after winning all 14 of his races, while Finsceal Beo (which means ‘Living Legend’ in Gaelic) won the 1,000 Guineas in England and Ireland in 2007.
The first foal of Frankel to be sold at auction went for £1.15m in London in June. The European record for a foal belongs to My Typhoon, a half-sister to Galileo and Sea The Stars, who sold for 1.8m guineas (£1.89m) at Tattersalls in 2002.
All in the genes?
Frankel is the grandson of champion stallion Sadler’s Wells, who died in 2011, aged 30, after siring more than 100 European Group One winners.
Montjeu, who died at 16, won the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe and produced four of the past eight Derby winners: Authorized, Motivator, Pour Moi and Camelot.
Sons of Sadler’s Wells, who retired from a breeding career aged 27 because of declining fertility, include Montjeu, Galileo and triple champion hurdler Istabraq.
Frankel – an undefeated champion
The 2001 Derby winner Galileo’s offspring include Epsom victors New Approach, Ruler Of The World and Australia.
Six foals were initially due to go through the sales ring on Thursday, but there were two late withdrawals.
Two of the remaining foals went unsold with bidding at 350,000 and 650,000 euros respectively, while another fetched 550,000 euros.
Another four Frankel foals will go on sale next week at Tattersalls in Newmarket, just a few miles from where the stallion was born and now stands at stud for a breeding fee of £125,000 a time.
Top SA breeders Avontuur Stud welcomed their SA Champion sprinter Val De Ra (Var – Minelli) home a fortnight ago with her magnificent Frankel filly in tow, from the Drakenstein Quarantine Station.
Val De Ra ranked as one of SA’s best sprinting females of the past 30 years and was crowned SA Equus Champion Sprinter for the 2010-2011 season.
www.bbc.com – additional reporting by Sporting Post Editorial Staff
