Aussie Bred Royal Academy Filly Tops SA Sale
7th April 2008
An Australian bred filly by Royal Academy from the Danehill mare Egerszegi set a new record price for a yearling filly sold in South Africa when she made 3 million rand ($A417,000) at the Emperor's Place National Yearling Sales in Johannesburg last Friday night.Purchased by bloodstock agent David Allan on behalf of English businessman Phillip Brown, the superbly bred filly (pictured) is from unraced Egerszegi, a full sister to champion racehorse Holy Roman Emperor and Group Three winner Milanova, being from the blue hen producer L’On Vite.
“We are particularly fond of Royal Academy as a broodmare sire and this filly has Danehill in her damline. This is Mr. Brown’s first venture into the South African bloodstock market. The filly will remain in South Africa to start with, we will announce her trainer in the next few days,’’ commented David Allan to SAHorseRAcing.com.
The filly was bred by Klawervlei Stud and her dam was acquired for them by Badgers Bloodstock for $280,000 at the 2006 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale.
“We had been advising the managing partner in Klawervlei Stud, John Koster, that it was possible to obtain great Northern Hemisphere pedigrees at reasonable prices in Australia and we were able to secure Egerszegi from Magic Millions on his first visit to Australia,” explained Grant Pritchard-Gordon of Badgers Bloodstock.
“She was our only purchase for him at that MM sale (we subsequently bought six mares for him at Easter 2007.) The credit has to go to my son Tom who had identified Holy Roman Emperor (the mare's full brother) as an above average two year old on his first start and encouraged us to give a premium for the mare.
“She did not have perfect conformation in front, but was a beautiful bodied individual, with a wonderful female line and Mick Malone of Kitchwin Hills (consigning agent) had assured us the mare did not pass this conformational fault to her progeny, so we took the gamble and the rest is history!”
Of course, Holy Roman Emperor went on to be an outstanding juvenile winning two Group One races before his retirement to Coolmore Stud last year and his yearling three-quarter brother by Rock of Gibraltar from L’On Vite topped the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale for Coolmore last year when he made $3million.
“Egerszegi produced a beautiful, correct filly that was exported to South Africa as a weaned foal and has now sold for a record price at their National Yearling Sales and she is still in Australia and back in foal to Royal Academy, with another Royal Academy colt foal at her side,” added Pritchard-Gordon.
All around a great result for Klawervlei Stud, which is also part-owned by Markus Jooste, tasting success as a yearling vendor for a change rather than as a buyer.
