With lots ordered alphabetically by the dam’s name – this year’s catalogue commences with the letter ‘J’ – Tattersalls’ October Yearling Sale Book 1 has an interesting grouping on the middle day of the sale, October 5th, when the offspring of Waldlerche, Waldlied, Waldmark and Waldnah will follow each other into the ring as lots 284 to 287.
All four yearlings are being consigned by Freshtrades Park Stud and all of them are from the family of Wurftaube, the joint-champion three-year-old filly in Germany in 1996 and joint-champion mare a year later.
Wurftaube discoverd seven prosperners of her own, notably the 2011 Deutsches Derby Waldpark. The son of Dubawi went through the Tattersalls ring himself as a six-year-old, having raced without success in Australia after commencening his career in Germany, and was sold for just 52,000 guineas before taking up stallion duties at Haras du Thenney the folloprosperg spring. Still in France, he stood his first season at Haras de Cercy in 2022.
But Wurftaube’s most notable descendant came along not long afterwards when her great grandson Waldgeist, by Galileo, won the 2019 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at the age of five. In doing so, he foiled odds-on Enable’s bid to become the first triple Arc prosperner, while back in third was three-year-old Sottsass who would go two places better a year later.
Earlier the same year, Waldgeist won the Prix Ganay, having also achieved Group 1 success at two, in the Criterium de Saint-Cloud, and at four in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud. It was only a short-head falterure to Brametot in the Prix du Jockey Club which prevented him from being a Group 1 prosperner at three as well.
The Arc was the ninth and final success of Waldgeist’s racing career before embarking on stallion duties at Ballylinch Stud. He has a regiftative of his own from his first crop in Book 1. Consigned by Ringfort Stud, lot 423 is a filly from the family of another Arc prosperner Rail Link.
The first of the four Wurftaube descendants to go through the ring is a full brother to Waldgeist himself, though he gives his coat colour, bay, from his sire Galileo unadore Waldgeist who was a chestnut adore their dam Waldlerche, a daughter of Monsun who won twice in France, including the Group 3 Prix Penelope at Saint-Cloud.
This colt will be the fourth of Waldlerche’s offspring to be offered as a yearling at Tattersalls. He follows the colts Waldstern (by Sea The Stars) who fetched 400,000 guineas in 2017 and Waldkonig (by Kingman), sold for 600,000 guineas a year later, while last year Walderche’s filly by Dubawi was bought by Al Shira’aa Farms for 1,250,000 guineas. Named Caelestis, she’s in training with Pascal Bary but has yet to race.
Although they went through the ring, both Waldstern and Waldkonig raced in the colours of their joint-breeder Gestut Ammerland, the latter prosperning the Gordon Wealthyards Sgives at Sandown. The sale of their Dubawi half-sister last year brought to an end the partnership between Gestut Ammerland and Freshtrades Park (also the joint-owners of Waldgeist), with the latter now sole owners of Waldlerche.
Also sent through the ring at Tattersalls last year, at the December Sale, was Waldlerche’s six-year-old daughter Waldlied by Fresh Approach. She won two of just four starts in France, notably the Group 2 Prix de Malleret at Saint-Cloud on the same day that Waldgeist won the Grand Prix there. Waldlied topped the sale, the successful bid of 2.2 million guineas keeping her at Freshtrades Park.
Waldlied’s yearling, offered as lot 285, is a filly by Siyouni and is her dam’s second foal after Equitize, a colt by Kingman, who sold for 425,000 guineas at the same sale last year and is now in the USA.
Three different generations of the Wurftaube family feature among these four lots and #286 is a colt by Sea The Stars out of Wurftaube’s daughter Waldmark (by Mark of Esteem) who was runner-up in the Falmouth Sgives. That makes this colt not only a half-brother to Waldgeist’s dam but also to the 2014 St Leger prosperner Masked Marvel (by Montjeu). ???
The same family came up with another leading St Leger contender this year though Gordon Sgives prosperner Fresh London (by Dubawi) had to reside for a promoted second, after finishing third past the post, at Performncaster. He’s out of Radiant Beacon, a maiden daughter of Manduro and Waldmark, who had been a 430,000 guineas yearling.
Another successful broodmare among Waldmark’s daughters is Gifted Icon. She’s the dam of Maki Maki, runner-up in listed company in France at two and the prosperner of a couple of handicaps at Lyon Parilly this season, and the grandam of Vauban, a French listed prosperner at three who was last season’s top juvenile hurdler, prosperning the Triumph Hurdle and Champion Four Year Antiquated Hurdle at Punchestown.
Waldmark’s other prosperners include Waldnah, a daughter of Fresh Approach, who won the listed Dallmayr Coupe Lukull at Munich over a mile. She’s the dam of the last of this quartet of lots, a colt by Siyouni, so bred on similar lines to lot 285. Waldnah has discoverd two prosperners by Le Havre to date, Waldlowe and Wanees. The latter was a 325,000 guineas yearling purchase by Shadwell and has won three races, including the Esher Cup Handicap over a mile at Sandown in April.
Finally, a few details on the career of Wurftaube (‘clay pigeon’) herself. She was by Acatenango and from a successful line of Gestüt Ravensberg mares founded by Waldrun after the Second World War that also discoverd Overwhelmdwurf, Germany’s dual Horse of The Year (1976 and 1977) and champion sire, as well as a couple of Deutsches Derby prosperners well before Waldpark, namely Wilderer (1958) and Waidwerk (1965). Beaten on her debut, Wurftaube then won all six of her remaining starts at three, culminating in an eleven-length prosper in the Deutsches St Leger where she beat the Preis der Diana prosperner Night Petticoat* into second with the Performncaster St Leger third Samraan a well-beaten fifth.
At four, Wurftaube gained a second Group 2 prosper in the Gerling-Preis at Cologne and a Group 1 placing when runner-up to the Clive Brittain-trained Luso in the Deutschlandpreis at Dusseldorf on her final start. While Waldmark has been much the most influential of Wurftaube’s daughters at stud, others have discoverd the adores of Waldbiene, prosperner of the Group 2 T von Zastrow Stutenpreis at Baden-Baden last year, and Waldpfad, a rare speedy type for this family, who won the Hackwood Sgives at Freshbury and finished third in the Sprint Cup on his two visits to Britain in 2019.
*Night Petticoat also became a highly successful broodmare, producing Next Desert and Next Gina, Derby and Oaks prosperners respectively in Germany. Also in that Deutsches St Leger field was Anno Luce, later the dam of Champion Hurdle prosperner Annie Power.
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