Dam of Group winner Home Of The Brave to sell on arqanaonline.com
Arqanaonline.com’s 2017 sales season is set to start with a bang with the dam of 2016 Gr.3 Timeform Jury Stakes scorer HOME OF THE BRAVE going under the hammer, offered by Haras du Grand Chêne. The 10-year-old BLISSFUL BEAT, a daughter of Beat Hollow, was unraced herself but her first mating with Starspangledbanner lifted Hugo Palmer’s consistent sprinter, who also took the L. European Free Handicap as a juvenile and the L. King Richard III Stakes at three.
Home Of The Brave cost €80,000 at ARQANA’s August Yearling Sale when offered by Coulonces Consignment and his younger siblings have upped the ante: her 2013 colt by Dream Ahead commanded €250,000 from Peter & Ross Doyle at the same auction while her 2014 son of Excelebration sold for €180,000 to Rob Speers. Blissful Beat slipped to Dark Angel in 2015 but she has a filly foal by Haras de Bouquetôt’s exciting young sire Olympic Glory and is currently in foal to leading sire Le Havre on a March 30th service.
Le Havre was represented by no less than 14 black type horses in 2016, led by dual Classic victrix LA CRESSONNIERE, who extraordinarily emulated her paternal half-sister AVENIR CERTAIN in completing the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches-Prix de Diane double. The Haras de la Cauvinière resident saw his yearlings command up to €520,000 at the 2016 yearling sales and will be France’s most expensive sire this season with a covering fee of €60,000.
Anna Drion commented on the striking bay: “This mare has been wonderful to us. She was a mare I wanted to buy from the moment I saw her and her very first foal turned out to be the wonderful horse that is Home Of The Brave. She has everything you could ask for to make a top broodmare and is a tremendous walker. It breaks my heart to have to let her go but she will make someone else very happy!”.