St Mark’s Basilica’s First Yearlings Make Arqana Debut
St Mark’s Basilica reaches a new milestone in his stallion career on Friday, as the Arqana August Sale begins with 12 of his first yearlings featuring in a quality catalogue.
Their pedigrees highlight the top-class mares sent to the five-time Group 1 winner, with ten of them being siblings of Stakes performers, while four are out of black-type mares.
Lot 270 from Ecurie des Monceaux is particularly exciting, as a half-sister to Group 1 heroines Chicquita (Montjeu) and Magic Wand (Galileo). Monceaux also offer a St Mark’s Basilica three-parts sister to three-time Group/Grade 3 scorer Sacred Life and half-sister to Group 1 winner Feed The Flame (Lot 178).
Lot 199 from Jamie Railton is another sibling of a Group 1 performer, this time in the shape of Prix Sainty-Alary third Crown Princess. The colt is out of a Listed-placed mare from the family of Sottsass.
Haras du Cadran’s St Mark’s Basilica filly (Lot 160) boasts a similarly smart page, as a half-sister to Group 2 victor Roman Candle, out of a Group-placed mare.
St Mark’s Basilica’s first yearling to be offered at auction brought $435,000 at the JHRA Select Sale, while he had been represented by the highest-priced foal in Europe and North American last year at 575,000gns.
St Mark’s Basilica himself impressed as a yearling, bringing a final bid of 1.3million guineas from MV Magnier. The result was influenced by his half-brother Magna Grecia, who by that stage had won both the Group 1 Futurity Trophy and 2,000 Guineas. The pair were bred by Richard Scarborough out of a Group 3 winner by Galileo.
So impressed was Aidan O’Brien by St Mark’s Basilica that he ran the colt as a maiden in the Group 1 Phoenix Stakes, in which he finished fifth. He progressed to finish third in the Group 1 National Stakes, before capturing the Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes.
He returned the following season to win all four of his starts, each of the Group 1’s; the French 2,000 Guineas, the Prix du Jockey Club, the Coral-Eclipse and the Irish Champion Stakes.