We bought Fantasy World for €70,000 at the Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale, the sale where we have sourced the likes of Sir Busker, Flashcard and Fast Society in recent years. As in the past at this sale, we worked closely with Emma Balding and Tessa Hetherington who both loved this gelding too.

Make Believe was a brilliant dual Group 1 winning racehorse himself, winning the French 2,000 Guineas and Prix De La Foret. He has since gone on to prove a more than useful stallion with the Group winners Believe In Love, Self Belief and Mishriff, who raced in the Prince Faisal’s same maroon colours as his sire, flying his flag. The latter took the French Derby (Group 1) before going to take the Saudi Cup and the Sheema Classic (Group 1), notching just shy of £12m in prizemoney!!

The dam, Donau, is a daughter of the great High Chaparral and was a multiple winner herself in Germany. She has produced two winners from two runners at stud to date including Waldgeist’s first two-year-old winner Billiegee. Both these two winners were relatively inexpensive purchases, so our suspicion is that this is the best physical specimen the mare has produced to date. Donau hails from a very smart German family with all of the next three dams having achieved black type. She has four ‘black type’ siblings, two of whom won at Group level. The majority of them did their winning over a mile and a quarter which suggests our colt should stay at least a mile as a three-year-old and possibly a little further.

He is eligible for the €300,000 Tattersalls Ireland Super Auction Sales Race at the Curragh in September, which is a race that both we and the Baldings would be very keen to target!