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by Rachel Pagones<br> <br>THE OLD rivalry of Sheikh Mohammed versus John Magnier lit up the second day of Keeneland’s September Yearling sale on Tuesday, when the Sheikh’s bloodstock advisor John Ferguson got the best of Team Coolmore to secure a colt by Danzig for $9.2m.
The bidding war was an echo of last year’s titanic battle to secure a son of Storm Cat, also ultimately knocked down to John Ferguson for $9.7m.
The mammoth final bid makes the March-born colt, offered by the Kentucky-based Monticule, the second-highest priced yearling ever sold at the marathon September sale, and the fourth most-expensive yearling ever sold. The well-bred youngster is from the final crop of the outstanding sire Danzig, who died earlier this year.
Later in the session, Demi O’Byrne, bidding for Coolmore, got a measure of revenge, securing another son of Danzig for $5.2m.
The pair had also clashed on Monday, with Ferguson once again coming out best in a battle to secure a son of Storm Cat out of the Grade 1 winner Awesome Humor, knocked down for$8.2m.
There had been a quiet start to the second session, with the auction theatre half-empty by noon as a persistent threat of rain dampened the mood outside.
But the ambient humidity was no match for the fireworks sparked in early afternoon bythe furious tussle over lot 312, one of the last Danzig yearlings to set foot in a sales ring.
Settled into their regular positions where the horses wait to enter the arena, with their various entourages and a large crowd of onlookers ranged round, Sheikh Mohammed and Magnier took up round three of the contest begun on Monday, when the Dubai ruler emerged victorious in a struggle to own two colts which ultimately cost him $13.9 million.
From the surreal realm of $5m onwards, the bidding went up by$200,000 increments. Magnier, standing next to Paul Shanahan and Coolmore PR head Richard Henry, who was engaged on the phone, did the bidding himself.
Wearing dark glasses and brandishing a catalogue, he nodded confidently each time the spotter beseeched him for another bid. With the board reading $7.7m, auctioneer Cris Caldwell called for a bid of $8 million and the Coolmore maestro waved his catalogue roguishly.
With the bid at $8.7m, Caldwell said: “Last call back there – men, are you done? It’s 8.7 against youâ€ÂÂ
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