Book 2 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale came to a close on the third and final day with a further seven lots selling for 300,000 guineas or more, taking the sale total to seventeen.
Sea The Stars Colt to Blandford for 425,000 Guineas
The top lot on the third day of Book 2 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale was the SEA THE STARS colt out of the DAWN APPROACH mare MISS AIGLONNE, who was knocked down to Blandford Bloodstock’s Richard Brown for 425,000 guineas after he saw off determined efforts by agents Oliver St Lawrence and Anthony Stroud.
Brown, who was standing at the back of the right stairwell, said: "I think a lot of credit has got to go to our spotters - it is very hard to get around the numbers this week and Sam Goyette, who works for Juddmonte, said very early on to me that he'd found a very special horse.
"I knew that he'd be hard to buy - he is by one of the great stallions around and he has one of the proper back pages. Luckily I had a client willing to stretch to have a proper go. I can't name the client, but the horse will stay in Europe and won't be allocated probably for a number of weeks.
"He is not actually a huge horse, but to my mind he is a perfectly sized horse. I saw Baaeed quite a lot at William Haggas’ and he had this great width of hip and was not big, and this horse has that same hind end as Baaeed. He has great movement and he just looked classy. Buying a horse who looks like this by Sea The Stars gives you a chance of having a top Group 1 horse."
The colt, who was bred by Sunderland Holding Inc, was consigned by Harry McCalmont’s Norelands Stud. MISS AIGLONNE is a half-sister to MEKHTAAL, by SEA THE STARS and winner of the Group 1 Prix d'Ispahan, and a further three Group winners.
Hay Secures Gleneagles Colt for 325,000 Guineas
Whatton Manor Stud enjoyed a memorable final session of Book 2 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, with two of the top four prices on the day, headed by the GLENEAGLES colt out of the PIVOTAL mare LEDENA who realised 325,000 guineas to the bid of Ed Sackville, bidding alongside Dermot Farrington on behalf of Jim Hay.
"He has been very popular, everyone has liked him," said Ed Player of Whatton Manor Stud. "He has been a super colt, his sire Gleneagles has had a great year and is, of course, the sire of Royal Scotsman who was third in the 2,000 Guineas and is bred on the same cross."
The cross has had further success this year as MELO MELO, by GLENEAGLES and recently runner up in the Group 1 Prix Vermeille, is out of a mare by PIVOTAL’s son EXCELLENT ART.
Successful purchaser Jim Hay commented: "We decided early on this was the one we wanted. We have had quite a few by Gleneagles, we think he is a top-class stallion and we have been buying his progeny. We thought we should go after this one as well, he is out of a Pivotal mare and he has all the pedigree you could wish for. The experts Ed Sackville and Dermot Farrington tell me that that this is a horse with perfect conformation. This is where dreams start!"
The 2021 Tattersalls October Book 2 graduate ROYAL SCOTSMAN, bought by SackvilleDonald for 125,000 guineas, has been put away for the year and Hay is looking forward to him being prepared for the Group 1 Lockinge Stakes next spring.
Stroud & Crisford Secure Havana Grey Colt for 320,000 Guineas
The dual Group 1 victories this summer of the HAVANA GREY colt VANDEEK crowned a spectacular two years for the young sire, and the purchaser and trainer of that colt were keen to repeat that success with agent Anthony Stroud signing for the colt out of ZAMINDAR mare HELLO GLORY for 320,000 guineas.
"He is lovely, and a very easy moving horse and has great flow. He goes to Simon Crisford who has done well with Havana Grey," said Stroud. "I did not think he'd make that much, to be honest, but there are many buyers keen to get to Havana Greys, and the pedigree for this colt is there for all to see."
The colt was consigned by Whitsbury Manor Stud who stand HAVANA GREY, and is a homebred out of their Group 2 Lowther Stakes placed mare HELLO GLORY, a half-sister to STATELY PRINCESS, the granddam of last year’s Group 1 Cheveley Park Stakes winner LEZOO.
A thrilled consignor Ed Harper said: "It is always difficult when your nicest horse in the sale is the last horse in your draft and sells on the last day, as you are waiting and waiting. I really appreciate Anthony Stroud and Simon Crisford being so keen to get the sire’s stock, it is for obvious reasons with Vandeek, but to keep going to get the next one is fantastic. We bought Hello Glory with our good friend Heather Slade, and it is her best result with a yearling in the sale ring."
Of the key to HAVANA GREY’s success, he said: "He is just a phenomenon. He loves life, he loved being a racehorse, now he loves being a stallion. He is the happiest horse on the planet, except when he is disturbed from his feed bowl! His yearlings and foals are the same - when you put a feed in a Havana Grey's bowl, you leave them well alone until they are done. They are very easy horses to train, it is a big thing now in today's racing world. I also think that they are born to race, and they are generally very well-balanced horses so they deal easily with the undulating tracks."
Warren Buys Too Darn Hot Colt for Leading Bahraini Owner
The progeny of first season sire sensation TOO DARN HOT continued to be in high demand on the final day of Book 2 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, with the second of Whatton Manor Stud’s top four prices coming courtesy of a colt by the young Darley sire. The February-foaled TOO DARN HOT colt realised 320,000 guineas to the bid of Highclere Agency’s Jake Warren on behalf of Bahraini owner Sheikh Isa Bin Salman Al Khalifa.
Warren commented: "He is a magnificent colt, really powerful with a good head. He really looks like what you'd expect a good Too Darn Hot would look like. The mother was good - she was rated 97, she is a young mare, and he is a really impressive individual.
"It is a lot of money but the stallion has had one hell of a start. He has already had four Group winners including the May Hill, the Moyglare and the Tattersalls Stakes, and is off to as good a start as any stallion could wish to hope for - so why should this horse not be top class?
“He has been bought by Sheikh Isa and we will get this horse home, get him broken in, and then he will be evaluated in the new year and we will work out a trainer then."
Of trade this week, he said: "To buy a nice horse is really hard, we have been pushing hard all week and we are going above and beyond budgets to get these nice horses bought. It has been hard to buy them. It is great for the vendors."
The colt is out of the AUSTRALIA mare I REMEMBER YOU, who was fourth in both the Group 3 Brownstown Stakes and the Group 3 Fairy Bridge Stakes and was purchased for the colt’s breeders Nigel & Nicola Welby by Richard Knight for 130,000 guineas at the 2020 Tattersalls December Mares Sale.
"He was bred by Nigel and Nicola Welby, they breed under Kingsmead Bloodstock and are based at Yokehurst Farm. They have done all the work!" said Whatton Manor Stud’s Ed Player.
"I had heard they had a lovely colt and I was going to get to prep him. All the credit goes to them, the colt turned up to me and their team had done a very good job with him. We had him for eight or nine weeks and he has been a superstar all along, he was one of those that when he walked off the horse box at ours I knew that we'd be in good shape. I never dreamed he'd make that sort of price, I am delighted for Nigel and Nicola, they are such nice people."
Chairman's Statement
At the conclusion of Book 2 of the 2023 Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, Tattersalls Chairman Edmond Mahony commented;
“As referenced last week the 2022 Tattersalls October Yearling Sales reached extraordinary heights the like of which we may not see for many years to come, so for Book 2 of the October Yearling Sale to produce returns which, although falling short of last year, compare favourably with all bar two renewals of Europe’s largest yearling sale gives some perspective.
“As recently as 2016 the turnover at Book 2 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale was below 40 million guineas, with a then record average price of 65,000 guineas, a record-equalling median of 50,000 guineas and an unprecedented 117 lots selling for 100,000 guineas or more. This year’s sale has achieved an average in excess of 80,000 guineas, a median second only to last year’s runaway record and a clearance rate of 85%. The outstanding DUBAWI filly who topped the sale at 725,000 guineas was the second highest priced filly ever sold at this sale, 55 lots have sold for 200,000 guineas or more which is fractionally fewer than last year and the diversity of buyers has been notable at all levels of the market.
“As ever the support from the consignors has been outstanding. Year after year horses purchased at Book 2 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale are successful at the very highest level throughout the world, annually demonstrating the extraordinary quality of yearlings that British and Irish consignors, alongside many from mainland Europe, commit to this sale. Buyers, both domestic and international, derive huge confidence from the consistent racecourse achievements of Tattersalls October Yearlings and buyers from throughout Europe and the Gulf region, as well as Australia, China, Hong Kong, Japan and the USA have all made valuable contributions this week alongside the domestic British and Irish participants who will always be the backbone of the October Yearling Sales.
"It is a source of pride that Books 1 and 2 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale showcase so many of the best yearlings to be found in Europe, but as we move on to Books 3 and 4 we should also highlight the quality of the yearlings to be offered in the next few days. The likes of last year’s Group 1 Cheveley Park Stakes winner LEZOO and recent Group 2 Beresford Stakes winner DEEPONE were both bought at Book 3 of the October Yearling Sale and are graphic illustrations of the opportunities still to be found at Tattersalls this week.”
Book 3 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale starts at 9.30am on Thursday, 12th October, the first of three days of selling.
