Kodiac Colt Leads The Way At Tattersalls

NEWMARKET, UK—We know that these breeze-up consignors have nerves of steel: otherwise they simply couldn't do the job. As such, the bloodstock industry could not have appointed a better echelon to test the stormy waters of the last couple of years, when they were first to be broadsided by the pandemic and then tried to put things back on an even keel last year. The opening session of the opening sale of the European circuit, then, gave them a chance to put their world back on its axis—even as they found themselves having to navigate the fresh uncertainties of war and soaring energy costs. And the initial signs were most promising.

All sectors of the bloodstock market, on both sides of the ocean, soaked up the Covid crisis with astounding resilience. But the Craven Sale understandably subsided from the boom that had peaked in 2017 and 2018 with averages exceeding 140,000gns, clocking an average over the past two years of 95,000gns and 86,000gns, respectively.

But the opening exchanges here represented a huge rally. Albeit the clearance rate slipped a little, the average for the first session roared up 22% from 99,769gns to 121,365gns; with the median also advancing nicely from 80,00gns to 86,000gns. Turnover was only marginally down (3%) despite withdrawals leading to a diminished offering: 52 of 67 sold, compared with 65 of 76 last year.

Obviously a breeze-up catalogue tends to be very uneven, depending where the fastest breezers may be lurking, and that volatility can be exaggerated in a relatively boutique offering. So we'll see how things stack up after Wednesday's second session, but the first impressions were certainly heartening.

Loughnane Tops Session For 525,000gns Kodiac Colt

Some of the most extraordinary chapters in the extraordinary story of Kodiac (GB) have been written at the breeze-ups, and there was another one here when David Loughnane signed a 525,000gns docket to make lot 29 the sire's most valuable 2-year-old yet.

The February colt was presented by the farm that has supervised the rise and rise of Kodiac, Tally-Ho Stud—and that operation's trademark acuity is condensed by the fact that they acquired his dam No Lippy (Ire) (Oasis Dream {GB}) for just 20,000gns at the 2018 December Sale here. This was a full-sister to stakes winner Polybius (GB), and the winner of three of her first four juvenile starts; while her mother Freedonia (GB) (Selkirk) won the G2 Prix de Pomone before being Grade I-placed on turf in the U.S. And now No Lippy's first foal into the sales ring has hit the ball out of the park.

“I loved everything about him,” Loughnane said after seeing off underbidder Oliver St Lawrence. “He looks an out-and-out Royal Ascot horse. His dam was a very good 2-year-old for Mark Johnston, and he's a lovely, very well-balanced horse that did an exceptional breeze, the second-fastest of the lot. Fingers crossed he can back it up on the track, but the sire has obviously done it year in, year out, and he comes from a very good farm.”

Loughnane said he was acting on behalf of a new syndicate, and signed jointly in the name of OMNI Horse. “I knew he wasn't going to be cheap, but thankfully I have some owners who are willing to back me,” he said.

He has given them ample grounds for doing so, after his best season yet in 2021—not least thanks to Go Bears Go (Ire), who won the G2 Railway S. after his 150,000gns acquisition at this sale. That colt is by Kodi Bear (Ire), himself penning a new chapter for Kodiac as a sire of sires.

Mehmas Follows In Studmate Kodiac's Slipstream

Tally-Ho received another handsome dividend—and some corresponding compliments—when Ross Doyle gave 300,000gns for lot 65, a February filly by their latest phenomenon Mehmas (Ire). It was at this same sale in 2016, of course, that the agent and his father Peter bought the son of Acclamation (GB) from Horse Park Farm for 170,000gns.

“This filly comes from one of the very best farms in the game,” the agent said. “And of course we're all huge fans of the sire. He's been very good to a lot of people already, ourselves included, and obviously Richard Hannon is a massive fan too. He has done magnificently well at Tally-Ho.”

The dam Soft Power (Ire) (Balmont) has already hit the bull's eye for the farm, another of whose young sires, Galileo Gold (GB), covered her in his debut season—and promptly came up with G1 Phoenix S. winner Ebro River (Ire). Soft Power is a half-sister to the dam of star sprinter Slade Power (Ire) (Dutch Art {GB}).

Doyle expects that his unnamed client will ultimately seek residual value from that page, but hopes that she will enhance it first. “She looks like she would do what it says on the tin: hopefully, she's a real 2-year-old,” he said. “There's a lot of speed on the page. If she can run like the way she looked [on Monday], you'd hope there might be some black type along the way.”

But Doyle had kept some powder dry for the very last lot into the ring, the wildcard 81A. This was a filly by Zoustar (Aus) picked up by Midland Equine, Ltd. at Arqana last August for €75,000. Having meanwhile lodged with Robson Aguiar, here she elevated her value giddily to 400,000gns.

“She's outstanding,” enthused Doyle, this time operating for a new client. “I haven't seen a filly like that for a long time. She's an unbelievable individual: she has a lovely big ear, an honest head, everything is in the right place and she takes everything very easy. She breezed well, and comes highly recommended from a very good home.”

For his part, Aguiar had earlier done a productive sale with another filly by a young stallion, converting the Tasleet filly (lot 54) he bought for 75,000gns at the Tattersalls Somerville Sale into a 200,00gns purchase for Kerri Radcliffe/OMNI Horse.

Parr On The Trail Of The Champion

Speaking to TDN on the eve of the sale, Norman Williamson of Oak Tree Farm had not disguised his enthusiasm for the War Front colt he brought here as lot 39—and that counted for plenty, in the man who sold subsequent champion juvenile Native Trail (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) here this time last year.

There was corresponding demand for a colt that had slipped through the cracks of Book 1 at Keeneland last year, but it was agent Ted Durcan who gave Satish Seemar no way back at 425,000gns.

But while Native Trail joined the Godolphin powerhouse, this was a striking roll of the dice for an ambitious name at the other end of the town's training spectrum. Joseph Parr is only embarking on his third season, but here he could be grateful for some extremely purposeful backing from patron Oliver Harris.

“He's a smashing-looking horse from a marvellous stable,” said Durcan. “He's fairly self-explanatory, really. He did a smashing breeze and he's just a beautiful stamp of a horse. He's obvious and you have to pay for them.”

Durcan expects that the horse will be one for seven furlongs and Williamson concurs that he has the build to keep progressing.

War Front is the sire of another of Williamson's star graduates in GI Preakness winner War Of Will. The consignor stressed his gratitude to Mark McStay, who completed a $170,000 private sale through his Avenue Bloodstock agency after this horse went through the ring unsold at that price.

“I have to give Mark a mention,” Williamson said. “He knew I'd had luck with War Of Will, and he said, 'Listen there's a War Front colt out here that's not been sold.' Tim Hyde [Jr.] went out to the farm and took videos and all the rest, but really without Mark we wouldn't have got him.”

Williamson was emphatic when asked whether this colt evoked War Of Will. “Yes,” he said firmly. “He's very similar: action, attitude, he's always fresh and happy with life, which is interesting. If he's as good, then we'll be more than happy. For a War Front, size and build-wise, he's big and strong with a lot of scope. Let's hope he's a racehorse, but he really is beautiful and his breeze was beautiful too.”

War Front's books have been managed with care and his dam earned her access as a graded stakes-placed daughter of Giant's Causeway, out of G1 Oaks d'Italia winner Meridiana (Ger) (Lomitas {GB}).

 Yet Another Admirer For Tally-Ho

The system really is working well, so the “send-more-money” bit should take care of itself. Richard Brown wasn't quite sure which of Blandford Bloodstock's clients would step up to the plate for a Night Of Thunder colt consigned by Tally-Ho Stud as lot 9—but he is confident that it will be a privilege well worth 225,000gns.

That's partly because of the way this colt, a €77,000 Goffs November foal, captivated the agent's attention with both his build and his breeze. But it's also because Blandford and Tally-Ho have clicked so often in the past.

True, some of their deepest gold strikes have been at Doncaster—most notably Dream Ahead (Diktat {GB}), a £36,000 bargain back in 2010; Ardad (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}), who also proved great value even as a £170,000 co-sale topper at the same auction in 2016; and now, with a turn of the wheel, a son of that horse in Perfect Power (Ire), bought for £110,000 last year before adding two Group 1 wins to his Royal Ascot success. And Brown also has high hopes for another of Richard Fahey's charges, Umm Kulthum (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}), confined to a light second season but expected to take high rank as a mature sprinter.

“We have a long and happy history with Tally-Ho,” Brown said. “We've gone back to them for many years now and it's been a source of so many good horses. This colt did a fabulous breeze, I loved all of it. I'm a huge fan of the sire and I'd say he has set sail to reach another level again. I don't have a client as such for him, but I am sure there'll be plenty who will want to train a colt like this!”

The sales pitch should feature his damsire Ghostzapper as a promising addition to a line of classy broodmare sires, plus a half-sister to multiple Grade I winner Magical Fantasy (Diesis {GB}) as second dam.

Seemar Bookends The Session With Dubai Exports

It didn't take long to ignite the session, with Satish Seemar forced to 210,000gns to export only the second lot into the ring—a €45,000 Orby pinhook by Johnny Collins of Brown Island Stables.

It was Collins who led the breeze-up sector's fightback in the chaos of 2020, topping this sale when it was eventually staged (in late June) with a 575,000gns Night Of Thunder colt (who, incidentally, broke his maiden for Chris Waller in Australia just a couple of weeks ago).

This lucrative debut at the breeze-ups was obviously a feather in the cap of rookie Saxon Warrior (Jpn), who is off the mark in France already and was here represented by a February colt out of a winning Sea The Stars (Ire) mare.

“With his low [catalogue] number, we were happy to find one at the beginning of the sale,” said Seemar. “One of our regular clients in Dubai has a liking for the Japanese breeding so it was perfect match. As an individual, this horse was very impressive, and he passed the vet the way we like. But I knew with [the] action he was getting we would have to pay a premium—which we did.”

The trainer believes that a young horse will adapt to whatever surface is suggested, and that we should resist assumptions. Dirt will certainly be offered to the horse, then, but to Seemar the key is that young horses of sufficient quality are introduced to the maturing local programme.

“We've been working hard at getting breeze-up horses for the last six years or so,” he said. “If you don't bring in new blood then the programme will never improve. He will ship in a couple of weeks, acclimatise and should be for November or December.”

Having pounced early, Seemar bookended the session by giving 230,00gns for one of the final lots into the ring: a Medaglia d'Oro colt presented as lot 75 by Powerstown Stud.

Collins, meanwhile, pulled off another fine pinhook with an Oasis Dream (GB) colt he had bought at Baden-Baden for €58,000. Here, presented as lot 47, he made 310,000gns from Godolphin.

The previous time he went prospecting for yearlings in Germany, he came back with future G1 Preis Von Europa winner Khan (Ger) (Santiago {Ger})—albeit he sold him at Arqana at a loss.

“I bought three horses, including Khan,” Collins recalled. “It's going to be hard to beat that—though Khan didn't make me any money! This was a beautiful yearling with a great walk, I was surprised that I got him to be honest. He has been a lovely horse all the way through, and shown us a lot of speed. If you go through his pedigree, he's probably bred to get a mile-plus, but I'll let Charlie Appleby be the judge of that!”

Certainly his new owners won't want to end up on the same slide as Khan—who was actually last seen winning over hurdles at Ludlow in January!

The sale resumes at 5.30pm on Wednesday.

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Clodovil Colt Added to Goffs UK Doncaster Breeze-Up Sale

The catalogue for the Goffs UK Doncaster Breeze-Up Sale was augmented by lot 110A, a colt by Clodovil (Ire), on Tuesday. From the family of black-type winners Haatef (Danzig), Sayedah (Ire) (Darshaan {GB}), and Shimah (Storm Cat), the colt will be offered by Glending Stables. There have been six Royal Ascot winners in six years out of the sale, led by dual Group 1 winner and G2 Norfolk S. victor Perfect Power (Ire) (Ardad {Ire}). Doncaster Racecourse will host the 187-strong catalogue to breeze over their course at 12 p.m. on Tuesday, Apr. 19. The sale proper will take place at 10 a.m. local time on Thursday, Apr. 21.

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Tattersalls Guineas Breeze-Up and HIT Catalogues Released

The catalogues for the Tattersalls Guineas Breeze-Up and Horses-in-Training Sale were released on Wednesday. There are currently 206 2-year-olds and 120 horses-in-training ready to go under the hammer on Apr. 28. Beginning at 9 a.m. local time on Apr. 26, the breezes will take place over Newmarket's Rowley Mile Racecourse. They will be shown live on the Tattersalls website and on the Tattersalls Facebook page.

Graduates of the sale won group races in Britain, France, Germany and the U.S. in 2021, led by top-level winners Trueshan (Fr) (Planteur {Ire}) and Shantisara (Ire) (Coulsty {Ire}). There have been 46 group or listed performers since 2017, with a quintet at that level already from last year's edition led by Hierarchy (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}), who was second by a head in the G2 Mill Reef S.

There are 46 stallions with juveniles catalogued that have already sired Classic or Group/Grade 1 winners, Including Acclamation (GB), Australia (GB), Exceed and Excel (Aus), Iffraaj (GB), Invincible Spirit (Ire), Kodiac (GB), Make Believe (GB), Mehmas (Ire), New Bay (GB), Night of Thunder (Ire), No Nay Never, Oasis Dream (GB), Sea the Moon (Ger), Showcasing (GB), Starspangledbanner (Aus), Wootton Bassett (GB), Zoffany (Ire) and Zoustar (Aus). Also represented in the catalogue are the international sires Galiway (GB) and Zelzal (Fr) from France, and American stallions Astern (Aus), Caravaggio, First Samurai, Stormy Atlantic and triple German Champion Sire Soldier Hollow (GB).

A total of 32 lots are by second-season sires, and some of those sires are Ardad (Ire), Churchill (Ire), Cotai Glory (GB), Galileo Gold (GB), Profitable (Ire), Time Test (GB) and Zarak (Fr).

First-season sires also have a few juveniles in the sale, among them the offspring of Group 1 winners Cracksman (GB), Expert Eye (GB), Harry Angel (Ire), Havana Grey (Ire), Hawkbill, Lightning Spear (GB), Roaring Lion, Saxon Warrior (Jpn), U S Navy Flag, and Sioux Nation, as well as American freshman sires Accelerate and Bolt d'Oro.

Eighteen fillies are registered for the Great British Bonus Scheme and 14 2-year-olds qualified for French Owners' Premiums. Three juveniles are entered in the 2022 Swedish Derby and Oaks Series and another trio are entered in the £150,000 Tattersalls October Auction S., with one lot additionally entered in the £100,000 Tattersalls Somerville Auction S.

There is also a high-quality horses-in-training portion, with some lots of note including: lot 96, the winning My Little Tip (Ire) (Belardo {Ire}), who is rated 95 from George Boughey's Saffron House Stables; Kaboo (More Than Ready) (lot 108), who is listed placed and rated 101 from Karl Burke's Spigot Lodge Stables; the 96-rated John The Baptist (Ire) (Caravaggio) (lot 91) from the Castlebridge Consignment; and five from the Juddmonte, among them the once-raced Fraction (GB) (War Front) (lot 82) out of Group 1 winner Proportional (GB) (Beat Hollow {GB}); and the unraced colts Winterscape (GB) (Frankel {GB}) (lot 85), who is a full-brother to G1 Nassau S. heroine Winsili (GB) (Dansili {GB}) and lot 84, Polemon (GB) (Frankel {GB}), a brother to the Group 1-placed Weekender (GB) (Frankel {GB}).

Tattersalls Chairman Edmond Mahony said, “The Guineas Breeze Up enjoyed yet another outstanding year on the racecourse led by the champion stayer Trueshan and USA Grade I winner Shantisara, both of whom illustrate the quality, diversity and value for money that buyers have come to expect from the sale. This year's Guineas Breeze Up has been very well-supported by consignors and we are confident the selection of 2-year-olds will appeal to domestic and international buyers in all sectors of the market, alongside the second largest horses in training section in the sale's history.”

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Juvenile Sales Season Kicks Off at OBS

The 2-year-old sales season gets underway Tuesday with the start of the two-day Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's March Sale. Hips 1-316 sell Tuesday and Hips 317-635 go under the hammer Wednesday.

“I have been very pleased with the horses we have seen on the grounds,” said Tod Wojciechowski, OBS director of sales. “The interest from buyers has been very good.”

He added, “We have been able to add another level of horse that maybe doesn't fit the upper-echelon price range, but are very good horses. March is a key sale in the 2-year-old market.”

The industry enters the juvenile sales season on the back of an exceptionally strong season of yearling sales and a healthy breeding stock sales market.

Horsemen are optimistic that momentum will carry into the 2-year-old sales.

“The horse business traditionally goes along with the stock market,” said consignor Niall Brennan. “Obviously there are a lot of ups and downs right now because of the war in the Ukraine. I don't know that it will affect too much right now. I think the markets were prepared for it, knowing it was likely to happen. There was no big shock change for people in the market place. There might be some people that don't know what to do right now and might wait for the April sale, but I don't get that vibe. There has been a lot of interest and a lot of people that came into town early. It is a different vehicle than the yearling sales. They have to jump through a lot of hoops, but the ones that do, I think it will be a strong sale for them.”

Pick View's Joe Pickerell said he felt high demand would keep the strong market alive in the juvenile sales season.

“You would expect the momentum to continue,” Pickerell said. “Supply is down. Every trainer you speak to needs horses. We went pretty strong this year and invested heavily. We are looking forward to getting rewarded on some these.”

The OBS March sale will offer first 2-year-olds for many exciting stallions, such as Triple Crown winner Justify, regally bred Grade I winner Mendelssohn, MGISWs Bolt d'Oro and City of Light, champion Accelerate, GI Kentucky Derby hero Always Dreaming, GI Preakness S. victor Cloud Computing and more.

Last year's OBS March sale was topped by a $750,000 filly from the first crop of Practical Joke. Purchased by Hideyuki Mori from the draft of Top Line Sales, she is now named Clos de Mesnil and is a winner in Japan.

At the 2021 renewal of this auction, 325 horses summoned $37,970,000 with an average of $116,831 and a median of $60,000. These numbers include post-sale figures.

The start of Tuesday's session was delayed from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. to allow buyers more time for inspections after the last of three breeze shows scheduled for Saturday was pushed back to Sunday due to storms hitting the Ocala area. Those storms brought a tornado with them, affecting much of the Ocala area, but the OBS sales grounds, as well as most major Thoroughbred farms in the area, were left unharmed. Wednesday's session will begin as scheduled at 10:30 a.m.

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