During a session which saw just 10 horses through the ring fail to change hands, the Ralph Beckett-trained and Juddmonte Farms-owned Fabilis (GB) (Frankel {GB}) fetched 350,000gns to establish a new record at the Tattersalls August Sale in Newmarket. The transaction easily eclipsed the previous top price of 220,000gns from last year's inaugural event.
An own brother to G3 Darley Club S. hero Monarchs Glen (GB) and produced by a half-sister to G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches winner Nebraska Tornado (Storm Cat), Fabilis, cataloged as lot 380, was a maiden winner at second asking at Chepstow last September and added a Nottingham handicap in his next appearance. He most recently took his Timeform rating to 104 with a 1 3/4-length victory going 12 furlongs at Newmarket Aug. 27.
Peter and Ross Doyle Bloodstock signed the winning ticket and indicated that the 3-year-old colt is off to the Middle East to continue his career.
“He is for Prince Faisal bin Khalid's Najd Stud, a very long established client,” said Doyle. “I bought for his family many years ago. He is a lovely horse, I didn't think he'd make that much, but lots of people liked him. He comes from a very good operation, it is always nice to buy a horse from Juddmonte. The horse passed all the vets very well. The immediate plan will be to go and race in Saudi Arabia and aim for the Crown Prince Cup. We have had some success in the race before.”
Underbidders included would-be suitors from Australia and others from the Gulf region.
Mark Johnston trainee Zabeel Champion (GB) (Poet's Voice {GB}), lot 411, achieved the session's second-highest price when Mags O'Toole, bidding on behalf of National Hunt bloodstock agent Tom Malone, paid 185,000gns for the 4-year-old colt. Previously campaigned by Jaber Abdullah, the bay hit a rich vein of form this spring, winning consecutive events at Ripon before adding a vaulable Newmaket handicap May 2. Also third in the Duke of Edinburgh S. (handicap) at the Royal Meeting June 18, Zabeel Champion was offered with a TF rating of 112.
“A real champion. He is a big scopey horse, just our type of horse a chaser in the making,” Malone messaged Tattersalls after landing in Germany. “He came highly recommended and the owners weren't going to release him too lightly. He ticks a lot of boxes, he showed a lovely pace over 1m2f to win at Ripon, stayed 1m4f on heavy ground at Royal Ascot. A beautiful pedigree, so fingers crossed he goes on and does our job as a novice over jumps. He goes to Ditcheat.”
While strict comparisons to last year's horses-of-racing-age sales are difficult, given the circumstances under which the 2020 renewal was held, the combined turnover of 18 million guineas for this year was well above last year's turnover of 14,371,000gns.
“Last year's inaugural Tattersalls August Sale, which was born out of COVID-related disruption to the racing calendar, was a huge success and the second renewal has returned figures which suggest that the fixture very much has a long-term future,” said Tattersalls Chairman Edmond Mahony. “With the recent July Sale returning to its customary numbers, the August catalogue was significantly smaller than last year, but the vibrance and extraordinary level of international participation which are the hallmarks of sales of this nature at Tattersalls have been in evidence from start to finish. Buyers from throughout Europe, the Gulf region, Australia and the USA have added to the strong domestic participation and we have yet again hosted a sale which has achieved a clearance rate in excess of 90% and generated sustained demand in all sectors of the market.”
He added, “Equally pleasing has been the fact that the August Sale has seen a return almost to normality after more than a year of staging sales which have been hampered by COVID-related protocols. It has been a real pleasure to have welcomed so many people back to Park Paddocks as we turn our attention to the Tattersalls yearling sales season starting with the Somerville Yearling Sale next week.”
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