“We thought she could make that much, because Coach Prime was a such a lovely horse,” said Kim Nardelli. “We did know all the major players we on her, so we were suspicious she was going to go out of our price range.”

She continued, “Oddly enough, we were disappointed. When you sell a mare that well, it's a shame to be disappointed. Hey, that's part of the business, right? It's hard to find mares like that and it's hard to replace them but it's also nice to make some money.”

Giving legs to Nardelli's earlier suspicions, McStay explained that the mare's recent winner factored into the decision to buy her.

“She's a quality mare, I loved [Coach Prime] with Bob Baffert as a yearling,” he said. “She's been purchased for a commercial breeder who's being trying to buy a mare good enough to visit Justify over the past week. Let's hope she's lucky–the 2-year-old looks exciting.”

Act Now, who sold in foal to City of Light, was bred by Colts Neck Stables. Nardelli and her brother Rodney, in partnership with Werner, purchased Act Now in foal to Kitten's Joy for $150,000 at Keeneland January in 2020.

“Since our partner needed to tie some things up now, we had to run her through the ring,” said Nardelli, explaining the decision to part with the 8-year-old mare. “We were going to try and buy her back, but Coach Prime ran way to well for us to do that.”

Act Now's first foal, Dr Oseran (Kitten's Joy), finished third in this season's Texas Glitter S. at Gulfstream. Her subsequent foal, a colt by Quality Road, brought $1.7 million from agent Donato Lanni at Keeneland September in 2022.

Named Coach Prime, the bay finished third for Zedan Racing at Santa Anita last month before becoming a TDN Rising Star with an impressive 7 1/4-length win at Del Mar Nov. 10. Her most recent offspring, a colt by Union Rags, sold for $80,000 this past September.

A half-sister to stakes placed The Right Path (Quality Road), Act Now is out of unraced Always Trouble (Bernardini), herself a daughter of a half-sister to Group 1 winner and English and Irish Highweight Minardi and GSW Tale of the Cat. Granddam Spunoutofcontrol (Wild Again) is also responsible for Grade II winner Fed Biz (Giant's Causeway) and SW Spun Silk, dam of GI Vosburgh S. scorer Joking (Distorted Humor).

Clearly a standout in Book 4, Nardelli explained that at the time the catalog was printed, the picture was still unclear.

“We requested to be in Book 3 or 4, mainly because, at the time, Coach Prime had not started and City of Light was still a little quiet,” she said. “It worked out for us from that point of view. We knew if she hit, people would find her and they certainly knew where she was.”

In addition to Monday's session topper, the Nardelli's sold four other mares, including a pair that were re-purchased by the Nardelli's Springwood LLC–Afleeting Lisa (Afleet Alex) (Hip 2186 i/f to Liam's Map)  and Now Now (Tiznow) (Hip 2024 i/f to Mandaloun).

They also sold a pair of weanlings, a filly by Bolt d'Oro (Hip 2027) for $87,000 and a colt by McKinzie (Hip 2145) for $72,000.

“We had another group that we were selling to dissolve the same partnership and they were more suited for the later books rather than the earlier ones,” she explained. “We are small consignors so we needed a 'one and done' group sale. We didn't want them all spread out through the sale.”

Nardelli Sales was the second leading consignor of the session, amassing a gross of $891,000 with an average of $127,286.

She concluded, “We are happy with how things went. We had two mares we bought back ourselves out of the partnership. But they were not the same quality as Act Now.  We had weanlings that sold well, so we are happy with the way things went.”

Looking for Another Forte?

At this sale three years ago, a weanling colt by Violence out of Queen Caroline (Blame) was purchased for an unassuming $80,000 before going on to become the 2022 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile champion and Eclipse Award winning juvenile for that season. Hoping the sale's Gods might smile on them again, Monday's buyers continued to show interest in the day's weanling selection, led by Najd Stud who paid $155,000 for a colt by Vino Rosso (Hip 2258). Out of Celia's Song (Distorted Humor), the May 1 foal was consigned by Greenfield Farms. The chestnut is a granddson of GSW and MGISP Warbling (Unbridled's Song), a half-sister to SW Arianna's Passion, who in turn is responsible for MSW and MGSP Distorted Passion, dam of MGSW Mrs McDougal.

Clay Scherer paid top price of $110,000 for the highest priced weanling filly of the session. By Midshipman (Hip 1925), the Feb. 8 foal was offered by Legacy Bloodstock, acting on behalf of Hermitage Farm. The chestnut filly is the first foal out of Heartful (Bandbox), who is a daughter of stakes winner Love's Reason (Not For Love). The 5-year-old mare is a half-sister to Grade III winner Majestic Reason (Majestic Warrior) and the stake-placed duo of Jump for Love (Jump Start) and Good Reasoning (Scat Daddy).

At the conclusion of Monday's session, a total of 285 horses through the ring sold for $9,044,100, decreasing 5.76% from the sixth session last year when 246 horses brought $9,596,900. The average decreased 18.66% from $39,012 to $31,734, and the median of $23,000 is 23.33% lower than $30,000 last year. There RNA rate for Monday's sixth session was 25.47%.

Through six sessions, a total of 1,343 horses have sold for $163,792,100, for an average of $121,960 and a median of $65,000. The gross decreased 14.71% from $192,033,900 through the corresponding period last year, while the average is 18.26% below $149,210 in 2022 and the median is 15.58% lower than $77,000.

The Keeneland November Sale continues through Thursday, with sessions beginning at 10 a.m. It will be followed by a single-session Horses of Racing Age Sale Friday.

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Shamardal's sons have had plenty to say for themselves of late. Blue Point (Ire) leads the freshman sires' championship with his first runners, and Pinatubo (Ire) and Earthlight (Ire) have found favour in the sales-rings of Europe with their first yearlings. During the opening session of Book 3 on Thursday, an Earthlight yearling passed the test of one fine judge in Tony O'Callaghan at 95,000gns, and come Friday, it was a son of Pinatubo who topped proceedings, bought for 90,000gns by Saud Al Qahtani of Saudi Arabia's Najd Stud. Bred by Rabbah Bloodstock, the colt (lot 1733) is a half-brother to Mighty Gurkha (Ire) (Sepoy {Aus}), winner of the G3 Sirenia S., out of the unraced Royal Applause (GB) mare Royal Debt (GB).

Al Qahtani explained after the sale of the Barton Stud-consigned colt that Najd Stud has bought 30 yearlings so far in 2023, the majority of which will go into training in Britain.

He said, “I hope, Inshallah, that Pinatubo will be a good sire. He was the champion two-year-old by Shamardal so why not? We hope that he will be a very good sire. We put 100,000gns on him as a budget.

“He might stay here in Britain or go to Saudi. We'll think about this and decide later. We've bought 30 yearlings this year. Eight of those will go to Saudi and the rest will stay here. It has been a very good market, very competitive.”

Najd Stud is represented in Saturday's G1 Native Trail Dewhurst S. by Eben Shaddad (Calyx {GB}), who was bought earlier this year at the Arqana Breeze-up Sale.

As the weather deteriorated dramatically through the late afternoon, there were at least two bright spots for Tattersalls when October Sale graduates Ylang Ylang (GB) (Frankel {GB}) and Inquisitively (Ire) (Ten Sovereigns {Ire}) took the G1 Fillies' Mile and G3 Cornwallis S. respectively on the Rowley Mile. That pair had come from Books 1 and 2 last year, but Just Beautiful (GB) (Pride Of Dubai {Aus}) and Honey Girl (GB) (Mayon {GB}) are among the Book 3 graduates to have won group races this season, and they were bought for 8,000gns and 4,500gns. A reminder that good racehorses can be found at all levels of the market for those with enough staying power to last the fortnight at Park Paddocks after a hectic fortnight prior to that in Ireland. 

Talking Points

The market adjustment has continued through this week, with Book 3 figures running below last year. The clearance rate has remained pretty high, however, and is currently at 83% with another session of Book 3 yearlings still to sell on Saturday morning. In Friday's session, 141 yearlings (74%) were sold for an aggregate of 1,725,500gns, average of 12,238gns and median of 10,000gns. Comparative figures are tricky as the Book 3 format has changed from last year owing to the sale clashing with two days of racing in Newmarket. Generally, though, trade is running between 15 to 20% down on last year.

The favourable first impression created by the stock of Haras d'Etreham's Hello Youmzain (Fr) had been a feature of the Arqana August Sale and that continued at Tattersalls. During Book 3, he has had three yearlings sold for an average of 55,667gns, to James Tate, Mick Fitzpatrick, and the buying team of Jamie Piggott and Oliver Cole. The son of Kodiac (GB) also achieved a 71,000gns average with his three sold at Book 2.

Far Above (GB) has been the fastest son of Farhh (GB) to grace the track to date, and one man who knows more about the Group 3-winning sprinter than most is his former trainer James Tate. He stepped in to buy lot 1835, a colt consigned by Q-Cross Stables and out of the dual-winning New Approach (Ire) mare Bittern (Ire), for 70,000gns. Tate, who said that he has three Far Above yearlings in his yard, also noted that he is no longer a private trainer for Rabbah but is open to offers from all owners.

Buy of the Day

Good luck to Marcus Collie, who looks to have secured a bargain in lot 1769, a filly by Masar (Ire) from Mickey Stud. Bought for 9,000gns, well below Masar's covering fee of £14,000, she is out of Tadpole (GB), a winning Sir Percy (GB) half-sister to group winners Beaten Up (GB) and Harris Tweed (GB), and to Lingfield Oaks Trial winner Vow (GB). The dynasty has received a further boost in recent years with the exploits of multiple Group 3 winner and Irish St Leger runner-up Hamish (GB), who is out of another of Tadpole's half-sisters, Tweed (GB). 

It's a prolific family whose members tend to improve with age, so here's hoping that this daughter of a Derby winner can bring some compensation to breeder David John Meaden by way of reflected glory as and when she adds to her clan's tally of victories. 

Thought of the Day

Books 3 and 4 bring the curtain down on the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale on Saturday, a day which also sees yearling sales take place in Spain and Germany, along with a mixed Flat sale which includes foals and yearlings at Auctav in France. That's before another five days of action kicks off at Arqana on Tuesday. 

The sales calendar is more congested than it has ever been, and the increase in dates, for both physical sales and those held online, is clearly in response to a growing demand from owners and breeders to trade. It is a sign of the times, but it is one which must lead to scheduling headaches for sales companies, and logistical nightmares for consignors and agents.

And for those with a season ticket on the sales charabanc, all I can say is keep taking the Berocca, maybe with the odd dash of gin.

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Successful in the Listed Jumeirah Classic in 2022, the former Godolphin inmate went to Najd Stud, who was active during Goffs Dubai Breeze-Up Sale last month.

Walk Of Stars (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), who also raced in the royal blue, went for AED1.2 million to Athbah Racing. He was placed in the Listed Derby Trial at Lingfield last May, and was later third in the G3 Bahrain Trophy S. at Newmarket.

Of the 143 offered, 137 sold (96%) for AED12,575,000 (£2,746,796/€3,140,562/US$3,424,098). The sale was held in the Meydan Racecourse pre-parade ring at 9 p.m.

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Following the withdrawal of 10 horses, 63 juveniles were presented to an enthusiastic group of bidders from a variety of jurisdictions and attended by Sheikh Mohammed and his advisors. Some 42 horses were reported as sold for AED25,814,178, a decrease of 18.2% from last year's AED31,580,000. The average of AED614,624 represented a 1% gain over the inaugural event, while the median of AED537,000 jumped by a whopping 37%. The clearance rate of 67% declined from 80% in 2022.

“The second renewal of the Dubai Breeze-Up in association with Goffs was another sale of vibrant sales ring action,” said Goffs' Henry Beeby. “Whilst the clearance rate was slightly down on last year, the average and particularly the median has grown considerably which demonstrated that the quality was selling extremely well.

“The old adage at these types of sales is 'breeze well, sell well', and those that caught the eye at the breeze were the most active in the sales ring. We built very solid foundations in years one and two and look forward to working with the Dubai Racing

Club to develop this sale into a truly world-class event, and the racetrack success of the first year certainly means that it has a bright future.

“Once again, I would like to extend thanks from all the team at Goffs to the Dubai Racing Club for the trust they have placed in us, and we salute the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed in adding the sale to this huge week of international racing at the Dubai World Cup.”

Hay Is For Horses

It was a busy evening for Stephen Hillen and Dr Jim Hay, who ended up securing not only the sale's top two sellers, but four of the top seven overall.

Lot 2 was bred in Kentucky by Orpendale, Chelston and Wynatt and was consigned to the sale by Willie Browne's Mocklershill on behalf of the breeder. Lead auctioneer Henry Beeby accepted an opening bid of a robust AED500,000 and bidding was steady up to and through the 2-million dirham level before Hay landed his first winning blow of the evening.

“We supported the sale last year,” said Hay, whose two purchases last year included a Gun Runner colt and a filly by Into Mischief. “We didn't do well with the purchases, but nevertheless, there are high-class pedigrees, the catalogue this year looks better. Stephen has had a good look at everything.”

Added Hillen: “He is by a top sire, Willie Browne thoroughly recommended him. I saw him at Willie's place about three weeks ago, big stride and by a good stallion. He'll probably stay here in Dubai to be trained by Bhupat Seemar.”

Hay has racing interests in all corners of the globe, but is encouraged about the trajectory of the local programme.

“The plan is to build up the stable in Dubai, this is where the prize money is and we need to race here,” he said.

“Very pleased with that,” said the consignor. “He was a beautiful horse by a stallion who is going places.”

A Justify colt also topped Monday's opening session of the OBS March Sale in Ocala, Florida, on a bid of $1.2 million.

A short time later, Hay and Hillen bought consecutive lots off Tom Whitehead's Powerstown Stud. Lot 17, a War Front own brother to the stakes-placed Stony Point, was acquired by Chad Schumer for $130,000 at last year's Keeneland September Sale and fetched €320,928 Tuesday, while Hay went back to the Gun Runner well once more when paying the sales-topping price.

“He was already a big horse when we got him, but he got broader and wider since,” Whitehead said of the Gun Runner son of Brazilian Group 1 winner Baby Go Far (Brz) (Elusive Quality), who was purchased for $160,000 at Keeneland last fall.

He, too, will be trained by Seemar, who said the colt reminded him a lot of his G1 Dubai World Cup hopeful Bendoog (Gun Runner), who was most recently runner-up in the G1 Al Maktoum Challenge R3.

Hay's fourth purchase was a colt from the first crop of Mitole–Warm Breeze (Street Sense) (lot 14) for €246,914. The May 3 foal was consigned by Bushypark Stables, who bought him for $60,000 at Keeneland.

Stephen Hillen & Dr Hay bought 4 lots at the Dubai Breeze Up Sale for an average of €407,408.

Lot 2 – €518,519
Lot 14 – €246,914
Lot 17 – €320,988
Lot 18 – €543,210#GoffsDubai pic.twitter.com/HQxHwESixT

— Goffs (@Goffs1866) March 21, 2023

Schumer Happy, Surprised By Results

American agent Chad Schumer does plenty of business in the Gulf region and is responsible for having sold last-out Listed Al Bastakiya S. winner Go Soldier Go (Tapiture) at last year's Dubai Sale. He was more than satisfied with the sale of the War Front colt through Powerstown, but was generally perplexed at the end results

“It's a very good pedigree and we expected that colt to do well,” he said, taking time out from his work down at the OBS sale. “He was a beautiful yearling and vetted well. You never know until you get there so we are delighted.”

He continued, “Tom generally just tries to buy the right kind of horse. This horse was well below what we were willing to spend, so it was a nice surprise we were able to pick him up for that.”

Given the success of last year's event, he was a bit taken aback at the level of engagement this time around.

“It was a real surprise to me,” he said. “Last year it felt a bit spotty to me. If you didn't have the right type, there was no money at all and Goffs did an exceptional job in pushing to get those horses sold. This year, based on the fact that so many of the horses had won and there was the Group 1-placed horse in Japan, I would have thought there would have been voracious demand, but there wasn't. Maybe OBS going on at the same time causes a pull from this sale, I don't know.”

Many congratulations to Powerstown Stud on the sale of their War Front colt for $320,000 @goffs1866 Dubai Sale. Knocked down to us for $120,000 @keenelandsales – hopefully another good one to showcase the Dubai Sale pic.twitter.com/AYU5QlZ8hX

— Chad Schumer (@SchumerBS) March 21, 2023

Mitole A Hot Commodity in Dubai As Well

The first-crop offerings by Mitole (Eskendereya) proved popular Monday at OBS, with three lots fetching six-figure prices, and those that went through Tuesday in Dubai made a favourable impression as well. In addition to Hay's aforementioned purchase early in the session, Oliver St Lawrence and trainer Fawzi Nass went to €222,222 for a half-brother to the multiple Canadian stakes winners Dene Court (City Zip) and Jacally (Bold Executive). Lot 66 was purchased by Roderic Kavanagh's Glending Stables for $60,000 at Keeneland in September.

“I liked this colt very much and it seems like the sire is making some good horses,” St Lawrence said. “They have good substance and are good doers.”

The Name's Stroud

Buyers at Tuesday's sale were identifiable by paddles bearing a three-digit number, and lot 42, a colt by Darley America's Street Sense was knocked down to agent Anthony Stroud–holding paddle 007–for €370,370, the joint-fourth highest price of the sale.

Bred in Kentucky by Lewis Thoroughbred Breeding, the bay colt is out of Gold Serenade (Medaglia d'Oro), whose superstar 11-times Grade I-winning dam Serena's Song (Rahy) was responsible for G1 Coronation S. heroine Sophisticat (Storm Cat) and graded-stakes winners Grand Reward (Storm Cat) and Harlington (Unbridled). This is also the family of US champion Honor Code (A.P. Indy).

Norman Williamson of Oak Tree Farm congratulates Anthony Stroud on the purchase of his Street Sense colt (Lot 42) for €370,370 at the Dubai Breeze Up Sale.

The colt is the 3rd produce of a daughter of G1 winner & G1 producer Serena's Song.#GoffsDubai pic.twitter.com/pbVQYYRdWb

— Goffs (@Goffs1866) March 21, 2023

No Nay Never Colt Leads Euro-Breds

Of the 18 2-year-olds offered during Tuesday's session by European-based stallions, lot 71 proved the most coveted, selling to the burgeoning Najd Stud for €209,877.

A son of 2012 G1 Irish 1000 Guineas third Princess Sinead (Ire) (Jeremy), the May-foaled bay was led out unsold on a bid of 40,000gns during Book 2 of the Tattersalls October Sale last fall.

“We are delighted with that,” said Colm Kennedy, whose Drumphea Stables consigned the colt as the property of a partnership. “We were very pleased with the way the horse presented and his breeze [Monday] was very nice. Certainly the sire helped him, but that was a very good result.”

Najd Stud, the operation of Saudi Prince Faisal bin Khalid bin Abdulaziz, bought four lots Tuesday topped by a Constitution colt (lot 25) out of a half-sister to multiple graded winner and Grade I-placed Independence Hall (Constitution) for just over €395,000 off Brendan Holland's Grove Stud.

Click here for the full results.

Najd Stud were busy at the Dubai Breeze Up Sale, with the Saudi Arabian stud farm owned by HRH Prince Faisal Bin Khaled Bin Abdulaziz purchasing 4 lots, headed by Grove Stud's Constitution colt for €395,062.#GoffsDubai pic.twitter.com/cbjo56dZXA

— Goffs (@Goffs1866) March 21, 2023

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.

What a journey it has been for team Saffron Beach. She has been bought by Najd Stud and she was consigned by @JaneChappleHyam. Her rider Abbie and Ollie led her up at #TattsDecember pic.twitter.com/zsm0AmXfyS

— TDN (@theTDN) November 29, 2022

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On the Saudi Cup undercard, Prince Faisal was represented by a number of runners, including Grocer Jack (Ger) (Oasis Dream {GB}) who was just over two lengths behind Authority (Jpn) (Orfevre {Jpn}) when fifth in the G3 Neom Turf Cup, and Alnaader (KSA) (Teletext), who was the same distance off the winner Pinehurst (Twirling Candy) in the G3 Saudi Derby.

Grocer Jack, a Group 2 winner in his native Germany, had made headlines last October when topping the Tattersalls Horses-in-Training Sale at 700,000gns. In the last year alone, Najd Stud has signed for 26 horses in Newmarket for just shy of 4 million gns. The horses in training have mostly headed to Saudi, though Grocer Jack remained in Europe and is trained in Newmarket by William Haggas, who also has three 2-year-olds for the prince this year. Najd Stud also boards three mares in England and was active during the yearling section of the recent Goffs February Sale, buying eight youngsters, as well as Kadinnka (Ire) (Oasis Dream {GB}), a 3-year-old filly from the Aga Khan Studs. 

In just four years, Najd Stud in Riyadh has grown to an operation which consists of 120 broodmares and five stallions. Alnaader's good run in the Saudi Derby will doubtless have brought pride to his owner/breeder as he represents the first crop of one of the resident stallions, Teletext. The Juddmonte-bred son of Empire Maker was third in the G1 Grand Prix de Paris and beaten a neck by Ectot (Ire) when runner-up in the G2 Prix Niel before concluding his racing career in Saudi, where he won a local Group 1 in Prince Faisal Bin Khaled's colours. 

Speaking ahead of Alnaader's run on Saturday, Najd Stud's representative Saud Al Qahtani, now a familiar face at the European sales, said of the homebred, “We hope he will show everybody that a Saudi horse can be a good horse and he might go to the UAE Derby.”

He would certainly be entitled to take up that engagement now, and it may not be long before more of the Najd Stud homebreds are seen in action around the globe.

“We have a new foundation in Europe,” said Al Qahtani on Friday. “We have three broodmares and some yearlings we bought from Goffs and Tattersalls, so we hope to have some good horses to run in England and France and to make Najd Stud a global brand.”

The mares, all in England, include the G3 Princess Margaret S. winner Under The Stars (Ire) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}), who was bought in foal to Frankel (GB) last December from Godolphin for 300,000gns, and Serene Oasis (Ire) (Oratorio {Ire}), who is in foal to Almanzor (Fr) and will visit Pinatubo (Ire) this year. The latter, a four-time winner and daughter of Round Hill Stud's Princess Serena (Unbridled's Song), now looks to have been a shrewd purchase 10 years ago for 30,000gns. Still only 13, her pedigree has received several significant updates in recent years thanks to her Group-winning half-siblings Zabeel Prince (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), Puissance De Lune (Ire) (Shamardal) and Queen Power (Ire) (Shamardal).

“To buy a very good horse is very difficult, beach no-one wants to sell them,” said Al Qahtani. “So we started to do this to try to breed good horses to be competitive all around the world.”

While the mares are currently boarding at studs in England, there are plans afoot for Prince Faisal Bin Khaled to acquire his own stud in the country before too long.

His advisor added, “We will try to produce good horses from them and if they are good enough to stay in Europe then that's great, otherwise they will come here [to Saudi Arabia]. It is our hope to have our own farm in England in the next three or four years. We would like to start in England because Juddmonte started there and all the best breeders are there.”

The influence of Saudi Arabian breeders in the world of Thoroughbred breeding has been immense, not least through the late Prince Khalid Abdullah's hugely successful Juddmonte Farms, but also through the boutique operation of Prince AA Faisal, which has given the stallion scene Kodiac (GB) and Invincible Spirit (Ire) and is currently represented on the track by Mishriff (Ire), a Group 1 winner in three countries. His sire Make Believe (GB) also raced in the same colours but was bought by Prince AA Faisal as a foal. 

It would seem that through Najd Stud, Prince Faisal Bin Khaled aims to follow his compatriots' example, and in the meantime those behind racing in his home country have their own aims of significant growth through the addition of new racecourses and expansion of the Saudi race programme. 

Al Qahtani noted that he has been heartened by the response to the country's flagship Saudi Cup meeting in the last three years, which, as the most valuable in the world, could hardly have failed to make an impression. 

He said, “If you compare the horses from last year to those who came this year from all around the world you will see it's even more competitive. We have the best horses coming from America and from Europe and Japan.”

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Admittedly we tend to focus on the more expensive lots in sales reports. After all, in theory these should be the horses, or indeed their offspring, who are making the headlines in the future. But we all know that theories don't always become reality, and that sometimes an inexpensively bought individual can thrust itself right into the spotlight on racing's world stage. Think, for example, of the hardy Oscula (Ire) (Galileo Gold {GB}), a 4,000gns Book 4 yearling, thundering to glory at Epsom and Deauville last year, while racing with huge credit and giving her owners marvellous days out at Royal Ascot, the July meeting and on Arc day. 

So for those of more modest means there were plenty of horses on whom to pin dreams while not breaking the bank, with at least 20 sold for the minimum bid. There were of course many at the other end of the scale, pushing the sale to a new record median of 10,000gns (+67%), and the second-highest turnover and average for February. The aggregate, incidentally, was also beyond that set for last year's February Sale combined with the later March sale, which was specially arranged for those vendors with horses withdrawn from February when Tattersalls was forced to hold it online during lockdown. A direct comparison to last year's February Sale for turnover is thus difficult, as 328 horses were sold this time, compared to 219 in 2021, bringing a tally of 5,849,100gns. The strength of trade was however indicated by a strong clearance rate of 85%, the aforementioned record median, and the average of 17,833gns, which was up by 52%.

“It is good to have made a positive start to 2022,” said Tattersalls chairman Edmond Mahony at the sale's end. “Last year's Tattersalls February Sale was conducted under particularly trying circumstances so significant increases in all the key indicators were to be expected, but nevertheless for this year's February Sale to produce a record median, turnover and average bettered only once, and a clearance rate of 85% is a clear indication of a robust market.”

He added, “The quality consignments from Godolphin and Shadwell Estates have again drawn widespread international participation and it is a tribute to the enduring appeal of stock from these two outstanding operations that all of the top ten highest prices at the sale were owned or bred by either Shadwell or Godolphin. 

“The obvious highlight of the past two days was the 175,000gns Shadwell-bred Night Of Thunder yearling out of Elshaadin who was the second-highest-priced yearling ever sold at the February Sale, but as is so often the case at Tattersalls sales of this nature, the remarkable diversity of the buyers has been the outstanding feature. Buyers from throughout Europe, the Gulf region and further afield have all made a significant contribution, either in person or bidding online, and the domestic demand has also been a source of encouragement for the wider industry as we look forward to a year of trading hopefully largely unencumbered by the challenges which we have all endured over the past two years.”

Spotlight On Saudi

While the Dubai Carnival continues apace, the international focus will temporarily turn to Riyadh towards the end of February when the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia hosts the third running of the world's richest horse race, the $20 million Saudi Cup meeting.

Clearly demand for bloodstock from Europe remains strong from those based farther afield, with the now-regular fairly large exodus to the Middle East continues to be a strong feature of this and other auctions. For the second day running, a Shadwell-bred horse topped the session when the lightly-raced 4-year-old Wuqood (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) fetched a bid of 170,000gns from Saud Al Qahtani. The buyer was representing Saudi Arabia's Najd Stud, which also made some high-profile purchases during last autumn's Horses-in-Training Sale.

“This horse has a little issue about his wind and other things but we think he might improve on the dirt, especially after castration,” said Al Qahtani. “He will be trained by Abdullah Mishref.”

Wuqood, a son of the G2 Blandford S. winner Tarfasha (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}), was previously in training in Ireland with Dermot Weld, for whom he won on debut at two and went on to finish runner-up in the G3 Eyrefield S.

Najd Stud also bought lot 415, the 88-rated Caravaggio 3-year-old Velazquez (Ire), for 67,000gns from the Castlebridge Consignment, which offered him on behalf of owner/breeder Sir Robert Ogden. 

Also on the way to Riyadh is the former Marco Botti-trained Habit Rouge (GB) (Helmet {Aus}), who was sold as lot 425 for 78,000gns to Andre Pereira. 

“He should act on the dirt and he gets a mile to a 1m2f,” said Pereira. “He was really the one we came for. He's a lovely horse.”

Bought for €20,000 as a yearling by Ambrosiana Razza, Habit Rouge won four times for Botti on the all-weather, reaching a rating of 95 last season. 

Super Ted Is Super Busy

Ted Durcan was one of the busiest agents in action at the sale, and the former champion jockey in Dubai doubtless formed plenty of good contacts during his long and successful riding career. He bought five horses under his own name at Tattersalls to make him the third-leading buyer behind Blandford Bloodstock and Najd Stud, and Durcan was also in action on behalf of a Saudi Arabian client, Ahmad Al Abdullatif.

The agent signed for two of the day's leading lots, both from the Godolphin draft, with 3-year-old Perseus Way (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) bought for 80,000gns and Age Of Sail (GB) (Frankel {GB}) for 60,000gns.

Durcan said of the former (lot 342), who has been bought for a syndicate and is out of a Kingmambo half-sister to group winners  Master Of The Seas (Ire) and falls Of Lora (Ire), “He is a fine, big, scopey horse–a horse with a future. He'll strengthen up and he vetted out extremely well. He's going to remain here in England but I don't know yet who will train him.”

The similarly well-bred 3-year-old Age Of Sail (lot 343), a grandson of Oaks winner Snow Bride out of a Pivotal (GB) half-sister to Lammtarra, will also remain in the UK to continue his career.

Durcan added, “There's definitely demand for older horses that are still good to race at all levels. I do a bit of work for Saudi and for anywhere else I'm able to, and when a nice horse pops up there's definitely plenty of interest in him or her.”

Sydney To California 

Irishman Conall Meegan, who was working in tandem with American-based agent Shawn Dugan, had his eye on just one horse, Sydney Street (GB) (Dark Angel {Ire}), and waited until close to the end of the sale for lot 417, who ended up as another of the day's leading lights at 85,000gns. The 3-year-old gelding, who has won his last two starts for Hugo Palmer and the Chelsea Thoroughbreds to earn a rating of 87, will now continue his career in the U. S.

“He's for Shawn Dugan and he's going to go to California,” Meegan said. “He looks ready-made for the U.S.–he has a great demeanour, plenty of size and is clean-limbed. He was my pick of the sale, and Shawn's too. Both the public and private markets are so competitive at the moment, and he was the one I came to the U.K. for.”

Social Contact (GB) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}), who broke her maiden three weeks ago for Clipper Logistics and Roger Varian, will return to her breeder Longview Stud after being bought for 65,000gns.

“We bred and sold her as a yearling for 44,000gns but as she has now won a race, the boss was keen to buy her back,” said Jim Scallan, who manages Longview Stud for Eugene Daly. He confirmed that the 76-rated 3-year-old daughter of Operettist (GB) (Singspiel {Ire}) (lot 331) would remain in training for the coming season.

“She should be a nice broodmare for the future and we wanted a filly out of the mare. She has had three [winners] out of three now and we have a nice filly by Postponed (Ire) out of her in the field. We also have a nice 2-year-old in training with William Haggas, who is also by Night Of Thunder (Ire).”

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The trio is led by sale-topper and dual Group 3 winner Grocer Jack (Ger) (Oasis Dream {GB}), who was bought for 700,000gns from owner/breeder Dr Christoph Berglar.

“His second place in Group 1 company was behind Skalleti (Fr), who himself has good form behind Addeybb (Ire) last season,” said Haggas. “Grocer Jack was also third in the German Derby as a 3-year-old behind former Arc runner-up In Swoop (Ire) and this year's Arc winner Torquator Tasso (Ger), so he is clearly a high-class individual. He has settled into the way of life at Somerville Lodge very smoothly and has begun cantering as he builds up to what will hopefully be a very exciting campaign. He has possibilities all over the world and could head to Saudi Arabia or Dubai to get his season underway. He also has a host of races open to him in the UK over 10 and 12 furlongs so hopefully he can get a much deserved victory at the highest level.”

Chipotle (GB) (Havana Gold {Ire}), a consistent and classy juvenile this season for Eve Johnson Houghton with wins in the Brocklesby S. on debut, followed by listed success in the Windsor Castle S. and Redcar Two-Year-Old Trophy, has also joined the Haggas team. He could also make his first start of 2022 in his owner's home country of Saudi Arabia before targeting sprints in Europe during next summer.

Completing the set is the lightly-raced Shadwell 2-year-old Laatansa (Fr) (New Bay {GB}), who has moved from Ed Dunlop's stable having been bought for 250,000gns with a rating of 83.

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One of the last added to the list was the day's leader, Shadwell's Laatansa (Fr) (New Bay {GB}), offered as lot 1447. Ronald Rauscher and Matt Camacho were among the early bidders for the 2-year-old colt but none could match the staying power of the Saudi team. 

Back in their home country, the launch for the 2022 Saudi Cup was being held, where it was confirmed that $35.1 million would be on offer for the meeting, which will be held on Feb. 25 and 26. After two years, the Saudi Cup will now be run as a Group 1, with another five races on the undercard being promoted to Group 3 status.

“We could never have imagined the immediate impact the Saudi Cup would have on the international racing landscape, or indeed domestic racing,” said HRH Prince Bandar Bin Khalid Al Faisal at the press conference at the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia.

They are words which are also pretty apposite when it comes to the trade at Tattersalls this week and the two events are strongly connected, with Najd Stud, assisted by Peter and Ross Doyle, accounting for almost 10% of the sale's turnover. 

“Maybe new factors have come into play,” acknowledged Tattersalls Chairman Edmond Mahony in his closing statement. 

That certainly appears to be the case, but then it is also a rarity for this auction to contain such a high number of horses from Shadwell, which is reducing its stock in the wake of the death of its principal, Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum, in March this year.

Better Call Saud

With Saad bin Mishraf, who had been present for the purchases made earlier in the week by Najd Stud, having already left England to fly home, he entrusted his colleague, the Saudi trainer and consultant Saud Al Qahtani, to do the bidding for Laatansa, a son of the listed-placed Louve Rare (Ire) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}), herself a daughter of Group 3 winner Louve (Irish River {Fr})). In three starts for Ed Dunlop, the striking chestnut has twice been placed in maidens on Newmarket's Rowley Mile.

Al Qahtani said, “Saad called and told me not to leave here without this horse. He is a beautiful horse and lovely physical. He is by a very promising stallion, whose progeny are booming. He has a very good family and we hope he will be a very good horse next year.”

He added, “We will have a great race in Saudi Arabia at the end of February, our race will be the destination for all the very best horses from Europe and America, and our Jockey Club racing manager is doing a great job.”

It wasn't only Saudi interest which boosted this year's marathon sale way beyond its previous levels. As ever, American and Australian interest was strong, as was the participation from Qatar and Bahrain.

Enhanced international demand for horses to run in countries with eye-watering levels of prize-money for feature races pushed the aggregate to a record high of 31,470,300gns, which was up by almost 50% on a troubled 2020 but also way beyond the 2019 tally of 25,393,400gns. 

Thirty more horses were sold this time around as the clearance rate soared to 92%, and those 1003 equines who changed hands did so at an average of 31,407gns (+40%) and median of 16,000gns (+78%).

The leading consignor, as easily predicted, was Shadwell, which sold 118 horses for 5,238,500gns, including the eight top lots of the final day. The enthusiasm for bloodstock, even at this final lower tier of the concluding session, saw figures leap from their former base. On Thursday, the average almost doubled to 11,867gns, while the median was up by 38% to 5,500gns and the clearance rate for 204 horses sold–one fewer than on the same day last year–matched the sale's overall figure of 92%.

'An Extraordinary Renewal'

“An extraordinary renewal of a unique sale,” was how Edmond Mahony assessed the week's action at the close of business on Thursday. 

“There is no sale in the world quite like the Tattersalls Autumn Horses in Training Sale and there has never been one quite like the sale that has just taken place,” he continued. 

“Records for turnover, average and median are always notable landmarks for any sale, but when the record margins are so large it suggests that maybe new factors have come into play and to an extent that may have been the case this week. There is no doubt that the major consignment from the late Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum's Shadwell Estates has introduced a new dynamic. A consignment of that size and quality does not go unnoticed and the buyers have seized the rare opportunity to source horses from one of the finest owner/breeder operations in the world.

“Additionally, the numerous racing carnivals that now take place during the autumn and winter months throughout the Gulf region have had a huge impact on the sale. Buyers from the Gulf have been major contributors to Tattersalls Autumn Horses-in-Training Sales for many years, but new racing opportunities have brought buyers from the region in even greater numbers than before and crucially, they have been active at all levels of the market. 

“Equally important has been the sustained success-driven demand throughout the sale from Australian connections and this has been despite continued difficulties surrounding travel. There will be around 40 horses heading to Australia from this week's sale and that is in addition to the 30 or so yearlings which were purchased at the recent Tattersalls October Yearling Sale. The Australian buyers deserve huge praise for their collective commitment using every means possible to continue buying here despite being unable to travel and we look forward to them being rewarded with more success along the lines of recent Tattersalls Australian superstars Zaaki and Russian Camelot.”

Mahony concluded, “The strong domestic demand we saw at our yearling sales has also been replicated and we can not only look back on a successful month at Tattersalls, but also take encouragement as we look forward to the Tattersalls December Foal and Mares Sale which, similar to this week, features outstanding consignments from Godolphin, Juddmonte Farms and Shadwell Estates.”

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NEWMARKET, UK–This has already been another record-breaking auction, even if they decide to release the whole of Thursday's closing catalogue into the high street–and a significant one, in terms of underwriting a yearling market that had appeared so curiously immune to the challenges of domestic prizemoney and a volatile economic environment.

Once again, the third session of the Tattersalls Autumn Horses-in-Training Sale was defined by twin channels of export traffic: one to the Middle East, with investment seemingly driven not just by the Saudi Cup but by broader ambitions in Riyadh; and the other to Australia, where an ever-widening spectrum of investment was aptly measured when one of the highest lots of the day was secured by telephone at around

4 a.m. in Sydney. Horses that met the respective briefs for these different environments have generated so much competition between compatriots that they have sometimes created a market within a market.

Even with no English King (Fr) (Camelot {GB}), who injected 925,000gns into the third session at a generally tepid sale last year, trade this time round again exceeded that registered at the equivalent session both in 2020 and in the pre-pandemic market of 2019. Building on frenzied turnover through the first two days, the net result is already the most lucrative edition of the premier sale of its type–exceeding the 27,282,200gns turned over in 2017.

So far as the year-on-year indices are concerned for Wednesday's trade, 10,661,000gns changed hands for 279 sales (a clearance rate of no less than 93%) to register a 9% climb on 9,779,600gns for virtually identical traffic last year. That translated into a 38,211gns average, up 10% on 34,803gns, and a 21,000gns median, up 31% on 16,000gns.

Prince Khalid's Legacy Appreciated In His Homeland

It felt especially fitting that Najd Stud, in again topping the session, should have done so to secure the transfer of Boltaway (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) (lot 1114) from the Juddmonte empire built up by Prince Khalid Abdullah. True, for all the ardour exhibited by its representatives this week, they can hardly be expected to aspire to the kind of success achieved by their late compatriot. Nonetheless, their commitment has offered succour to those fretting about the outlook for the industry following the loss not only of Prince Khalid, but also of a neighbouring Turf superpower in Sheikh Hamdan.

Certainly, Saad bin Mishraf has proved reluctant to let anything off the hook, once he has cast a line, and duly saw off strong competition at 400,000gns for a 3-year-old who has won four handicaps over middle distances for Roger Charlton this summer, in the process hoisting his rating 20lbs to 93.

“We tried to buy this horse privately, but that wasn't possible and so we waited for this sale,” said bin Mishraf. “It's proved to be one of the toughest markets I have ever seen for horses in training. He's by Dubawi, whose offspring have succeeded in Saudi Arabia, and out of a Dansili (GB) mare, and Dansilis have also done well there, so he had the right pedigree. He also had size and good feet for racing on dirt.

“He's not been over-raced, and he vetted 100%. All the races in Saudi Arabia are on the up, with better prizemoney, sometimes increased by four or five times. There are races for locally bred horses and imported horses, and while we don't have many imported horses, the ones we have are very good.”

Najd Stud also corralled a hardy juvenile from the Gosden yard in Implore (GB) (Ulysses {Ire}), for 160,000gns as Lot 1137; and also his stablemate Fundamental (GB) (Dark Angel {Ire}), a Cheveley Park homebred who ran fifth in the G3 Jersey S. and exports a rating of 103. He made 240,000gns as Lot 1142. Najd Stud, with co-signatories Peter and Ross Doyle, duly heads the overall purchasing table with a dozen recruits for 2,491,000gns.

New Start Beckons Old Flame

The big Australian target in the Juddmonte draft had immediately preceded Boltaway through the ring, another 3-year-old in Old Flame (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) [1113] bringing 250,000gns from Snowden Racing/Will Johnson Bloodstock-bidding, by a pre-dawn call from Sydney, through Tattersalls representative Jason Singh.

This colt remains lightly raced, having only made his debut for Ralph Beckett in August, and looked rapidly progressive in winning his next two starts over seven furlongs before getting stuck in the mud at Newbury last week.

Colum McCullagh, racing and bloodstock manager to the father-and-son team of Peter and Paul Snowden, broke off from trackwork at home to explain that he had not been bought for a particular client and will probably be syndicated.

“He'll be on the first shipment here from Europe,” McCullagh said. “He looks to have the right sort of profile for Australia and his sire has had a huge influence here through his son I Am Invincible (Aus). He should suit a lot of races here, from six furlongs to a mile, he's a real sprinter-miler type.

“He came highly recommended by his trainer, who loved him every morning and evening. And I have to give special mention to Will Johnson, who spent time in Newmarket as assistant to Roger Varian. Will has put a lot of work into the catalogue, and it's great to have someone with his knowledge of racing in the region. To have a horse from an organisation such as Juddmonte Farms speaks for itself: Old Flame has just two dams on the page, he has a stallion's pedigree.”

Sure enough, his dam is a half-sister to the mother of stallions Cityscape (GB) (Selkirk) and Bated Breath (GB) (Dansili {GB}).

Chipoltle Leads Hot Yearling Finds…

Few projects this week reflect better on their authors than Chipotle (GB) (Havana Gold {Ire}), who was found for just 10,000gns at the Tattersalls Ascot Sale (transferred here last September) by Anthony Bromley of Highflyer and Eve Johnson Houghton, even though his second dam is a half-sister to Attraction (GB) (Efisio {GB}).

He was one of three youngsters bundled together for a 20-strong syndicate, with a commitment to sell at the end of the campaign, and promptly won the Brocklesby and a Royal Ascot trial before returning to win the Listed Windsor Castle S. itself. To Johnson Houghton's credit, moreover, he regrouped from a midsummer lull to win a valuable Listed race at Redcar earlier this month. All told, that catapulted his value to 210,000gns on his return to the ring as Lot 1055, as part of the Najd Stud spree.

Johnson Houghton was justly emotional afterwards.

“I'm a bit teary, because he has been amazing,” she said. “For a 10-grand purchase to do all that and then come here and sell so well. Of course I'm sorry to see him go. He's going to do a job for someone, he really will: he has grown again, he's tough, he's sound, and he'll get the seven furlongs. I hope he does really well in Saudi, I'm thrilled with the price and wish the best of luck to the new owners.”

In that context she noted how hard it is for horses of this type in Britain.

“If the horse isn't Group class as a 3-year-old, and obviously I'm not saying he won't be, then you're just hammered by the handicapper,” she said. “It does make it so hard for them.”

As it is, he couldn't have been expected to meet his brief better.

“I was a bit concerned, with Covid last year, that I was going to end up without any horses,” Johnson Houghton recalled. “So I bought those three horses to be sold at the end of the year. Ant [Bromley] did a brilliant job. It's a hell of a result and I'm just very proud of him.”

No less than one would hope, the whole syndicate has subscribed to a repeat endeavour.

Towards the end of the session, another inspired touch could be credited to Richard Venn and Andrew Balding, who found Classic Lord (Ger) (Lord Of England {Ger}) for just €20,000 as a Baden-Baden yearling. A lot more people were interested in him here, as Lot 1171, having meanwhile won two juvenile races plus two staying handicaps this time round. That made the chestnut colt eligible for quite a few different agendas, with plenty of jumping irons soon in the fire, but he was ultimately summoned to a very different destiny, with Oliver St Lawrence prevailing at 200,000gns to join Fawzi Nass in Bahrain.

“He looks a nice horse and, while I know the jumpers were on him, he seems to go on firm ground and will suit all the criteria,” reasoned St Lawrence.

Stuart Williams is a reliably shrewd shopper and he was another to turn a handsome profit late in the session, having taken Motorious (GB) (Muhaarar {GB}) [1188] aboard as a 55,000gns Book 2 yearling. He has since advanced his rating to 90 and his value to 220,000gns, courtesy of Boomer Bloodstock.

“He's going to California to Philip D'Amato for Tony Fanticola,” explained Boomer's Craig Rounsefell. “Tony was one of the owners of Obviously (Ire) (Choisir {Aus}), who was purchased at this sale and we had a lot of success with. This horse reminded us of him: he has a great turn of foot, he's lightly raced and looks like he is going to really enjoy the firm turf in California.”

Obviously, who changed hands here for 130,000gns in 2011, went on to win three Grade Is including the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint.

Flinders Another Voyaging South…

This was the anniversary of a poignant success for Ed Walker, who bade farewell to his Derby fifth English King (Fr) (Camelot {GB}) in this session last year for 925,000gns, an auction record for a colt in training.

English King has admittedly proved a disappointment in Australia, reportedly due for castration after his latest start, but perhaps his former stablemate Matthew Flinders (GB) (Siyouni {Fr}) will have better luck after making 230,000gns as Lot 1008. He will certainly be an apt migrant, named as he is after the English naval captain who first circumnavigated and charted the Australian coast.

And it can only be auspicious that his purchaser, Stuart Boman of Blandford Bloodstock, found new trainer Annabel Neasham none other than Zaaki (GB) (Leroidesanimaux {Brz}) for 150,000gns out of Sir Michael Stoute's draft at this sale last year. His lucrative endeavours since include Group 1 wins in the Doomben Cup and Underwood S.

“Zaaki has been phenomenal,” Boman said. “It's fantastic what one horse can do for people's lives and careers. He's going to be a hard act to follow, but we wanted to target here what we felt could be one of the nicest horses in the sale for Australia.

“His ability is definitely far better than what the form book shows. He's a horse who constantly travels best of all, any field he is in. I spoke with Ed and I think he has probably felt like he's had a Group horse on his hands for a long time. He just wanted him to win his big handicap but has never had his day, and now the handicapper has forced his hand by raising his mark so high. But he's thoroughly consistent, always runs to 105 [Timeform], and as a strong-travelling horse should really suit Australia.”

Boman celebrated his winning bid by exchanging high fives with Neasham's mother Patricia, who had come from her Northamptonshire home to witness the sale.

“I'm delighted for Annabel, she's flying along,” Boman said. “She's got two runners in the Golden Eagle S. on Saturday, which is worth A$7.5 million. Things are healthy in Australia!”

Youth Spirit a 230,000gns 'Bargain'

The same destination beckons G1 St Leger fifth Youth Spirit (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) [1186A], candidly acclaimed by his purchaser Johnny McKeever as not just the bargain of the week but as “the best value horse I've bought in about 10 years.”

Quite a claim, you might suppose, at 230,000gns. But this is a G3 Chester Vase winner who has reiterated his class for Andrew Balding with podium finishes in races as diverse as the G2 Great Voltigeur S. and G2 Vintage S. As such, this was yet another astute yearling punt to generate a handsome dividend on the day, having been a €48,000 private sale to Federico Barberini at Arqana's August Sale.

But this was a case where everyone was a winner, McKeever sounding ecstatic to confine the vendors' profit to the level he did in securing the colt for Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott.

“I'm extremely excited,” the agent declared. “I've been trying to buy this horse all year, and knew there was a lot of activity from Australia. In this market, I really, really believe that was the best value in the whole sale. The level of form is outstanding, he's a beautiful-looking horse by Camelot, he has absolutely everything going for him. I don't know why, maybe it was because he was a wild card, but that's just a blip.”

He had earlier been obliged to pay exactly the same, on behalf of the same clients, for King Of Clubs (GB) (Intello {Ger}) [Lot 952] after winning a maiden and a handicap during the course of his second campaign for Hughie Morrison. Auspiciously, the 3-year-old has reached a rating of 93 without being tried beyond 10 furlongs-despite only getting up late on the Sandown hill in August.

“Same formula as usual,” McKeever observed then. “Robbie Waterhouse liked the form, I liked the horse, and Hughie recommended him. I've had a couple of blank days, I had quite a lot of vet fails and others were just making a lot more than we were prepared to spend. The right horses are hard to come by and it feels like we are all sharing them around. But it's good having Robbie behind me, he's a very clever man on the form, and that takes a bit of pressure off as all I have to do is look at them to see if they're the right sort physically.”

King Of Clubs was certainly in more demand than had been the case on his previous visit to this ring, as a Book I yearling from breeder Meon Valley Stud. Unsold at 19,000gns that day, he ended up racing for Castle Down Racing–the same partnership (under Meon Valley managing partner Mark Weinfeld) that had campaigned Telecaster (GB), another Book 1 buyback from the same family, to win the G2 Dante S. among other races on his way to Haras du Mesnil.

A rather different story is Swift Verdict (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) who topped the Arqana August Yearling Sale as a €1.4 million yearling but was soon transferred from John Gosden to Willie Mullins for whom he could only manage to win a Dundalk maiden. The project was abandoned when he arrived here as Lot 933, costs defrayed to the extent of 25,000gns by Mohammed al Jeadiah.

Even Juveniles Joining the Exodus Down Under…

The opportunity to recruit horses as young as two through the Shadwell cull has created a lot of excitement this week but even this market proved vulnerable to Australian investment when Billy Jackson-Stops signed a 120,000gns docket for Hanaady (GB) (Night of Thunder {Ire}) [Lot 1000] to be shipped out to Matt Cumani.

This filly won a Nottingham maiden for Ed Dunlop last month and, though below that form at York next time, it obviously remains early days for this daughter of a half-sister to G2 Gimcrack S. winner Blaine (GB) (Avonbridge {GB}) and another accomplished sprinter Bogart (GB) (Bahamian Bounty {GB}).

“Myself and Sam Haggas have done some work together and we put her to Matt,” explained Jackson-Stops. “Night of Thunder has been going really well down there, and Matt was pretty keen to try a filly. We thought we'd see if it works, there are options for her: she's good-looking, and will have some residual value.”

Earlier Shadwell had produced the only six-figure sale of a relatively torpid morning when Tasfeeq (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) [895] brought 120,000gns from Qatari trainer Ibrahim Saeed Al-Malki. The 3-year-old gelding has won three times this season for Marcus Tregoning, showing his purchaser a helpful aptitude for firm ground.

Queen's Piper To Play a Different Tune…

National Hunt prospectors have found themselves particularly squeezed by the Australian dollar, but one or two have found the backing to give themselves a chance and Gordon Elliott continued his quest for rehabilitation by recruiting a pricey 3-year-old from the royal stable in Pied Piper (GB) (New Approach {Ire}) [1139].

This lad has stood up to a busy campaign for the John and Thady Gosden, albeit had to wait until this month to win for the first time since breaking his maiden. Both his wins have come on the mud, so he will clearly operate in winter ground. Presented by the Castlebridge Consignment, he was knocked down to Elliott, standing alongside agent Mouse O'Ryan, for 225,000gns; the docket was signed in the name of Irish agent Joseph Logan and patrons Andrew and Gemma Brown.

“Pied Piper has been bought by Andrew and Gemma, who have a string of horses with Gordon,” explained Logan by telephone. “The horse will go juvenile hurdling and run back on the Flat next summer: he's a dual-purpose type. I saw some videos of him, but Gordon saw him at Tattersalls and really loved him.”

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