Tag: Tattersalls Somerville Sale

Havana Grey Dominates Roasting Hot Somerville Sale

NEWMARKET, UK–There was nothing grey about Tattersalls on a roasting hot day other than the name of the sire who is increasingly prominent in results both in the sales ring and on the racecourse. Havana Grey (GB) was represented by four of the top 11 lots at the Somerville Sale, with plenty of people continuing to benefit from his success story either as breeders or pinhookers. 

Whitsbury Manor Stud is where he stands, and Whitsbury Manor Stud was the consignor and breeder of the top lot [221], a grey daughter of the Harbour Watch (Ire) mare Minoria (GB) who has already produced the Group 3-placed Its's Showtime Baby (GB) to another of the stud's stallions, Showcasing (GB).

Agent Matt Coleman signed for the filly at 155,000gns and noted that she will be trained by George Scott. 

“Havana Grey is almost a freak stallion and is surpassing everyone's expectations,” he said of the G1 Flying Five winner and last year's leading first-season sire. Coleman's business partner Anthony Stroud bought the G1 Prix Morny winner Vandeek (GB) by the same stallion earlier in the season at the Craven Breeze-up Sale.

Coleman added, “Vandeek has that wonderful flowing action and this filly has that, too. She is stand-out at the sale.”

She was certainly the most expensive by the sire but not the only six-figure filly by Havana Grey to pass through the ring on Tuesday. Amo Racing has already had two stakes winner by the stallion this season, the G3 Nell Gwyn S. winner Mammas Girl (GB) and Listed winner Graceful Thunder (GB), and Kia Joorabchian's team signed up another of his daughters in lot 199, who was bred and consigned by Sophie Buckley's Culworth Grounds Farm. Hamish Macauley signed for the filly out of the dual winner Last Echo (Ire) (Whipper) at 140,000gns and noted that she will go to Graceful Thunder's trainer George Boughey. A descendant of the successful Ballylinch Stud matriarch Ingabelle (GB), she is a half-sister to Oddyssey (GB), who has been placed this season in both the G2 Superlative S. and Listed Chesham S.

“Matt Coleman helped me buy the mare,” recalled Buckley, who sold another Havana Grey filly in her draft of five for 29,000gns to Antonio da Silva.

“I wanted her as she is a Whipper mare and he's a good broodmare sire. There aren't that many of them so it is hard to get them. She has had a great update this year with Oddyssey. Pat Owens has done a great job of training him to get his black type.”

She added, “I liked [Havana Grey's] foals, and I buy a lot of foals. I thought they looked very correct and good walkers. When I was asked I punted him as the stallion in that generation of sires that I thought could be the one. I thought I had better back my judgment and use him.”

Dowling's Gallic Flare 

The rising popularity of Haras de Colleville's Galiway (GB), who already has one son at stud and another as favourite for the Melbourne Cup, spread to Tattersalls on Tuesday when Drumhill Stud's lucrative pinhook [lot 152] joined the Richard Hannon team at 145,000gns.

The colt out of the winning Modigliani mare Golconde (Ire) had been bought at the Arqana December Sale for €27,000 and beautifully prepped for his Somerville engagement by Gary Dowling, who was moved to tears by the result. 

Ross Doyle signed the ticket for Hannon and, describing the chestnut as an “absolute smasher”, added that Willie Mullins, who trains the Melbourne Cup-bound Vauban (Fr), and his agent Harold Kirk had advised him to buy as many Galiways as he could. 

Dowling, whose late father Sean was also involved in the business, said, “I started off doing it with my dad and he sadly died five years ago and it was his anniversary yesterday. His anniversary is always around the time of the yearling sales and I often find myself saying 'give us a dig out this year, Dad'. I think he was listening this year.

“We hoped he might stand out a bit at this sale. The mare is two from two with juvenile winners, and thankfully the plan has paid off. There are a couple of lads involved in him with me so we'll all get a few quid. It's what it's all about.”

Galiway was recently joined at stud in Normandy by his son Sealiway (Fr), winner of the G1 Champion S., who stands at Haras de Beaumont. 

Following an unpredictable summer in England where racecourses have fluctuated between fast ground and flooding, the sun has returned with a vengeance this week. At Park Paddocks there were more Panamas on display than in the members' enclosure at Glorious Goodwood, and there was no shortage of buyers on the hunt for the next bright, young thing.

A solid first few hours suddenly gave way to the first six-figure lot of the sale when the Hassett family's filly by Prince Of Lir (Ire) strolled into the ring and the bidding shot up rapidly. Diego Dias was the last man standing at 130,000gns and, with his colleague and co-buyer Robson Aguiar, plans to race the half-sister to French Listed winner Royal Address (Ire) (Dandy Man {Ire}) and her full-sister, the stakes-placed Yahsat (Ire).

“We bought the mare Barqeyya at the July Sale in foal to Helmet. She's been a lucky mare and has bred two black-type winners by Dandy Man,” said Tom Hassett, whose children Maebh, Orla and Richie are the members of Trio Bloodstock which bred the filly.

“It is very much family affair for the three children. My wife and I are getting nothing out of this.”

The family also divulged that Barqeyya was originally booked in to a different stallion.

“This was Plan B and it has not been a bad Plan B in the end. Ballyhane has been very lucky for us and Joe [Foley] has bought a lot of horses from us.”

Prince Of Lir has subsequently moved from Ballyhane Stud to stand in India, and he was represented by his first Group 1 winner only recently when the Adam West-trained Live In The Dream (Ire) won the Nunthorpe S. Though not bred by the Hassetts, that gelding is the result of a mating they planned for his dam Approaching Autumn (GB) (New Approach {Ire}) whom they sold in foal to breeder Lorna Doyle. 

Talking Points

  • This sale doesn't pretend to be about anything other than those who on paper look to be fast and precocious sorts, and you had to get to the 18th name on the sires' table for the day, Galiway (GB), to find a stallion who had won beyond a mile. Most showed their best form at significantly less than that.
  • There was an upwards shift in all sectors, with the number of six-figure yearlings rising to seven from four last year, the average improving by 5% to 31,904gns and the median by 4% to 27,000gns. Turnover of 8,646,000gns (+12%) was accrued from the sale of 271 yearlings at a clearance rate of 89%.
  • Tally-Ho Stud sold 27 yearlings last week at the Goffs Premier Sale in Doncaster and brought another 26 to the Somerville Sale where the team ended the day as leading vendor with 24 sold for 746,000gns. The offspring of Mehmas (Ire), one of the stars of the Tally-Ho roster, continued to be sought after, with 14 sold for an average of 43,571gns.
  • Whitsbury Manor Stud's Havana Grey (GB) is another of the most popular young sires in Europe at the moment and his 16 yearlings returned an average of 58,188gns. His stud-mate Sergei Prokofiev has his first yearlings for sale this year and they also found favour with buyers. Fourteen found a buyer at an average price of 28,179gns.
  • Let's not forget Havana Grey's late sire Havana Gold (Ire), who was a great loss to Tweenhills and to the British stallion ranks when he died earlier this year just after the start of the covering season. There will be one more crop of yearlings to come from the stallion whose son Chipotle (GB) was one of the star graduates of this sale's forerunner, the Tattersalls Ascot Sale, when bought by his trainer Eve Johnson Houghton and Anthony Bromley. Havana Gold's five yearlings at the Somerville sold for an average of 30,600gns.
  • There was a truly diverse list of buyers, predmoninantly on the domestic front, with 170 different entities represented.
  • The Somerville boasted a big book for a one-day sale but the Tattersalls auctioneers were taking no prisoners when it came to ensuring the bidding was conducted in as timely a manner as possible. They may not be as fast as their colleagues across the water who are currently gearing up for the Keeneland September Sale, but their increased tempo was appreciated by all involved in the proceedings on a sweltering day.

Buy of the Day

The fact that the average and median were so closely aligned spoke to the strength of the middle market, but that said there are always some bargains to be found. Dylan Cunha, a Group 1-winning trainer in his native South Africa who is now in his second season training in Newmarket, has already proved what he can do with some inexpensive purchases and it would be no surprise to see him repeat the feat with the Cable Bay (Ire) filly he picked up for the minimum bid of 1,000gns. There's certainly cause for optimism when it comes to lot 54 as Cable Bay has already worked some magic in the family in the case of the dual winner and stakes-placed Belle Anglaise (GB), who is a half-sister to the filly's unraced dam Belle Monde (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}). 

It's a pretty good bet that Cunha will be syndicating this filly. Go on, people, get involved. You'll have a lot of fun in the stable run by one of the nicest trainers in Newmarket. And, no, I'm not on commission.

Thought for the Day

Certain regulars on the sales circuit are starting to feel a little long in the tooth compared to the massive influx of young faces on the sales grounds in England over the last few weeks. It's great to see so many new people getting involved in foal and yearling pinhooking syndicates. And, who knows, some of them may eventually be coaxed into racehorse ownership as well as trading.

Chairman's Comments

“The Tattersalls Somerville Yearling Sale has established itself as an important fixture in the European yearling sale calendar in a remarkably short period of time,” said Tattersalls chairman Edmond Mahony. Only two years ago the turnover at the inaugural Somerville Yearling Sale was below five million gns, the average a fraction over 21,000gns and the median was 16,250gns. Today's third edition of the Somerville has produced records across the board with turnover above 8.5 million gns, an average well over 30,000gns and a median of 27,000gns.

“Somerville yearlings have enjoyed an extraordinary recent run with the likes of Bradsell, Indian Run and Relief Rally showcasing the sale to great effect on the home front and Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks winner Anisette providing the best possible advertisement across the Atlantic.

“Top British and Irish consignors have sent us some smart yearlings and their confidence in our newest yearling sale has been reflected in a sale of real depth with a clearance rate approaching 90% and the number of yearlings selling for more than 50,000gns and more than 100,000gns increasing significantly on last year's impressive numbers. 

“The pinhookers have also enjoyed some spectacular returns on their investments and today's robust trade has given us a positive start to the Tattersalls yearling sale season as we now look forward to Books 1 to 4 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale and the unveiling of our newly renovated Somerville Yard which is the latest major investment undertaken at Park Paddocks.”

 

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Tattersalls Somerville Looking to Continue Upward Curve 

NEWMARKET, UK–The third European yearling sale within eight days gets underway as Tattersalls pulls the curtain up on its yearling season with its increasingly popular Somerville Sale. 

It will be a frenetic day at Park Paddocks on Tuesday with more than 300 horses to go through the ring, but the sale is riding high on the back of some decent results, with Bradsell (GB) (Tasleet {GB}), the star of the inaugural edition in 2021, adding the G1 King's Stand S. to his previous Royal Ascot success in the G2 Coventry S. for Archie Watson and Victorious Racing.

In recent weeks, last year's graduates Indian Run (Ire) (Sioux Nation) and Relief Rally (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) landed the G3 Acomb S. and G2 Lowther S. at York, while Anisette (GB) (Awtaad {Ire}) won the GI Del Mar Oaks. 

It took a total of 206,000gns to buy these four horses, a figure that was barely two-thirds of the average price of a yearling at Tattersalls October Book 1 last year, so it is easy to see why this auction, which has taken a strong lead from the Doncaster playbook of precocity and speed, is catching on. The emphasis on youth also extends to the marketing for this sale, with its snappy video featuring the younger members of the Tattersalls team.

https://twitter.com/Tattersalls1766/status/1698353656494448861?s=20

One of those, auctioneer Matt Hall, was looking particularly dapper in a jaunty Panama as he inspected the yearlings he will be selling on Tuesday, but he played down his leading role in the sale. “It's been very busy over the last few days, with plenty of footfall, so let's hope that transfers to the ring,” was all he could be drawn on as he conferred with Jenny Norris. 

There's been a good name game taking place in the Norris Bloodstock draft for the filly by Harry Angel (Ire) out of Meghan Sparkle (Ire) [Lot 213]. Netflix (GB) has been suggested, along with the less flattering Ginge N Whinge (GB), which would work better if she was a chestnut. Either way, the neat bay is a smart and racy-looking filly, quite typical of the kind on offer here this week.

On Monday morning, as British politics limped back into action after the summer recess, Angela Rayner was named Shadow Levelling Up Minister in a Labour reshuffle. I've no idea what that actually means, but there is a good deal of levelling up underway at Tattersalls on 'Catholic Hill' which will presumably be ready for its unveiling at the October Sale. In the meantime, it's a little discombobulating trying to find some consignors away from their usual spot, but plenty were enjoying the shade of the trees in the Highflyer paddocks on a roasting hot September day.

There are unconfirmed rumours that the July Sale ice-cream man could make a return to Park Paddocks on Tuesday, and even bigger rumours about the money being offered by various stallion farms from around the world for Havana Grey (GB). The rising star of Whitsbury Manor Stud claimed his Group 1 in the Flying Five on Irish Champions Weekend five years ago, and since then both he and his offspring have continued to fly. From £8,000 to £18,500 his fee has already climbed, and TDN's Brian Sheerin selflessly stayed up into the wee small hours the other night in Doncaster specifically to listen to the gossip on where his price will be pitched next year. 

It is unclear whether or not Brian fell asleep in the bar of the Earl of Doncaster, but we still don't know the magic number. We just hope that Havana Grey stays in England. Sixteen of his yearlings are in the Somerville Sale, including two from his breeder Mickley Stud, who sold Havana Grey as a foal at Tattersalls back in 2015.

From an opening average of 21,345gns and median of 16,250gns for the first Somerville Sale as the world started to right itself after the Covid pandemic, those figures climbed significantly to 30,377gns and 26,000gns last year. It would be folly to expect such extravagant percentage gains this time around, but the sale has taken root. And there have been enough people in action during the inspection days of Sunday and Monday for plenty of consignors to be feeling quietly confident as they tucked into their burgers at the pre-sale barbecue on Monday night. 

Selling begins at 9.30am, and a 12-hour session is likely, but it makes sense to have kept this relative newcomer to the sales scene to its one-day boutique format. 

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Somerville Soars As Zoustar Filly Leads The Charge

NEWMARKET, UK–There are plenty of troubling stories out in the big wide world at the moment, but buyers at the yearling sales so far this season appear not to be concerned or affected by a cost-of-living-crisis, with the Tattersalls Somerville Sale the latest to benefit from a boom in demand for young stock.

The Somerville is only in its second year but it has already been pegged as an important fixture in the run of yearling sales and the 2022 renewal posted huge gains in all sectors. Four six-figure lots compared to just one last year, and an increase from 17 yearlings making 50,000gns or more this time last year to 39, meant that the median rose by 60% to 26,000gns, and the average by 42% to 30,377gns. The clearance rate also improved on a string start last year and settled at 88%, while at 7,746,200gns, the turnover was up by 56%.

The only trouble this newcomer to the auction calendar could face is balancing the desire by a number of participants for it to remain in its one-day format with what is likely to be a rise in demand for places. This time around 290 horses were offered from an original catalogue of 313, and from a 10 a.m. start, trading continued for 11 hours until the final yearling left the ring just after 9 p.m. It was a long day for most people involved in the sale, but the 'one and done' aspect of the Somerville remains of appeal in an increasingly condensed calendar. This week alone there are sales taking place in Newmarket, Doncaster, Deauville and at Yorton Farm in Wales within the space of four days.

 

Select Plantation Draft Makes a Splash

For Plantation Stud it was in a sense a case of 'if at first you don't succeed'. Last December at the foal sale, the stud took home a Zoustar (Aus) filly and Shalaa (Ire) colt, knocked down to vendor for 18,000gns and 20,000gns, respectively. Returned to the ring as yearlings on Tuesday, it was a markedly different story, however, as the Newmarket farm accounted for two of the four six-figure yearlings on the day.

Leading all-comers was the daughter of Zoustar (lot 213), the recipient of a boost from her half-brother Unanimous Consent (GB) (Almanzor {Fr}), who has won and been fourth in a Grade II in America this season, and was set to run on Tuesday night in the GIII Virginia Derby at Colonial Downs. But she had also grown into an imposing individual in the intervening nine months, persuading Richard Hughes to stretch to 160,000gns to secure her for his burgeoning team of yearling purchases this year.

Hughes, a former multiple champion jockey himself, calls on another champion of the jumps division, the legendary AP McCoy, to break in his yearlings. “They don't mess with him,” he said with a laugh.

“She'll take a bit of time but we'll see how her brother gets on tonight. If he wins tonight then she's half-price. I'd say he's a 115 [rated] horse.”

The filly has Australian sires on both sides of her pedigree as her twice-raced dam Fast Lily (Ire) is by Fastnet Rock (Aus) and is a half-sister to two classy fillies in the G2 Lowther S. winner Silk Blossom (Ire) and G3 Prix de la Porte de Maillot victrix Mashoora (Ire), both by Barathea (Ire).

James Berney, who manages Plantation Stud for Michael O'Leary, said of the sale's top lot, “We are over the moon, she deserves to make that type of money and she has improved greatly through the year. Her brother's form has helped as well.

“We are delighted she is going to Richard Hughes and it's great for the mare. She has a Showcasing (GB) foal at and she is in foal to Pinatubo (Ire).”

He added, “There has been a bit of motion with this sale and we thought we'd bring along horses who might stand out a bit.”

Just an hour earlier, Plantation Stud's Shalaa colt (lot 188) had gone through the ring, fetching a final bid of 120,000gns from Oliver St Lawrence.

“He is for Fawzi [Nass] and team and will probably end up in the red and white colours of Victorious Racing,” said the agent while sitting next to Archie Watson, who trains the G2 Coventry S. winner and last year's Somerville Sale graduate Bradsell (GB) (Tasleet {GB}) for the same connections.

St Lawrence added, “The mare is two from two [winners] and they are both rated up in the 90s. I think he will be going to Archie.”

Watson also issued an update on Bradsell, who is recuperating from an injury sustained in the G1 Keeneland Phoenix S. and will be aimed next spring at a Commonwealth Cup trial.

The Shalaa colt's winning dam Dream Dana (Ire) (Dream Ahead) has produced the multiple winners Operatic (Ire) (Showcasing {GB}) and Dynamic Force (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) and is a daughter of the dual Group 3 winner Lidanna (GB) (Nicholas). The immediate family includes the Group 1-winning sprinter Wizz Kid (Ire) (Whipper), a son of Dream Dana's half-sister Lidanski (Ire) (Soviet Star).

 

 

Aughamore Strike With Mehmas Colt

Nobody in the bloodstock world really needed a reminder that Mehmas (Ire) is one of the most promising young sires to have burst onto the scene in recent years, but it never hurts for a stallion to have a Group 1 winner just prior to a sale. Minzaal (Ire) gave his Tally-Ho Stud-based sire, or more accurately those consignors with one of his yearlings to sell, a timely boost with his G1 Sprint Cup victory at Haydock, and it was a win that underlined that there is more to just speed and precocity when it comes to Mehmas. The speed is there for sure, and we saw just how precocious his stock can be when members of his first crop helped Mehmas set a new European record when becoming champion freshman sire. But far more importantly, his stock appear to thrive on their racing, as exemplified by the 4-year-old Minzaal, who also happens to be a former Gimcrack winner.

Laurence Gleeson of Aughamore Stud was one of those beneficiaries, selling a homebred colt (lot 163) to Ross Doyle and Robson Aguiar for 135,000gns. Out of the winning Exceed And Excel (Aus) mare Classic Image (GB), who was bought by Gleeson as a 3-year-old for 6,500gns, the colt will be trained by Richard Hannon, who also trained Mehmas.

“Mehmas needs no introduction, and the farm has done a great job prepping him, he looks fantastic,” said Doyle. “He is a good mover, and Mehmas has already been a very good friend to a lot of people.”

Gleeson added, “We sent the mare to Mehmas just as he was just about to have his first 2-year-olds, and we heard there were some good breezers. We took a punt and it has worked out.

“This colt has been a star here everyone was saying that he was a stand-out. You don't want to get your hopes up but it has all worked out in the end.”

 

Hannon will also take charge of another Ross Doyle purchase (lot 126), a filly by Kodiac (GB), bought for 70,000gns and whose ownership group will include one of the owners of Australian superstar Verry Elleegant (NZ) (Zed {NZ}). Adrian Whittingham and his son Darcy of the New South Wales-based Honeycomb Stud already have horses in training in the UK, including the twice-placed juvenile Tellus (GB) with John Quinn, who previously trained Deny Knowledge (Ire) for the same partnership before the daughter of Pride Of Dubai (Aus) was transferred to Michael Kent in Australia. The Whittinghams' trip to Europe to watch Verry Elleegant run at Longchamp on Sunday also provided time for a Tattersalls shopping trip.

Doyle said, “She has been bought to go to Richard Hannon for partnership of Honeycomb Stud in Australia and one of our clients will take half. They are happy to race here, but if they think the horses might be more effective Down Under they will ship. A broodmare pedigree is a big bonus down the line.”

The Kodiac filly, who was consigned by her breeder Tally-Ho Stud, is a granddaughter of the G1 Irish Oaks winner Winona (Ire) (Alzao) and from the further family of the multiple Grade I winner Stella Madrid (Alydar).

 

Teme Valley Hoping For Another Star

A striking chestnut son of Starspangledbanner (Aus) turned plenty of heads, but it was Richard Ryan who has the most staying power in the bidding battle to secure the Ballyhimikin Stud-consigned colt (lot 147) who had been bought as a foal for €62,000. That sum was more than doubled by the time the hammer fell at 130,000gns, and Ryan had plenty of extra encouragement in ensuring that he was bought for Teme Valley Racing, who, until the end of last season had campaigned Starspangledbanner's outstanding son State Of Rest (Ire).

“He was a slightly unexpected type of horse to find this horse in this sale, a different ball game than the rest of the field, I thought,” said the agent. “He's a good strong Starspangledbanner colt with a good backside on him. He is from a real speed family and will make a lovely 2-year-old. He is a proper horse, and would be in any sale.”

A son of the Bahamian Bounty (GB) mare Black Rodded (GB) and a half-brother to three multiple winners, the colt is a great grandson of the fast dual listed winner Palace Street, who later found fame as the dam of G1 July Cup winner Sakhee's Secret (GB). The family has been boosted recently by the G3 Coral Charge win of Raasel (GB), who is out of a half-sister to Black Rodded.

Vendor James Hanly of Ballyhimikin Stud said, “It is a great venue and everyone is here. It is a very good format as a one-day sale–people can get in and have plenty of time to see them over the weekend.”

He added, “It's a strong market and I'm very pleased with that price. The sire has had such a good year, there has been a big uplift in the stallion. Let's hope this colt goes on and wins lots of good races; it is a good way to start the yearling sale season.”

Hanly's positive start to the season continued its good run later in the session when he sold a Zoffany (Ire) filly for breeder Sven Hanson for 75,000gns to Grant Pritchard-Gordon of Badgers Bloodstock.

Lot 268 hails from the family of Group 1 winner and late dual-purpose sire Poliglote (GB) and is out of the Reliable Man (GB) mare Kiss Me Daily (Fr), who is a half-sister to Australian Group 1 winner I'm Your Man (Fr) (Cape Cross {Ire}) and to the dam of five-time group-winning stayer Called To The Bar (Ire) (Henrythenavigator).

 

 

Following in the Footsteps of Malakahna

Footstepsinthesand (GB) may now be a veteran of the stallion ranks but he can still come up with a sales horse and lot 189, Knockatrina House's half-brother to listed winner and Group 3-placed Alakhana (Fr) (Dalakhani {Ire}), was a case in point. One of four yearlings by the Coolmore sire in the sale, he sold for 90,000gns to Ben Brookhouse, who said, “He's a good walker with good scope. He's not too big and not too small and has a lovely attitude.

Brookhouse, who works with successful dual-purpose trainer Ian Williams, is already familiar with the family through Alakhana's daughter Malakhana (Fr), who won a Grade 3 fillies' hurdle for the Williams stable at Cheltenham in April.

“She's a hardy mare. If he's half as good as her he'll be alright,” Brookhouse added.

Bred by Canice Farrell, the dark bay colt is a son of the listed-placed Dubai (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who was also a winner at two in Germany.

 

Middleham Park Return to Winning Formula

Middleham Park Racing teamed up with agent Ed Sackville to return to a successful formula. For the syndicate, the combination of the Somerville Sale plus Havana Grey has provided them with one of their stars of the season in Eddie's Boy (GB), the Weatherbys Super Sprint winner who has also twice been listed-placed and was a 45,000gns purchase from the inaugural sale.

One of their key selections of the day and the sale's early leader was Hillwood Stud's distinctive grey-spotted Havana Grey filly (lot 67), who brought the gavel down at 85,000gns.

“Obviously Havana Grey from this sale has been a recipe for us before so we have tried to repeat it,” said Middleham Park's Tom Palin of Middleham Park. “Obviously Havana Grey is a more established sire now than this time last year so we have had to pay more but this filly is from a family we have followed and we have bid on a couple [of her relatives] before.

“She is a good solid, nice-moving filly and the nicest Havana Grey we have seen here. She is a strong horse, too and we saw her on our own and then Ed put her to us. The stars were aligning, as such.”

Palin added that the filly would be trained by Hugo Palmer, who moved from Newmarket to Michael Owen's Manor Farm Stables in Cheshire at the beginning of the season.

“You could see her whipping around Chester in the Lily Agnes,” Palin said. “The Havana Greys are sound horses who keep running for you. We are really taken by them, we got a bit lucky that we stumbled on him at the right time and we threw plenty of Havana Grey darts at the board and come up with 180. They are good, honest horses and delighted to get another one.”

A half-sister to the 82-rated multiple winner and Group 3-placed Show Me Show Me (GB) (Showcasing {GB}), the filly was bred by Whitsbury Manor Stud, where her sire stands. She is a daughter of the six-time winner Springing Baroness (GB) (Bertolini) who is herself a half-sister to Showcasing's G2 Mill Reef S. winner Toocoolforschool (GB).

 

 

Major Result For Minor

The first foal of the winning George Vancouver mare Cirrus Minor (Fr) brought a smile to the face of breeder Zorka Wentworth when the filly by Bated Breath (GB) sold as lot 162 from the Norris Bloodstock draft to Oliver St Lawrence for 75,000gns.

A half-sister to the G1 Doomben Cup winner Pornichet (Fr) (Vespone {Ire}), Cirrus Minor is a permanent boarder at Jenny Norris's Redenham Park Stud and is now back in foal to Bated Breath.

“I'm chuffed to bits,” said Wentworth. “Jenny has done a great job and she seemed to be very popular. I put a good reserve on her because I was quite happy to keep her myself. Now I just need her to win because the mare has a gorgeous Time Test (GB) colt foal.”

 

Dunlop's Change of Direction

This time last year Harry Dunlop and Anthony Bromley of Highflyer Bloodstock went to a 12,000gns for a colt from the first crop of Tasleet (GB). Later resold at the Goffs UK Breeze-up for £47,000, that colt went on to win the G2 Coventry S. under the name of Bradsell (GB).

Dunlop was back at the Somerville Sale on Tuesday and bought a filly by Outstrip (GB) (lot 140) in partnership with his brother Ed for 20,000gns, and it is in this role we are more likely to see him in the future after he announced that he would be handing in his training licence at the end of the season.

“Thankfully I am stopping training on my own terms and my financial situation is in a good place and is all sorted out,” he said. “But I am very much keen still to be involved in the industry because I think it would be foolish to step away from it. I love the sales and I love racing and what I would love to do is manage some horses for a big client as well as doing some work at the sales.”

He continued, “I bought a filly with my brother today, which is something I have never done before. I really liked her and hopefully she will do well for Ed. Her sister Ardad's Great is entered in the G1 Cheveley Park S. and is trained by Jessie Harrington, so we are hoping that she could have a nice update.”

Dunlop, who trained French Group 1 winner Robin Of Navan (Fr), as well as Group 2 and Listed Derby Trial winner Knight To Behold (Ire) for American owner Neil Jones, is keen to expand on the international experience of his own training career as well as that gleaned through growing up in Arundel, where his father John trained successfully for decades.

“Dad was a big pioneer on the international circuit and I think was the first English trainer to have a runner in New Zealand and in the Japan Cup, and while I have been training I've had a lot of success in France,” he said.

“The international aspect of the business really interests me and over the last few years we have seen increased investment from overseas, especially from owners in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.”

He added, “I've also been helping Tom Ward at the sales, doing some spotting for him. It's fun working with another trainer and offering an opinion, and Tom is a guy going places. He had his first listed winner this season and lives close to my home in Lambourn.”

 

From the Somerville to October…

Reflecting on the Somerville Sale, which provided an extremely lively warm-up for Tattersalls' major yearling sale which gets underway in four weeks' time, chairman Edmond Mahony said, “Last year's inaugural Tattersalls Somerville Yearling Sale proved to be an immediate success and today's second renewal has made further significant progress with wide margin gains in all the key indicators of average, median and turnover, as well as a new record top price for a Somerville yearling of 160,000 guineas.

“It was very apparent as we were inspecting yearlings in the spring that there was genuine enthusiasm for our newest yearling sale from both British and Irish consignors and they have supported the fixture with exactly the profile of sharp, precocious, commercial yearlings which we were looking for. To see the average and median prices both rise by more than 40% and the sale turnover increase from under five million guineas to well in excess of seven million guineas demonstrates a sale of real vibrance from start to finish. Equally impressive has been a clearance rate nudging 90% and the number of yearlings selling for 50,000gns or more which has risen from 17 to 39 while six-figure transactions have increased from one to four.”

He added, “The sheer number of buyers here at Park Paddocks over the past few days is also a reflection of the racecourse success enjoyed by so many graduates of last year's sale, most notably the G2 Coventry S. winner Bradsell, and we look forward to similarly impressive results next year as well as to sustaining the momentum of today's sale into Books 1 to 4 of the forthcoming Tattersalls October Yearling Sale.”

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Park Paddocks Buzzing Ahead of Somerville Sale

NEWMARKET, UK–There's no let-up in a sales calendar that becomes more packed every year, and the yearling action now switches to Newmarket, with the Tattersalls Somerville Sale sandwiched between last Friday's BBAG Yearling Sale in Germany, and a new French sale at Arqana this coming Thursday and Friday.

This is in effect only the second year of the Somerville, a sale that grew out of the Tattersalls Ascot Yearling Sale, which itself only existed for four years, having been moved to Newmarket during the first year of the pandemic.

That move coincided with a boost in both entries and returns, and the Somerville, with its focus on a sharper type of yearling more usually found at the Goffs UK Premier Sale, was born. Its debut last September could hardly have been more encouraging, and this year's sale is on the rise again in numbers. Even so, judging by a full car park and packed runways between the stable blocks at Park Paddocks on Monday, there should be plenty of people on the ground attempting to buy the yearlings offered  from 10am on Tuesday. 

As first-year results go, having the G2 Coventry S. winner Bradsell (GB) (Tasleet {GB}) as an early flag-bearer was a welcome boost, through sadly that 12,000gns purchase is now on the easy list after picking up an injury in his subsequent start in the G1 Keeneland Phoenix S.

Sold from Bearstone Stud, which offered seven yearlings at the sale last year, Bradsell was not the only star performer from that draft. The most expensive member, at 45,000gns, was a colt from the first crop of Havana Grey (GB). Like Bradsell, he too ended up at Archie Watson's stable. Now named Eddie's Boy (GB), he has raced eight times for the Middleham Park Racing syndicate, winning on debut, and later scooping the lucrative pot of the Weatherbys Super Sprint, as well as picking up some Listed black type when third in the Windsor Castle S. at Royal Ascot behind Little Big Bear (Ire) and again at Sandown in the Dragon S.

Farther afield, Marco Bozzi's 4,500gns purchase New Collection (GB) (Brazen Beau {Aus}) is now a Listed winner in Italy. 

Bearstone Stud has returned to the Somerville Sale this year with a draft of nine, including two fillies by Tasleet and Havana Grey, as well as the half-sister to the aforementioned Eddie's Boy, who sells as lot 66 and is by Washington DC (Ire), one of Bearstone's three resident stallions. The stud's owner Terry Holdcroft was not alone among consignors in reporting hectic viewing sessions for Sunday and Monday.

“It's just been absolutely manic,” he said. “We've been very busy. We have five staff here and it's almost not enough but even if we'd brought a couple more there's not room to show them all at the same time. Yesterday it was unbelievable, we were almost having to ask people if they would like to come back later as there was a queue of people waiting to see them.”

Holdcroft added, “The sale has worked well for us and we used to go to Ascot previously, but we are putting better horses in now that it has moved to Tattersalls. It does come a bit quick for us after Doncaster, especially for the staff. But we have brought mostly sharp, 2-year-old types, which is basically what I try to breed, and it's what they are looking for in this sale, and at Doncaster of course.”

Holdcroft also issued an update on one of Bearstone's star graduates, Glass Slippers (GB) (Dream Ahead), winner of the G1 Flying Five and GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint two years ago.

“She's very much in foal,” he said. “She went to Dubawi and we're really looking forward to that.”

Eddie's Boy's sire Havana Grey is currently way out in front in the first-season sires' table with 30 winners of 45 races, and three stakes winners to his name. The most recent of those, and his first group winner, came last Thursday with Lady Hollywood's victory in the G3 Prix d'Arenberg at Longchamp. Her rising star of a young trainer, Alice Haynes, was among the many pounding the sale yards on Monday, and if she is on the hunt for another by Whitsbury Manor Stud's Havana Grey she will have 21 to choose from, including one from the farm responsible for breeding Havana Grey in the first place, Mickley Stud. The Shropshire farm offers lot 7, the third foal of the Listed winner Peach Melba (GB) (Dream Ahead) who already has a multiple winner to her name in Instinctive Move (GB) (Showcasing {GB}).

As outlined by Terry Holdcroft, there is a strong focus on speed and precocity in the catalogue, and just over 20% of those slated to sell are by first-crop sires, including Inns Of Court (Ire), Calyx (GB), Eqtidaar (Ire), Masar (Ire), Magna Grecia (Ire) and Land Force (Ire).

Graduates of the Somerville Sale are eligible not just for the £100,000 Tattersalls Somerville Auction S., which is to be run next August 26 over six furlongs of the July Course, but also for the Tattersalls October Auction S., staged over the same distance but slightly later and next door on Newmarket's Rowley Mile. The latter also takes in graduates of Books 3 and 4 of the October Yearling Sale.

With only 17 withdrawals at the time of writing from the 313 yearlings in the book, trade on Tuesday will be continuing long into the evening at Park Paddocks at this sale that seems unlikely to remain in its one-day format for much longer. Long viewing days and a lengthy sale session will seem worthwhile in hindsight, however, if the level of activity over the last few days is carried through on the day that it matters most.

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