By Emma Berry
NEWMARKET, UK—The European yearling sales have been hit-or-miss all season and, from a slow beginning, the finale eventually sparked into life as dusk settled, with a number of high-priced lots contributing to a record average for Tattersalls December Yearling Sale of 35,597gns.
A fall in clearance rate to 73% from 78% last season meant that the aggregate fell fractionally, with the 117 yearlings sold bringing 4,200,500gns, a drop of 2%. The median was down by 14% at 21,500gns.
The green and red silks of Martin and Lee Taylor have already been carried to Classic glory by the Oaks winner Dancing Rain (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}), who was one of the stars of the 2013 Tattersalls December Sale when selling for 4 million gns. The brothers will be hoping that their luck is in again next spring when their G2 Horris Hill S. runner-up Azano (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) attempts to lay down his Guineas claims. In the meantime his full-brother (lot 89), bred by the Taylors and sold through the Castlebridge Consignment, led the December yearling session, with the hammer falling in favour of Azano's trainer John Gosden at 260,000gns.
“We're very excited about his brother,” said Martin Taylor. “He won his maiden by five lengths and was then second in the Horris Hill 12 days later. John Gosden feels he's potentially a Guineas horses so we'll be hoping that he can start off in a Guineas trial somewhere.”
The colt's withdrawal from the October Sale worked in his favour, as Azano broke his maiden on Oct. 15, before adding some vital black type to the page at the end of the month. His dam Azanara (Ire) (Hurricane Run {Ire}), a half-sister to the G1 Prix Ganay winner Astarabad (Alleged) and to the dam of the Aga Khan's multiple Group 1 winner Azamour (Ire), was bought for the Taylors as a yearling by Liam Norris for €130,000. The mare has a filly foal by Frankel (GB) and is now in foal to Sea The Stars (Ire).
Anthony Stroud, who signed for the colt on Gosden's behalf, added, “This is a very nice horse and has been produced well. John is very keen on his full-brother and this colt will go to him.”
Seeing Stars And Moons
The champion trainer was back in action later and bought a Sea The Stars (Ire) half-sister to Group 3 winner Caravan Rolls On (GB) Hernando {Fr}) from Staffordstown Stud for 105,000gns. The filly (lot 149) is out of the unraced Machiavellian mare Grain Only (GB), whose dam All Grain (GB) is a sister to the Irish and Yorkshire Oaks winner Pure Grain (GB) (Polish Precedent).
Breeder Kirsten Rausing said, “Unfortunately she had a stone bruise and could not come [to the sale] in October. I am delighted that she has been purchased by John Gosden and Stroud Coleman Bloodstock. She is a lovely filly and has always done everything right—except find one stone to stand on.”
Rausing will also have approved of Gosden and Stroud's next purchase, just five lots later. The filly in question (154) is by the Lanwades stallion Sea The Moon (Ger) who has recently been crowned champion first-season sire in Germany on the back of a strong crop of debutants, including the Group 3 winners Noble Moon (Ger) and Quest The Moon (Ger).
On behalf of breeder Gestut Ammerland, Ronald Rauscher consigned the half-sister to the listed winner High Duty (GB) (Oratorio {Ire}) and out of the winning Montjeu (Ire) mare Heart Of Ice (Ire), who sold for 125,000gns.
“She is very athletic and light on her feet,” said Stroud. “And the sire has been doing very well.”
Family Affair For Burns
Madeline Burns went to 160,000gns to buy the Authorized (Ire) mare Lake Nona (GB) from a family she knows well and two years later her faith has been rewarded with the sale of the mare's first foal, a Kodiac (GB) filly, for 150,000gns.
Lot 171 was effectively bought with the unraced mare while in utero and she represents a family which has close ties with Rathasker Stud. Maurice Burns bought the mare's half-sister Es Que (GB) from George Strawbridge back in 2007 and from the daughter of Inchinor (GB) the farm has bred four black-type winners, including stallion Es Que Love (Ire) (Clodovil {Ire})—who will be offered for sale at Tattersalls next week as lot 1680—and G1 Hong Kong vase winner Dominant (Ire) (Cacique {GB}).
The family has stayed particularly active in the last few seasons through the filly's third dam Bellarida (Fr), whose daughter In Clover (GB) is the dam of Group 1 winners With You (GB), We Are (GB) and Call The Wind (GB). Bellarida also features as the third dam of this season's G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches winner Teppal (Fr) (Camacho {GB}).
Gleneagles Filly For Skiffington
Amanda Skiffington was paying close attention as lot 96 went through the ring as the Gleneagles (Ire) colt is a half-brother to the G2 German 1000 Guineas winner Hawksmoor (Ire) (Azamour {Ire}), who was bought by the agent as a yearling at Tattersalls Ireland for €80,000. This time around Skiffington was forced to stretch to 240,000gns to claim another son of Bridal Dance (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}), this colt offered by David Nagle of Barronstown Stud, who bought the mare for €260,000 following a Group 3 win and Group 1 placing at two for Hawksmoor. Magical Fire (Ire), a filly by Dragon Pulse (Ire) has subsequently added more black-type to the immediate family when finishing runner-up in the G2 Duchess Of Cambridge S.
Oasis Dream featured again among the leading lots on Monday when Bluehills Racing Ltd's colt out of the listed-placed Clarentine (GB) (Dalakhani {Ire}) was sold
for 140,000gns to Kuwaiti owner Rashed Aldaban. Lot 106 was another who had missed his prior engagement at the October Sale but he remains eligible for the Book 1 Bonus and is likely to remain in Britain to be trained. Aldaban currently has horses in training with Richard Fahey and Richard Hughes.
He is the first foal of his dual-winning dam, who is a half-sister to the Lingfield Oaks Trial winner Perfect Clarity (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) and a grand-daughter of the G2 Premio Lydia Tesio winner Claxon (GB) (Caerleon).
Rabbah Steps In For No Nay Never
Jono Mills of Rabbah Bloodstock was active throughout Monday, signing for four lots for 271,000gns. At the head of this quartet was lot 58, a filly by champion first-season sire No Nay Never, bought for 98,000gns. Consigned by Peter Stanley of New England Stud on behalf of his uncle Christopher Hanbury of Triermore Stud, the first foal is a daughter of Virginia Celeste (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), a half-sister to Australian Group 3 winner Above Average (Ire) (High Chaparral {Ire}) and to Group 3 winner Sent From Heaven (Ire) (Footstepsinthesand {GB}).
No Nay Never's main rival among the freshman sires this season has been Kingman (GB). Blue Diamond Stud's filly by the young Juddmonte sire out of the G2 Queen Mary S. runner-up Shyrl (GB) (Acclamation {GB}) (lot 39) may be seen back in the ring at Tattersalls next spring. The half-sister to the multiple group-placed Raucous (GB) (Dream Ahead) was knocked down to Matt Coleman for 92,000gns, who said that her aim will be the Craven Sale.
“Kingman has had a fantastic year and I think she is probably good value as he will be standing at £75,000 next spring and she is out of a black-type mare, who was also a breeze-up horse, and is a half-sister to a black-type placed horse,” Coleman added.
Bred by Imad Al Sagar and Saleh Al Homaizi, who will off a full-sister to and the dam of their treble Group 1 winner Decorated Knight (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) at Tattersalls this fortnight, the filly was consigned on their behalf by Baroda & Colbinstown Studs.
A day of viewing will take place today ahead of the start of the four-day December Foal Sale on Wednesday morning.
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