By Brian Sheerin
As debut performances go, they don't come much better than what Alex Elliott achieved in clearing over 2 million gns across 10 horses and supplying the two most expensive lots through the ring so far at this year's Tattersalls Autumn Horses-In-Training Sale through Imperium Sales.
This was the sporting equivalent of scoring a hat-trick in the Champions League final on your full professional debut, landing any of the majors as an amateur golfer to winning Wimbledon at the first attempt.
Quite understandably, Elliott, best known for sourcing top-notch equine talent–with King Of Steel the latest star to put the bloodstock advisor in lights–was rightly proud of his debut venture as a consignor.
Not only did the consignment top the sale with what Elliott describes as “a potential Melbourne Cup horse” in Balance Play (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) for 575,000gns to Johnny McKeever, Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, but He's A Monster (Ire) (No Nay Never) wasn't far behind at 450,000gns to Blandford Bloodstock's Richard Brown on behalf of Wathnan Racing.
Elliott made no secret about the high regard in which he held the 101-rated Balance Play on the eve of the sale in these pages and the market certainly agreed with a host of good judges including Will Bourne involved in the bidding war.
“I just want to say thank you to everyone,” Elliott said after the memorable performance. “To the buyers, the viewers and to the trainers–the horses turned up to the sales looking immaculate. It's everything we dreamed of and more. Listen, I came here with big expectations and for all of the horses to jump through the hoops, it's amazing.”
Asked if the 575,000gns Balance Play (lot 767) fetched in the ring was what Elliott expected to achieve, he replied, “It was, really. We have a lot of faith in that horse. Ralph Beckett has just trained him masterfully. He's a late May foal and he's got a staying pedigree. He brought him along slowly and he could be anything, he really could.
“Sad to see him go but it's the nature of the beast at the moment. Hopefully we've got a little bit back for the clients from the yearling sales. For once, I'm a bit speechless!”
💪🏻 Strong first sale for new consignor Imperium Sales at the #TattsAutumn HIT Sale
Lot 767, BALANCE PLAY (by Lope de Vega), sells for 575,000gns and is bound for Australia with Johnny McKeever buying on behalf of Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott. pic.twitter.com/g9MF2wUI4A
— TDN (@theTDN) October 24, 2023
Elliott revealed to TDN Europe on Monday that he had snapped up 85 yearlings along with the help of Lucy Ryan this year on behalf of various different clients, principally Valmont, who owned Balance Play. A horse of that quality could have been sold countless times on the private market but, in many ways, Tuesday evening's results in the ring vindicated Elliott's decision to take the plunge into consigning on behalf of his clients.
He said, “I've wanted to do this for a few years but it just felt like the right time. The product was there and you've got to have the product. We know the buyers and know the product. We were very confident in those horses. I just hope they go on to do the service for everybody that we think they can.”
Elliott continued, “We sold a horse [privately] pre-Ascot and he would have been one of the favourites at the meeting. It's hard on the trainers and hard on the staff [when you sell privately] and, even though we are becoming a nursery in Britain, you can't just keep selling on the private market.”
Balance Play will be given every opportunity to fulfill his potential in Australia now that he's off to join the legendary operation of Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott. Waterhouse won the Melbourne Cup in 2013 with Fiorente and is one of the most decorated handlers in the sport's history Down Under.
Claudia Miller, racing manager for the operation, said, “Balance Play is our highest-rated horse of the sale. We were under strict instructions not to leave without him! He is a lovely three-year-old, lightly-raced, very consistent, and effective on all going. He just is the exact profile of the horse we look for at this sale. We are very excited to get him.”
Not only did Brown land Imperium's He's A Monster (lot 769) on behalf of Wathnan Racing, but he also bought Just Bring It (Ire) (Harry Angel {Ire}) (lot 770) on for the powerful ownership force for 300,000gns.
“Great name,” Brown said of He's A Monster, “and he looked like one out there in the ring, to be fair,” the top agent continued.
“They've both been bought for Wathnan. We were focussed on real quality. I had a long chat with Olly Tait last night trying to narrow it down and really focus in on a couple of decent ones, which hopefully we have done. Like I said, everyone on the team was very keen on both of them. He's A Monster looks like he could be progressive and Archie [Watson, trainer] recommended him highly. It's a tremendous effort by Alex Elliott on his first venture. They were superbly presented. The two of them will go to Qatar.”
Tuesday Trade Takes A Dip
The strong trade on Tuesday evening helped the overall figures on the day to rest at 11,933,015gns, down 4% on last year. The average fell 12% to 44,861 and the median also dropped 12% to 22,000 from the corresponding day's trade last year. Meanwhile, the clearance rate was down 5% to 88%.
Maher Adds To Australian Domination On Day Two
Will Bourne may have been forced to fill the role as underbidder on Balance Play but Ciaron Maher's bloodstock manager did manage to land the William Haggas-trained Amleto (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) for 360,000gns earlier in the session.
He said of lot 720, “The profile suits Australia. The sireline is proven as well with the Group 1 Australian Cup winner Fifty Stars and Just Fine, winner of the Group 1 Metropolitan. He is just a lovely, lightly-raced horse and is the perfect fit to go Down Under.”
Commenting on the market, the Australian native added, “That middle market is very strong. That horse stood out and probably made as much as he would last year, maybe a little less. But, around that middle market, I think everybody has around one hundred thousand for a horse so, when you find one who fits the profile for Australia, there's a lot of people playing at that price limit. He was a little bit above that higher percentile.
“There are some really lucky owners in this horse–a couple of Melbourne Cup-winning owners–Matt Belford and Jeff Garvey, so they gave me the confidence to go and buy this horse. I spoke to Matt last night and he gave me the green light to go ahead.”
Maher, who is no stranger to the horses-in-training markets here at Tattersalls, has signed for four horses to the tune of 660,000gns so far this week.
Strutting around the sales ring 😍
🇦🇺 The @cmaherracing & @WillBournee team strike again at the #TattsAutumn HIT Sale, this time going to 360,000gns for the @WilliamHaggas trained 3YO Amleto who's a winning own brother to star filly Sea Of Class. pic.twitter.com/cJQpaaT4ht
— Tattersalls (@Tattersalls1766) October 24, 2023
Murphy Rolls The Dice On Speedy Sketch For America
You've got to speculate to accumulate sometimes. Nobody knows that better than trainer Conor Murphy. It was in 2011 when Murphy, then working for master National Hunt trainer Nicky Henderson, landed a £1-million payout after the stable's Sprinter Sacre, Simonsig, Bob's Worth, Finian's Rainbow and Riverside Theatre all won at the Cheltenham festival.
Murphy took that money and used it to go out on his own as a trainer in America, with his Riverside Stables a nod to how he got going in the first place.
Well, the Irish native was reinvesting at Tattersalls on Tuesday evening through agent and ex-jumps jockey Jerry McGrath, who also used to work at Henderson's, and snapped up Sketch (Ire) (Showcasing {GB}) (lot 656) for 220,000gns.
Sketch was consigned by Castlebridge and boasted strong form on the track for Freddy and Martyn Meade. He was last seen finishing sixth behind Vandeek in the G1 Middle Park S. and was also listed-placed at York.
“He is going to Kentucky to Conor Murphy, who has got some good owners,” McGrath said at the top of the bidders area. “Hopefully he is an exciting type to go to the US. He showed plenty of ability on his debut and is a horse we have kept an eye on throughout the year and he seems to be a real type for America.
“We knew we'd have to go strong on him but hopefully he can win his money back in the States. His best form is on quick ground, he has a good pedigree and hopefully he can get his price tag back.”
Sketch was bred by Ballyphilip Stud and was sold through this ring at Book 1 last year to Martyn Meade for 100,000gns. He is the first foal out of Siyouni (Fr) mare Scintillating (GB), a half-sister to a Group 2 winner.
Picture Perfect – Painters Pallette Leaves Horse Watchers In Clover
The Horse Watchers, the ownership group which is principally headed up by the Dixon brothers–Chris and Martin–have rightly earned the reputation as being one of the shrewdest buyers of form horses.
They proved just as adept at selling on Tuesday when Painters Palette (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) (lot 675), a horse sourced for just €60,000 from Ballylinch Stud in November, was knocked down for 165,000gns to Najd Stud.
Painters Palette has won five times for the Horse Watchers and trainer Rebecca Menzies and climbed 20lbs in the ratings since he was sourced out of Dermot Weld's less than a year ago.
He won his latest start off a mark of 91 at Redcar in the style of a horse who had plenty more to offer.
That wasn't the only good result that The Horse Watchers crew enjoyed on the day as Matthew Taylor, the well-known syndicate member, fetched 50,000gns for his own horse War In Heaven (Ire) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}) (lot 649).
Bought for 32,000gns at the July Sale here in 2022, War In Heaven provided Taylor with plenty of fun on the track, winning six times and climbing to a career-high mark of 95. He was sold to MEEA / Adel Alghareeb.
Charlton-Trained Duo Off To Bahrain
Oliver St Lawrence enjoyed a productive five minutes when singing for back-to-back lots Finest Leader (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}) (lot 751) and Hydration (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}), both trained by Harry and Roger Charlton, for 140,000gns and 210,000gns respectively.
Both geldings were consigned by Barton Stud. Finest Leader has won three of his 10 starts and holds an official rating of 86 while Hydration is rated 93 and won four times over six and seven furlongs.
Buy of the Day
They don't come more straightforward than Lattam (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) (lot 718). He typifies an owner's dream by running his heart out every time he goes to the races.
It's very hard to find horses who are not only good enough to get to all of the big meetings but also capable of running well. Lattam can do exactly that, as he proved in winning four of his 11 starts for William Haggas, including the valuable Irish Lincolnshire on his seasonal reappearance. That's why the 50,000gns Julie Camacho spent to snap up the hard-knocking handicapper could prove value.
On the face of it, the soft ground-loving Lattam may be an open book, but he has yet to race beyond a mile. His pedigree and running style suggests he'll get 10f and, who knows, he might even find more improvement for it judging by how well he stayed on at York and Ascot the last twice.
In short, Lattam has achieved plenty in his career to date but there could well be a lot more left to come from the gelding. He looks as though he was well bought.
Thought for the Day
Australian domination. That was the main takeaway from Tuesday with Australian buyers accounting for six of the top eight lots through the ring on day two.
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