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.”