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'Outlandish' Book 1 Ends With Record £134m Turnover  

at 2:11 pm | Back to: Europe, Shared News Europe

Updated: October 11, 2024 at 3:04 am

The record-breaking Wootton Bassett colt | Laura Green/Tattersalls

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NEWMARKET, UK — Blood will out. At 4,300,000gns a new record was set for a yearling colt at Tattersalls on Thursday from the immediate family of the most expensive yearling ever sold in Europe. But he was far from the sole highlight in the final session of Book 1, which can only be described as a bonanza. Record turnover, average, median and a world record yearling price in 2024 were the key indicators of a sale that has lit up an otherwise somewhat underwhelming European yearling sales season so far in 2024.

Whether this equine gold rush will in turn lift the fortunes of the breeders and consignors participating in next week's Books 2, 3 and 4 remains to be seen, but for now there were plenty of smiling faces departing Park Paddocks on Thursday evening.

The numbers go a long way to explaining why. The final day's trade was stronger again than the first two sessions: a 54% rise in turnover to 44,760,000gns, with the median up by 48% to 230,000gns and the average nearly doubling at 403,243gns. 

Overall, the aggregate, achieved from the sale of 345 yearlings – 46 fewer than was sold last year – was 127,823,000gns at a clearance rate of 89%. That represented a climb of 34%, while the median rose 39% to 250,000gns and the average price was up by 52% to 370,501gns. This was an unprecedented upturn in fortune, even at this rarefied level of the market.

Hitting It Out Of The Park

Lodge Park Stud's sole offering at the sale, a son of Wootton Bassett (GB) (lot 332), joined a jaw-dropping list of purchases by Amo Racing this week, including the overall top lot, Tuesday's 4,400,000gns daughter of Frankel from Newsells Park Stud. 

Described by Amo agent Alex Elliott as “spectacular”, the colt's dam Park Bloom (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) is a full-sister to the overall Book 1 record-holder, Al Naamah (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who sold for 5,000,000gns back in 2013. Put simply, this has been a sensational dynasty for the Burns family of Lodge Park Stud, emanating from the colt's third dam Park Express (Ire) (Ahonoora {GB}).

Jamie Burns led the colt through the ring and was joined in the aftermath by his mother Patricia and brother Paddy as realisation dawned.

He said, “This family has always done us well and hopefully he will be the next one to enhance the pedigree. I wasn't really thinking when it went over four million; emotion took over, it was surreal.

“He has been busy all week and has never turned a hair once. We have bred four generations on this colt's page, and we also had Park Appeal, who is in Wootton Bassett's pedigree, too.”

The colt's dam Park Bloom is not just a full-sister to Al Naamah but also to the Oaks winner Was (Ire) and G2 Curragh Cup winner Amhran Na Bhfiann (Ire). A generation back, under the list of offspring of the third dam, the champion race filly Park Express, is another Epsom Classic winner in New Approach (Ire) and his fellow stakes winners Dazzling Park (Ire) and Shinko Forest (Ire).

If this colt proves good enough on the racecourse–he will be trained by Karle Burke–he unquestionably owns a stallion's pedigree, which was doubtless uppermost in the minds of Kia Joorabchian and his Amo Racing team as they continued to pitch in new bids. Joorabchian's spending spree has been quite the talking point at Park Paddocks this week. Whether solo or with partners Al Shaqab Racing, Valmont or Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis, he has accounted for 27 yearlings during the past three days for a collective outlay of 23.2 million gns. At times, he has outbid some of the biggest spenders in the game. In the case of the Wootton Bassett colt, he had Coolmore's MV Magnier as his underbidder. Joorabchian, too, has been the underbidder on a number of the week's more expensive yearlings, with his desire to increase the quality of bloodstock purchased with an eye on future breeding plans in turn driving the ferocious market which has left most observers taken aback by its strength. 

Reflecting on the team's desire to secure this particular colt, bloodstock agent Alex Elliott said, “I think if you wanted to paint a horse, you'd try to paint him. From the top of the page to the bottom of the page, the farm he was reared on has had the family for generations and he was one of the most spectacular horses I've ever seen.

“I said to Kia when I showed him the horse, 'You've been second in two Derbys and there's every chance that this horse can take you one place higher.' And from that moment Kia locked on, with Mr Marinakis again, and the whole team – myself, Ben McElroy, Robson Aguiar – we all lined up and when everyone has the same opinion it doesn't take much to find horses like that.”

Amo Racing's two Derby runners-up to date are Mojo Star (Ire), who now stands at Whytemount Stud in Ireland, and King Of Steel, another son of Wootton Bassett {GB}), who was second to Auguste Rodin (Ire) last year before winning the Champion Stakes.

“King Of Steel is the best horse he has had, and we're going to try to find a home for him to stand,” added Elliott. “Wootton Bassett is one of the elite sires in the world and that colt has every chance of standing as a stallion. It's a colossal price for a horse. 

“The first plan was to buy him. That was the hard part and then we have to sit down and work out where we are going to place him.

“I must just say well done to the Burns family for producing a horse like that. That doesn't just happen. From Damian's father Seamus, all the way down, and Jim Bolger is part of it, there are so many people involved with making a family like that.”

 

 

A Merry Result for Newsells Park 

Newsells Park Stud and Merry Fox Stud teamed up to buy Shambolic (Ire) (Shamardal) from the Dukes of Devonshire and Roxburghe for 800,000gns back in 2019 and the principals of both operations, Graham Smith-Bernal and Craig Bennett, were united in their praise of the mare on Thursday. Her Siyouni (Fr) filly (lot 407) joined the list of Godolphin purchases at 3,700,000gns and Shambolic has already hit a bloodstock home run in producing the G1 Fillies' Mile winner Ylang Ylang (GB) (Frankel {GB}), who was herself a 1,500,000gns yearling two years ago.

“Tremendous. Graham's team has done a brilliant job and we are just very lucky to have her,” said Bennett of the eight-year-old Shambolic.

Smith-Bernal added, “It's hard to believe where this market's at because it's obviously very strong. We knew she was very special, reflected in the fact that we had so many vettings, and look at the way she conducted herself up here. She's a beautiful filly and we wish her new owners the very best.”

He added, “We're very happy because we have a beautiful Frankel filly foal and she is back in foal to Frankel with a colt. We'll keep the filly.”

Smith-Bernal also divulged that he retains a share in the mare's two-year-old colt by Kingman (GB). Named Kaizen (GB), he is owned in partnership with Qatar Racing, China Horse Club and David Howden, and is in training with John and Thady Gosden.

“The feedback from Oisin Murphy recently was that he could be a special colt,” he said. “This is a reflection of Julian's no-stone-unturned attitude, his attention to detail. We won't always achieve perfection, and that is what Kaizen means. It was the motto of my software business: seeking perfection, knowing that perfection cannot be achieved, but you still seek it.”

Julian Dollar, as manager of Newsells Park Stud, has presided over a team which has topped the Book 1 consignors' table on eight previous occasions, and the draft's performance in 2024 will make that nine with 26 yearlings sold for a total of 17,185,000gns.

Newsells Park Stud also topped the sale overall with the filly by Frankel (GB) out of another Shamardal mare, Aljazzi (GB), who was sold for 4,400,000gns to Amo Racing on Tuesday. 

 

 

Sangster's Sense Of Style Reaps Reward

A third-generation homebred daughter of Camelot (GB) delivered an excellent result for breeder Ben Sangster, who, through Camas Park Stud, sold the filly to Amo Racing for 2,900,000gns.

The first foal of the Zoffany (Ire) mare Sense Of Style (Ire), lot 402 is closely related to the four-time Group 1 winner and Ballydoyle stalwart Luxembourg (Ire), who is a half-brother to the dam and also by Camelot. The Group 3-placed winner Sense Of Style also has a filly foal by Camelot. 

Asked if he had been tempted to race the filly himself, Sangster, whose son Ollie is in his second season training at the family's Manton estate, said. “Very, but we will look for horses for him next week.

“It's a strong market and she is a beautiful filly and when you get two to tango – I am just the lucky recipient. I'm a bit gobsmacked.”

He added, “Everything that has happened this week has exceeded expectations. I have been lucky, and Camelot has had a great year and his daughter winning the Arc has just put him right up there.”

 

 

Wootton Bassett in Demand

The bell had only just rung out across the Tattersalls courtyard and moments later another millionaire yearling was added to the leader board when lot 311, the Castlebridge-consigned filly by Wootton Bassett (GB) out of the Group 3 winner My Titania (Ire), was bought by William Haggas on behalf of Tony Bloom and Ian McAleavy for 1,700,000gns. Sitting across the ring from the main bidders' area with his wife Maureen, Haggas saw off underbidder Kia Joorabchian for the Sunderland Holdings-bred filly from a family he knows well.

My Titania not only holds the accolade of having been the first group winner for her sire Sea The Stars (Ire) when she landed the G3 Park Stakes in 2013, but she has also developed into a significant broodmare whose three runners to date are the Group 2 winners My Oberon (Ire) and My Prospero (Ire) and Listed winner and Group 1 runner-up My Astra (Ire).

“She'll join their broodmare band eventually,” said Haggas, the trainer of both My Prospero and My Astra, as well as their dam's half-brother, the treble Group 2-winning sprinter Muthmir (Ire). “She is very nicely made. We've had a few of the family and they are all quite big, as she is. We were very keen to buy her.”

The owners of last season's Gimcrack Stakes winner Lake Forest (GB) (No Nay Never), Bloom and McAleavy's foray into the breeding side of the business has included the purchase at the 2023 Tattersalls December Mares Sale of Get Ahead (GB) (Showcasing {GB}), a half-sister to 2,000 Guineas winner Chaldean (GB), for 2,500,000gns.

 

 

Godolphin Signs Up Kildaragh Gem

Sea The Stars featured on the other side of the pedigree for the next seven-figure lot of the day, the full-sister to the stallion's G1 Prix de Royallieu winner Sea Silk Road (Ire) offered by her breeder Kildaragh Stud. Henry Lascelles and Kieran Lalor made a determined play for the filly (lot 325) but it was Anthony Stroud for Godolphin who had the final say at 1,600,000gns, having also bought another full-sister at this sale last year for 575,000gns.

Peter Kavanagh of Kildaragh Stud said of the purchase of the Listed-winning dam Oriental Magic (Ger) (Doyen {GB}), “It was just the fact that she had class and she was from a good German family. We've worked with German families all the way through and they have been very good to us. They're sound, they're tough.

“She's back in foal to Sea The Stars. She doesn't have a foal this year but if she can do that every second year it would be lovely.”

Of Book 1 trade he added, “Funnily enough it hasn't been ecstatic for us up until now. We've had things that were just short of the top tier and it's not as buoyant there. But when you hit the home run you don't know where it will stop. The number of people that were on her – and all high-end users – you just need everything to align and come together. You have a set of 36 x-rays and anything on one of those can turn half your purchasers away.”

Of the potential of Sea The Stars as a broodmare sire, Kavanagh said, “He's just kicking in. He's going to be a massive influence. I'd say he'll emulate even Galileo. They just seem to have such exceptional temperaments and they are so easy to mate as well. He seems to work with speed and stamina.”

Stroud, who has guided the Godolphin team through 18 purchases this week to the tune of 22,020,000gns, added, “Funnily enough we were very keen on Sea Silk Road when she went to the sales. I thought she was a very nice filly, a smaller type of Sea The Stars, she looked very racy and it's a wonderful pedigree. I think she'll be a valuable asset once she's finished racing for the paddocks.”

 

 

Coolmore's Prize Exhibit

By their own powerful standards, Coolmore has been quieter this week than some but MV Magnier, often in partnership with Peter Brant of White Birch Farm, has still signed for eight yearlings. Lot 353, Barronstown Stud's filly by Frankel (GB) out of the dual Grade II winner Prize Exhibit (GB) (Showcasing {GB}), went to Magnier solely at 1,500,000gns.

“She is a very nice filly and we have been very lucky with buying horses from David and Diane [Nagle],” he said of the three-part-sister to G3 Cornelscourt Stakes winner History (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}).

“They are great breeders and have bred very good horses in the past. We bought History here a couple of years ago and she is in foal to Justify carrying a colt.”

Reflecting on one of the liveliest weeks ever witnessed at Park Paddocks, he added, “The sale has been incredible and Tattersalls has done a great job getting everyone here. You could feel a couple of days before the sale a great buzz around the place.”

He also wished Amo Racing good luck after they signed for the day's top lot, the colt by Coolmore stallion Wootton Bassett on which he was underbidder.

Magnier continued, “Wootton Bassett has had 10 stakes-winning two-year-olds this season and he is the perfect outcross for Galileo mares. He seems to work with anything. He has started to become an international horse and his juveniles in Australia are hitting. The colt is a stunning horse and well done to the Burns family. We are very sorry not to get the horse. He made a lot of money and I hope he is lucky for Kia and his crew.”

 

 

A Mehmas For a Million

Tally-Ho Stud's half-brother to treble Group 1 winner Perfect Power (Ire) (Ardad {Ire}) gave his sire Mehmas (Ire) a first million-guinea sale. The colt out of the Frozen Power (Ire) mare Sagely (Ire) is joining the Godolphin team, which also stands his talented sibling at Dalham Hall Stud. 

Tally Ho's Tony O'Callaghan said, “The mare we bought for 40 grand here at the December Sales seven years ago and she's done well. It's amazing what can happen – sometimes you get lucky.”

His view of the sale echoed those of plenty of others on both sides of transactions this week. He said, “It's been an amazing week really. There's never been a Book 1 like this. No one predicted it. They were all talking about minus ten per cent, but long may it last. It's good for everyone – the breeding side needs it badly.”

On the rise and rise of their home stallion Mehmas, who is rivalled at Tally-Ho only by the stalwart Kodiac (GB), he added, “There's no law. The Americans like him and they want him in Australia too. We'll cover mares for Australia too. We all know what it's like when [stallions] don't click but this makes up for it.”

 

 

Cox Praises 'Outstanding' Sale

By Adam Houghton

Yulong have enjoyed significant success with their Tattersalls graduates, notably with the Irish Oaks winner Magical Lagoon (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), picked up for 305,000gns at Book 1 in 2020, and more recently with Via Sistina (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}), a three-time Group 1 winner in Australia since being purchased for 2,700,000gns at last year's December Mares Sale.

Lucky Vega (Ire) is another Yulong success story and the team got behind their first-season sire on Wednesday when buying lot 204, one of two yearlings by the G1 Phoenix Stakes winner in the catalogue, for 180,000gns. That filly was one of eight purchases made by Yulong at this year's sale for a total of 3,940,000gns.

The pick of them was Watership Down Stud's Dubawi (Ire) colt who also went through the ring on Wednesday as lot 268, the first foal out of the G1 Prix de Royallieu heroine Loving Dream (GB) (Gleneagles {Ire}). He was knocked down to Yulong on a bid of 1,100,000gns.

“He will stay in Europe in the medium term and if he wins some nice races here that would be fantastic,” Yulong's general manager Vin Cox said after that purchase. “If he is good enough to race in Australia as well, that would be great. He is by Dubawi, one of the best stallions of all time, and he's out of a Group 1 winner. He's a good-looking horse.”

He added, “The quality of the horses here this week has been outstanding with beautiful horses everywhere you went. Competition has been justifiably strong on the quality that is here and all credit to Tattersalls for getting a wonderful bunch of horses here and a buying bench that is very competitive. We have been a vendor here, too, and we sold a Frankel colt [on Tuesday] for seven figures, which was fantastic.”

View At The Top

By Adam Houghton

The Mahon family's Mountain View Stud enjoyed one of the more notable pinhooking results on Thursday with lot 382, a Blue Point (Ire) filly out of the winning Cityscape (GB) mare Roseau City (GB). She went the way of Henry Lascelles for 725,000gns, having previously sold for 165,000gns here at the December Foal Sale.

Mountain View Stud offered four horses at Park Paddocks this week, with the others including a Kingman (GB) filly (lot 246) who is heading into training with Ed Walker after being bought by Ed Sackville for 750,000gns on Wednesday.

“She's a beautiful filly and the lads at home have done a great job with her,” Barry Mahon said of the daughter of Blue Point. “She's going to a wonderful owner in Lady Bamford and she was well selected by Henry Lascelles. Hopefully, she can turn out to be lucky.

“She'd been very popular and we knew she was going to sell well. It's phenomenal the amount of buyers that are here. We probably didn't think she was going to get to that level, but in fairness she'd had a lot of admirers–it was a great result.”

Clifton Farm's Hugh Bleahen was another man receiving plenty of congratulations after his Sea The Stars (Ire) colt (lot 405) had sold to Federico Barberini for 510,000gns, a significant upgrade on the €50,000 it had cost Bleahen to secure the son of the G3 Prix d'Aumale winner Shahah (GB) (Motivator {GB}) at the Goffs November Foal Sale.

Americans in Action 

By Adam Houghton

The influx of American buyers at Park Paddocks played no small part in pushing the figures to record heights this week, certainly in the case of Klaravich Stables who bought 12 yearlings for a total of 3,595,000gns through agent Mike Ryan.

Mike Repole's buying team made four purchases across the first two days, for an aggregate of 1,190,000gns, while Dean Reeves of Porta Fortuna (Ire) (Caravaggio) fame was involved in the recruitment of five yearlings in various partnerships.

“Keep that under wraps–my wife's not very happy that I've bought five!” joked Reeves, who was effusive in his praise of lot 330, a Lope De Vega (Ire) colt from Camas Park Stud who he was involved in buying for 325,000gns.

“We thought he was the best horse in the sale,” he added. “We were shocked that we were able to get him. They're all heading back home and Christophe [Clement] will be training them. We're thrilled to get them all because it's been very competitive.”

Those sentiments were echoed by Andrew Cary, a first-time visitor to Tattersalls who picked up two yearlings on behalf of Wells Watson, including a Kingman (GB) filly (lot 341) from the Newsells Park draft for 400,000gns.

“I've always wanted to come here and I've got an amazing client now in Wells Watson,” said Cary. “We hooked up a couple of years ago and we've had some success. We went to Goffs last year and bought three. One of them was a nice filly called Celtic Motif who was third in the Goffs Million for Joseph O'Brien.

“We bought two there last week and we've bought two here this week. It's been an incredible sale, very strong, and it's a credit to Tattersalls, the horses that they brought here and the people that they brought here. We were really just trying to hone in on certain pedigrees and hoped that they would fall within what our budget was.”

Talking Points

By Brian Sheerin

  • By close of play on Thursday, 16 millionaires had walked through the ring at Park Paddocks. That is nine more than last year and equals the 16 that highlighted the sparkling trade of 2022. 
  • Godolphin [eight] and Amo Racing [five] accounted for more millionaire lots than any other buyer with William Haggas, MV Magnier and Yulong signing for one apiece.
  • The record turnover for Book 1 was set in 2022 when the aggregate was over 126 million guineas from the sale of 424 horses. That figure was eclipsed this week with the aggregate standing at a colossal 127,823,000gns.
  • Post-sale interviews can be drab affairs at times, especially when the buyer can't reveal future plans for a horse and instead offers only to speak in cliches. However, there was plenty to be gleaned from Alex Elliott's interviews this week, especially concerning where Amo Racing's stallion prospects are heading next year. According to Elliott, Bucanero Fuerte (GB) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) will take up stallion duties at Tally-Ho Stud in 2025. Meanwhile, a stud has yet to be found for King Of Steel. 
  • This was a big sale for Camelot. Less than a week after his daughter Bluestocking (GB) flew the flag for the Coolmore-based stallion, one of his yearling fillies [lot 402] sold for 2.9 million gns to Amo Racing. That highlighted a terrific week for Camelot, with 11 yearlings selling for an average of 555,000gns. 
  • There was a time where top agent Mike Ryan could come to Book 1 and pretty much cherry pick some of the best yearlings imaginable to race back home in the States for Klaravich Stables. Not any more. In many ways, Ryan has become something of a victim of his own success in that he paved the way for so many international buyers to make their way to Park Paddocks in search of big-race riches. Not to be deterred, Ryan ended the session as the sixth busiest buyer with nine yearlings sourced for 2,765,000gns.
  • If somebody told you at the start of the week that Godolphin were going to spend 22 million gns on 18 yearlings but another buyer outside of Coolmore would end Book 1 just shy of 2.5 millions gns behind that aggregate, you would have said they were cuckoo. Amo Racing is by no means a new name on the buyers sheet but nobody expected such a flex this week. 

Golden Touch
By Brian Sheerin

Paul McCartan is one of the best in the business. The master of Ballyphilip Stud has had many top-notchers through his hands – Battaash (Ire), Nando Parrado (GB), Harry Angel (Ire), Kodi Bear (Ire), Tiggy Wiggy (Ire) and more recently Fairy Godmother (Ire) – but even he admitted to approaching Book 1 with some trepidation this week. 

Any fears McCartan may have harboured about the strength of the market were blown away when his Blue Point filly, who he sourced at the Tattersalls December Foal Sale for 110,000gns, was knocked down to Godolphin for 600,000gns. 

Of course, it's not the first time McCartan has done well with the progeny of Blue Point. Just last year, the County Limerick operator sold a half-brother by the stallion to Battaash for an eye-watering 1,500,000gns. 

“I joked with somebody yesterday that we should have a statue built in memory to Blue Point at home in the yard,” McCartan laughed after the sale of lot 315. “We might have to go and do that now!

“He's been a brilliant sire for us but, to be honest, I didn't see this coming at all. I was actually quite concerned about the market coming over this week. I was only hoping it would hold up well. What has happened here this week has taken us all by surprise.”

He added, “As a breeder, you are losing money hand over fist at the other end of the market. There is no floor in it whatsoever. But the flip side of that is the top is extremely strong. Stronger than even I dreamed it was. I am just so thrilled for all of the breeders and pinhookers who got a touch this week. We all know how hard this game is so it's been brilliant to see. 

“The atmosphere and the buzz over here is amazing really. I've never seen so many smiling faces. Blue Point stamps his stock so well and the two yearlings I sold by him this week were very nice horses. There was a lot of Shamardal in them, particularly the heads. Let's hope they go on to be good racehorses.”

Buy of the Day 

On a memorable day with many millions flying across the ring, it might be easy to think that there was no value to be had for buyers. Mark Johnston is not any old buyer, though, and sniffing out value is what he does best. In the case of lot 345, an Australia (GB) colt consigned by Baroda Stud, it's fair to assume that the Johnston team picked up a bit of value at 57,000gns. For starters, the April-born colt meets Johnston's criteria, in that he is out of a highly-rated dam, Porthilly (Fr) (Pivotal {GB}), who won at Listed level and placed twice in Group company for John Hammond. This is exactly the type of horse the Johnstons have done so well with down through the years and it would be no surprise to see him develop into a useful three-year-old over middle distances. 

Mahony Lauds 'Spectacular' Book 1

Reflecting on the record trade at Book 1, Tattersalls Chairman Edmond Mahony said, “Every year Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale produces the highest percentage of superior racehorses of any European yearling sale and that simple fact has played out in spectacular fashion over the past three days at Europe's premier yearling sale.

“The breeders and consignors consistently send the cream of the European yearling crop to Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale and the outstanding quality of the yearlings they send to this very special sale year after year is the key to attracting so many of the world's most successful and influential racehorse owners to Tattersalls. They come in confidence, knowing that they will find an elite collection of yearlings, more of which will go on to achieve great things on racecourses around the world than from any other European yearling sale.

“All in all it has been an extraordinary yearling sale. The statistics tell a remarkable story with massive year-on-year rises in average, median and turnover. The sale turnover has risen year-on-year by around 30 million gns, the average price well in excess of 300,000gns is unprecedented, as is a median which has surpassed the previous record of 200,000gns by a very significant margin, and all of this has been accomplished alongside an enviable clearance rate in excess of 85%. ”

He continued, “Newsells Park Stud's 4.4 million gns sale-topping Frankel filly out of Aljazzi is the highest-priced yearling to be sold in the Northern Hemisphere this year and Lodge Park Stud's 4.3 million gns Wootton Bassett colt out of Park Bloom is not only the highest price for a yearling colt in the world this year, but also a new European record for a yearling colt. The very top of the market has been outlandish with an unprecedented eight yearlings selling for 2 million guineas or more, 16 selling for seven figure sums, and almost 70 yearlings realising 500,000gns or more.

“The buyers who have made all of this possible have come from far and wide. The contribution from throughout the Gulf region has been such a feature of sales at Tattersalls for a very long time and their continued support should never be underestimated. This year they have been joined by an almost overwhelming number of overseas buyers with the large contingent of American buyers making a massive contribution alongside buyers from Australia, China, Hong Kong, Japan and throughout Europe, all of whom have been competing with strong domestic demand, most notably from Kia Joorabchian's Amo Racing which has become such a force on the global racing scene.

“There are so many people that can take an enormous amount of satisfaction from this sale and to see so many being so richly rewarded has been a huge boost to the British and Irish breeding industries. Every breeder, every consignor, every handler and all the teams back at the farms throughout Britain, Ireland and further afield who have raised these yearlings; they have all played their part and they should be proud of the collective achievement which is phenomenal.

“We will turn our attention very quickly to Books 2, 3 and 4 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, which starts on Monday 14th October, but in the meantime we can reflect on a week which has shone a bright light on a great industry.”

Pinhooking Fortunes On Thursday

Of the 151 horses catalogued during Thursday's session, 29 were pinhooks, and all of the horses visited the ring. There were no withdrawals. Two lots did not meet their reserves and were buy-backs, leaving 27 yearlings marked as sold. Of the latter group, 24 made a profit ranging from 6,089gns to 531,500gns.

Lot 382 made the most profit on Thursday. Bred by McCracken Farms, Ltd., the bay daughter of Blue Point (Ire) was acquired by Good Will Bloodstock for 165,000gns as a Tattersalls December foal and would go on to bring 725,000gns on the bid of Henry Lascelles.

Three lots lost money. The 27 pinhooks marked as sold were acquired for 3,504,263gns as foals and made 7,740,000gns on Thursday representing a 121% return.

We have multiplied the price of the foal by 1.1 and added a running cost of 12,000gns (for foals bought in guineas) or €15,000 (for foals bought in euros) for keep, feed, veterinary, shoeing, sales prep and sales entry fees. Depending on whether someone has their own farm, or where they choose to board a horse, will obviously mean that costs for each individual can vary significantly.

It is worth noting that sometimes a horse can appear to be bought and sold by different names but have actually not changed ownership at all.

 

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