Tattersalls February Sale

NEWMARKET, UK--There is a sustained drive by the British racing authorities towards greater inclusivity, and within the relatively small world of people who are keen to buy a racehorse or broodmare, there was certainly an inclusive feel to the proceedings at Tattersalls over the last two days.  Admittedly we tend to focus on the more expensive lots in sales reports. After all, in theory these should be the horses, or indeed their offspring, who are making the headlines in the future. But we all know that theories don't always become...

NEWMARKET, UK--There was a true blue feel to the first day of the Tattersalls February Sale, with the partial dispersal of Shadwell stock and a sizeable draft from Godolphin dominating the leader board and accounting for all five of the six-figure lots to have changed hands during a strong opening session. Barring 2018, when several members of the Ballymacoll Stud dispersal set new record prices for February, the average of 18,311gns was the highest seen at this sale, and was not far from double the figure set 12 months ago....

NEWMARKET, UK--Here we go again. Dry January has been consigned to the books and the sales world will be back in full flow from Thursday at Park Paddocks. The Tattersalls February Sale jumped up from one day to two five years ago and it shows no sign of reverting to its more compact format. Once withdrawals are taken into account, around 400 horses will pass through the ring, ranging from just-turned yearlings to horses in training and broodmares. They will be preceded by the TBA's annual stallion parade, featuring a...

Three more wildcards have been added to the Tattersalls February Sale catalogue after the addition of White Marlin (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}). Rated 93, the Michael Bell-trained Dairerin (GB) (Spill The Beans {Aus}) (lot 375B) will be offered by Bell's Fitzroy House. The 3-year-old was a dual winner last year and also ran in the G3 Prix de Cabourg in Deauville, although he did not hit the board. From the family of the Classic-placed G2 Geoffrey Freer S. hero Mr Combustible (Ire) (Hernando {Fr}) and the G2 Ribblesdale S. winner and...

The two-for-two White Marlin (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}) has been added to the upcoming Tattersalls February Sale on Feb. 3-4. Consigned as lot 375A by Ronald Rauscher, the 4-year-old colt is rated 93p by Timeform after winning a Dec. 15 Dundalk maiden and a Jan. 14 handicap there, both over 1 ½ miles on the all-weather for trainer Joseph O'Brien in the colours of Ms. M. McDowall. In addition, the grey is a half-brother to G1 Flying Five S. heroine Romantic Proposal (Ire) (Raven's Pass). The duo are out of the...

The Thoroughbred Breeders' Association Flat Stallion Parade will return after a two-year hiatus at Tattersalls in Newmarket on Feb. 3. Free to attend, the event will feature 12 stallions embarking on their first and second seasons at stud in Great Britain and will begin at 11 a.m. prior to the start of the Tattersalls February Sale. Hosted by racing broadcaster Gina Bryce and Tattersalls' Shirley Anderson-Jolag, the parade's dozen stallions are: A'Ali (Ire) (Society Rock {Ire}), who stands at Newsells Park Stud; Bangkok (Ire) (Australia {GB}), a resident of Chapel...

The format may have changed, from in person to online, but the global reach of Tattersalls remained strong through the second session of the February Sale, with the leading lots being bought for owners in America, Italy, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. If the pandemic has taught us anything it is how much we are all able to adapt to new ways of working, and bloodstock sales have been no different. For this virtual version of the February Sale, 250 different bidders were engaged online, casting 1520 bids for the 205...

With the wildcard bumper winner Noble Yeats (Ire) (Yeats {Ire}) failing to make his 300,000gns reserve, the first session of the Tattersalls February Sale had a more regular top lot in the breeding prospect Beautiful Illusion (Ire) (Shamardal), who was the sole horse to break the six-figure barrier during the first day at 120,000gns. Sold by her breeder Godolphin as lot 194, the well-bred 4-year-old was initially trained by Charlie Appleby to win at Wolverhampton and Chelmsford last year. The daughter of G3 Sweet Solera S. winner Long Lashes (Rock...

When the curtain came down on the 2020 December Sale, all participants could have been forgiven for hoping that it would be the last we would see of Covid-restricted sales. Regrettably, the situation in Britain has subsequently worsened, meaning that Tattersalls, which managed to stage all of its scheduled sales last year, along with a few extras and a few delays, has been forced to conduct its first auction of 2021 entirely online. The mixed February Sale is perhaps the one through the year which could withstand some disruption best...

Tattersalls will be holding its first sale of 2021 as a "live virtual" event as strict lockdown measures remain in place in Britain and Ireland. Scheduled to run on Feb. 4 and 5, the mixed sale of almost 500 lots will take place online, with bids being taken through the live internet bidding platform or via telephone to a member of the Tattersalls team. No horses or vendors will be at Park Paddocks. Tattersalls also plans to stage an extra sale on Wednesday, Mar. 31 and Thursday, Apr. 1 to...

Tattersalls has catalogued 497 horses for its two-day February Sale, which takes place at Park Paddocks on Feb. 4 and 5. The largest consignment comes from The Castlebridge Consignment, which fields 47 including the 92-rated 4-year-old filly Dancing Feet (Ire) (Footstepsinthesand {GB}) (lot 460), a three-time winner in 2020 for Archie Watson; the 3-year-old filly Coloratura Soprano (Ity) (Golden Horn {GB}), a half-sister to last year's G2 Oaks d'Italia scorer Auyantepui (GB) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}) (lot 162); and Aubade (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) (lot 163), an unraced 3-year-old half-sister...

NEWMARKET, UK--The Tattersalls February Sale has once again sneaked into the tail-end of January and, now expanded to two days to incorporate the 401 lots catalogued, it offers the usual mix of broodmares, horses in training and young stock. It took a bid of 105,000gns from Ted Durcan to secure last year's top lot, Magic Illusion (GB) ((Dubawi {Ire}), who was bought from Godolphin to race in Dubai. Another of the jockey-turned-agent's purchases from the 2019 sale was Dramatic Device (GB) (Dansili {GB}), who was bought for 20,000gns and went...