Tattersalls October

By Chris McGrath NEWMARKET, UK--Well, maybe these guys just don't have radios or newspapers. Maybe they haven't heard about the challenges at least affecting the domestic environment: chronic deficiencies in prizemoney, new volatility in the economic landscape. Or perhaps the international investors who might be relatively immune to such concerns have forced even the local market to new highs by putting such a squeeze into Books 1 and 2. Who knows? Just conceivably, this show of faith in our industry could yet prove the foundation for a sustainable bull run....

NEWMARKET, UK--On both sides of the Atlantic, the yearling sector in 2021 has shown an especially heartening vigour in the middle market--and you can't get much closer to its centre of gravity, on this side of the water, than Book 2 of the October Yearling Sale at Tattersalls. Despite losing the stimulus of Shadwell, which last year corralled 36 lots from this auction for 5,327,000gns, Wednesday's third and final session rounded off a quite astonishing performance overall. Never mind its giddy elevation on last year's sale, which had itself rallied...

NEWMARKET, UK-the middle market has flourished at the yearling sales transatlantically thus far in 2021, and that trend proved out again on Monday during the first of three sessions of Book 2 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, where figures were not only well up on the remarkably strong 2020 renewal staged in the midst of the pre-vaccine pandemic, but at this stage also trending ahead of 2019's record edition. The first day of Book 2 saw records for turnover, average and median for a session at Book 2. Of...

There is much to admire about the team at Kingsclere, especially during a season when Andrew Balding has been in or near the top spot of the trainers' table throughout. But one particularly admirable facet to the Balding stable is in its sourcing of young stock at the yearling sales.  Key to that process are the trainer's mother, Emma Balding, and Kingsclere's racing manager, Tessa Hetherington.  The duo can regularly be spotted forming an advance party on the sales grounds, sifting through the catalogue to ensure that they are left...

Newsells Park Stud has launched a digital catalogue for its 29-horse draft for Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale from Oct. 5 to 7. The Newsells Park Stud Book 1 consignment includes 19 siblings to black-type winners. Julian Dollar, Newsells Park Stud general manager, said, "Last year demonstrated the need and importance of showcasing our yearlings online before the actual sales. Our digital catalogue features photographs and videos of the yearlings, as well as the latest updates to the pedigrees, interactive race videos, and cross stakes winners to...

Best horse in the world. Check. Top-rated miler. Check. The only two horses to win three Group 1 races in three different countries in 2021. Check. Highest-rated turf horse in America. Check. Most exciting juvenile in Europe. Check. When a sale can boast all of these as its graduates in a single season then it's not doing badly at all, but then the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale--and Book 1 in particular--has long been a world leader, both for its results and for its pull of potential buyers from across the...

Books 2, 3 & 4 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale are now available online. Book 2 features 808 yearlings and runs from Oct. 11 to 13 at Park Paddocks. Book 3 comprises 612 lots and will be held Oct. 14 and 15, while Book 4 has 98 yearlings to sell on the morning of Oct. 16. Book 2 features siblings to 167 black-type winners including a colt from the first crop of Cracksman (GB) who is a half-brother to champion Al Kazeem (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) (lot 659); a Gleneagles...

A 475,000gns Tattersalls October yearling purchase by Mike Ryan on behalf of owner Peter Brant, In Italian (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) was bet into 7-5 favoritism for her Mar. 28 bow at Tampa, but found trouble enough at the quarter pole and again 100 yards later to cost her a debut graduation. Kicked immediately into the lead here by Irad Ortiz, Jr., In Italian enjoyed a fairly soft time of things on the engine, clocking unpressured fractions of :24.03 and :49.39. Challenged briefly approaching the stretch, In Italian rebroke and coasted...

When Napa Spirit (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) won Friday's first race at Keeneland, bloodstock agent Ben McElroy was more relieved than ecstatic. Some six months earlier, he purchased Napa Spirit at the Goffs Orby Yearling sale in Ireland with a set goal in mind. He was looking for a unique type of horse, one that could win in the U.S. and Europe, would be fast and precocious, like the grass and be a good fit for the Royal Ascot meet. Friday's win was the latest sign that he had more...

Dispatched at debut odds of 9-1 in Thursday's fourth race from Aqueduct, Lawrence Goichman's Star Devine (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) gave her rivals a bit of a head start after hopping slightly at the break, but she was handled perfectly thereafter by Trevor McCarthy and stormed home down the center of the track to graduate in sharp time to become a new 'TDN Rising Star.' Spotting the field a couple of lengths after that slow beginning, Star Devine--a 200,000gns purchase by Mike Ryan out of the 2019 Tattersalls October Sale--Book...

A fortnight of selling at Park Paddocks for the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale drew to a close on Saturday morning with a small Book 4 offering. The session added 153,000gns to the coffers for 42 sold (65%). While the average dipped 15% to 3,655gns, the median was up 14% to 2,500gns. A pair of fillies by Equiano (Fr) (lots 2007 and 2030) topped trade at 11,000gns and 10,000gns, respectively, when bought by Nick Bradley Racing/George Boughey and Rabbah Bloodstock. Tattersalls October Books 1 through 4 cumulatively saw 1,816 yearlings go...

NEWMARKET, UK--So here we are, at the furlong pole, and somehow still hard on the bridle. With just Book 4 to go, the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale continues to confound the gloom generated this year as the bloodstock industry--along with the wider economy--reeled under the nightmarish burden of a pandemic. On Friday, even the weaker second session of Book 3 sailed serenely clear of the riptide. Turnover of 2,274,500gns soared past the equivalent day last year, up a giddy 27% from 1,796,400gns. That yielded an average of 10,245gns, up from...