Tattersalls October: A Showcase For The 'World's Best Turf Stallions'

During a particularly fruitful week for European influences at Saratoga this August, three black-type winners in the space of four days had made their first public appearances during Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale in Newmarket, England.

First, the 5-year-old Technical Analysis (Ire) (Kingman {GB}) won the De La Rose S. on the Wednesday, marking her third consecutive year of stakes victories at the Spa, having won the GII Lake Placid S. in 2021 and last season's GII Ballston Spa S.

This was followed 24 hours later, and in the same Klaravich Stables silks, by the win in the GII Glens Falls S. of McKulick (GB) (Frankel {GB}), who won the previous year's GI Belmont Oaks.

Two days later on the Whitney card, Program Trading (GB) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) upped the stakes again with victory in the GI Saratoga Derby, again for Chad Brown and Klaravich Stables, a team which, along agent Mike Ryan, has farmed the October Sale at Tattersalls with some pretty spectacular results.

One to note for future years, too, is the Christophe Clement-trained Ozara (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), out of a half-sister to the 2015 European Horse of the Year Golden Horn (GB), who won a smart Saratoga 2-year-old maiden on debut. She was another Mike Ryan purchase, at 350,000gns from breeder Lofts Hall Stud, on behalf of Cheyenne Stable.

Ozara may yet join the throng of Grade I winners in North America to have been sourced at the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale. That list currently numbers 12, and includes Peter Brant's In Italian (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), the top-rated turf filly in America with four Grade 1 successes to her name at Saratoga, Keeneland and Belmont Park.

The GI Del Mar Oaks and GII San Clemente winner Anisette (GB) (Awtaad {Ire}) is another to have graduated from Tattersalls' Park Paddocks, though she was bought at the earlier and somewhat newer Somerville Yearling Sale, for the relative bargain price of 26,000gns (approximately $33,000).

Anisette | Benoit

The Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies' Turf winners Newspaperofrecord (GB) and Aunt Pearl (GB) have more in common than both adding their names to the roll of honor for an illustrious contest on one of American racing's biggest weekends. Both daughters of the Ballylinch Stud stallion Lope De Vega (Ire), whose tally of American winners grows impressively each year, they were also both bought from Book 1 at Tattersalls October, with Klaravich Stables having signed for Newspaperofrecord at 200,000gns ($255,000) and Liz Crow for Aunt Pearl two years later at 280,000gns ($357,000). The latter was resold at the end of her 3-year-old season at Fasig-Tipton's November Sale for $3 million.

Jimmy George, Tattersalls Marketing Director, is unequivocal in his assessment of the October Yearling Sale, which starts Tuesday with Book 1 set to run over three consecutive days.

“It really is just a showcase for yearlings by the world's best turf stallions,” he says.

Simple, right? And it's hard to argue when considering the global pulling power of even three names from the British stallion ranks: Darley's reigning champion Dubawi (Ire), 2021 champion sire Frankel (GB), and his Juddmonte stud-mate Kingman (GB). The trio live within a mile of each other as the crow flies, and if you shout loud enough, you'd just about be heard down the road at Tattersalls.

On top of those three, the Irish-based Sea The Stars (Ire), Wootton Bassett (GB) and Lope De Vega pack both a collective and individual punch.

“There's the thick end of 200 yearlings by those six stallions in Book 1 of the October Yearling Sale,” George adds. “And I think that tells prospective buyers all they really want to know. These are game-changing stallions on their own, but that collection together is pretty mighty.”

He continues, “To have quite so many yearlings by those top stallions is just an opportunity every year for buyers who want to compete at the top.

Carl Spackler | Sarah Andrew

“In America, for example, Lope De Vega is extraordinary out there. Those American buyers honed in fairly early on a handful of stallions, and they bought some very good horses.

“I mean, it's extraordinary to think that Lope De Vega in recent years has had Newspaperofrecord, Aunt Pearl, Program Trading. And there's another 3-year-old colt by him called Carl Spackler (Ire), who actually was unsold at Book 1, but was bred by Bob Edwards, and Bob retained him and took him out there.”

With Grade II and Grade III wins at Saratoga under this belt, Carl Spackler, who races for e Five Racing Thoroughbreds, is another from the Chad Brown stable to be excelling on the turf this season.

George adds, “The October Sale gives international buyers access to these top stallions, and they recognize the quality of the stallions standing in Britain, Ireland and also France at the moment. They come here and buy them as yearlings, and in the case of yearling fillies, perhaps leave them over here [to race] and breed from them in the future. It's just a sale that has an impact on so many different levels.”

Whether those youngsters have been trained in America, or in Europe then campaigned internationally, the success of the likes of Grade I winners Digital Age (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), Domestic Spending (GB) (Kingman {GB}), State Of Rest (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}), Victoria Road (Ire) (Saxon Warrior {Aus}), and Ocean Road (Ire) (Australia {GB}), all of whom were bought as yearlings at the October Sale, will ensure that an American accent will be a fairly regular sound among the hubbub at Park Paddocks in Newmarket over the next few weeks.

“These top owners and top breeders recognize it as their primary opportunity to access bloodlines that may not reappear on the market after Book 1 of the October Yearling Sale,” says George.