The Weekly Wrap: In The Eye Of The Sales Storm

The lungs have been filled and we go again. Book 2 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale kicks off on Monday, launching another six days of activity at Park Paddocks. If that action is anywhere near as frenetic as it was during Book 1, then there will be plenty of happy breeders and vendors in Newmarket this week.

In a fashion particularly seen at elite sales, Book 1 was perhaps a little slowly into stride last Tuesday, as buyers and consignors alike tried to get a handle on the market. But the trade strengthened day by day, and if there weren't quite as many of the type of lots which bring the ring to an awed hush as the price climbs ever skyward, the most encouraging aspect of the three sessions was a high median throughout, indicating strong demand in the 'middle' market. Of course the middle market varies sale by sale, and it becomes increasingly important as this week goes on as we try to ascertain the level of demand across the range of yearling sectors. Signs have been largely encouraging since the yearling sales got underway in August, however, and there's no reason to expect that to change this week, certainly not for Book 2 anyway.

Last week the demand from American buyers was stronger than ever, which has been a growing trend in Book 1. Notably, the Sea The Stars (Ire) colt bought by Bill Farish's Woodford Racing from Watership Down Stud for 1.2 million gns will remain in the UK at least for the early part of his racing career, while Craig Bernick of Florida's Glen Hill Farm, who has a number of horses in training in Europe, indicated that he is likely to start his Kingman filly, purchased for 650,000gns, in Europe, too. The daughter of Ring The Bell (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) typified the hugely international aspect of the modern-day bloodstock industry: bred by Australian John Camilleri at Hazelwood Bloodstock just outside Newmarket, she is now owned by an American and is likely to go into training in Ireland or France.

Along with around 50 yearlings purchased last week to go to America, at least another eight will be heading to Australia. The international demand for European bloodlines is a double-edged sword, however. On the one hand, it pays a great compliment to breeders, particularly in Britain and Ireland, who have developed such renowned families which can produce runners to be competitive in the world's best turf races. But we must beware of a potential equine talent drain, which is now significant when taking into account the horses-in-training market, both public and private sales, for runners with decent form. British owners will find it especially hard to turn down lucrative offers when prize-money levels remain so low, and despite the warning bell having been sounding for years now, those in charge of British racing continue to turn a deaf ear. There's only so much that can be blamed on Covid, and this dire situation predated the pandemic.

Checks and Balances

With Shadwell having announced an impending serious reduction of stock some weeks in advance of the October Sale, it was clear that the name that has become a bedrock of the buyers' sheets at Tattersalls over many years would not feature in 2021. Prior to Sheikh Hamdan's death in March, his Shadwell Estates had been a significant investor at the Orby Sale and at Book 1, but it is perhaps Book 2 at which the absence will be most keenly felt, as Shadwell has been increasingly prominent among the leading buyers in the part of the sale over the last decade with some 47 million gns spent on 347 Book 2 yearlings during that time.

Juddmonte and Cheveley Park Stud have both lost key figures this year with the deaths of Prince Khalid Abdullah and David Thompson, but both operations clearly still have an eye on long-term planning and made select purchases of Book 1 fillies to introduce some new bloodlines to their broodmare bands eventually. 

There are clearly gaps to fill but Sheikha Fatima Bint Hazza Bin Zayed Al Nayhan's Al Shira'aa Farms has been a welcome addition to the list of buyers at Goffs and Tattersalls, with some blue-blooded fillies having been recruited as foundation mares for her operation at Meadow Court Stud in Ireland. As a statement of intent, signing up half-sisters to Waldgeist (GB), Poetic Flare (Ire) and Mother Earth (Ire) is a pretty strong one.

Another reason to be cheerful, for now at least, can be gleaned from the fact that we are in a golden era for stallions in this part of the world. Yes, the sun has now set on the remarkable Galileo (Ire), but his own son is rising so fast that it is hard to see Frankel (GB) not becoming champion sire for the first time this year. Galileo's half-brother Sea The Stars (Ire) was a little unfortunate that Frankel came along so soon after his own magnificent racing season of 2009 because he truly would have been a standout racehorse in any other era. He too remains a force to be reckoned with as a stallion and it was rather pleasing to see two of his yearlings within the top three slots, including the sale-topping filly out of Best Terms (GB) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}).

Her appearance in the ring on Thursday also brought with it a rare sales visit by Robert Barnett, whose family has maintained a stalwart presence among the British owner/breeder ranks throughout the last century which has hinged largely on the equine family from which this filly emanates. “We've been in this racket a long time,” said Barnett with a smile after his filly sold to Sheikh Mohammed–who was present at Tattersalls throughout Book 1–for 1.5 million gns.

Since the sale of Fair Winter Farm in 2017, the Barnett mares have resided at Newsells Park Stud, which was the leading consignor at Book 1 with some excellent results both from their own stock and that of their clients and partners, including Gestut Ammerland and Andrew Stone of St Albans Bloodstock. It's nothing new for Newsells Park to top Book 1–Julian Dollar and his team have pulled this off for the last four years running and six times in total–but this year was perhaps extra sweet as it is the first with new stud owner Graham Smith-Bernal at the helm.

A brief chat with Andrew Stone, breeder of the Group 1 winners God Given (GB) and Postponed (Ire), served as a good reminder of the level of investment, both financial and emotional, required in producing these horses. After selling a Frankel (GB) half-brother to Mrs Sippy for 925,000gns to Coolmore, Stone appeared close to tears and admitted that he felt quite emotional watching the horse go through the ring. Breeders of all sizes need to sell some stock to keep the wheels turning, but even when great financial reward is involved, only the hardest of hearts will find it easy to part with animals whose very existence has, in many cases, been carefully planned for generations. It is clearly bittersweet to see them go, even when the price is right.

What next?

Sometimes updates go your way, and sometimes they don't. In the case of the Saxon Warrior (Jpn) filly out of Archangel Gabriel (Arch) sold last week by Stauffenberg Bloodstock, there was a bit of both. Her half-sister Ville De Grace (GB) (Le Havre {Ire}) won a listed race for owner/breeders Hunscote Stud and Chris Humber on Sept. 21, but the day after the yearling sold for 325,000gns, her 3-year-old sister stepped up again to land the G3 Pride S. at Newmarket. 

Ahead of the start of Book 2, perfect timing was kept by Malavath (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}). At the time of the catalogues being printed, the £120,000 Arqana Breeze-up graduate was still unraced but she's been a busy girl in the interim and has now won two of her four starts, including Saturday's G2 Criterium de Maisons-Laffitte. It will come as no surprise that the filly was bred by Tally-Ho Stud, who can't stop producing winners this season. Malavath's full-brother can be found in box 633 in the Right Yard, and will sell on Monday as lot 552. 

Bred by Jim Bolger, the colt's dam Fidaaha (Ire) (New Approach {Ire}) was bought by Tally-Ho from the Shadwell draft at the Goffs November Sale four years ago for just €15,000. A four-race maiden herself, Fidahaa is a sister to two Group/Grade 3 winners and from the family of Shergar (GB). 

This year is the only one in which yearlings by the late Roaring Lion will be available and a half-brother by him to one of this season's leading juvenile fillies, Sandrine (GB), by another son of Kitten's Joy in Bobby's Kitten, is one of four yearlings from Kirsten Rausing's Staffordstown draft (lot 952). Like Tally-Ho Stud, Rausing's Lanwades Stud has been represented by winners left, right and centre this season, with Sandrine making a significant contribution by winning the G3 Albany S. at Royal Ascot, followed by the G2 Duchess of Cambridge S.

Ebro River (Ire) (Galileo Gold {GB}) and Bayside Boy (Ire) (New Bay {GB}) are two group-winning colts to have graduated from last year's sale at 75,000gns and 200,000gns apiece. Sadly, both their yearling half-siblings have been withdrawn from the October Sale, but there are bound to be plenty of gems to be found throughout the week at Park Paddocks as Europe's largest yearling sale continues. Starting from 10am each day, around 800 yearlings are set to sell in Book 2 over the next three days, and it's fair to expect some pretty brisk trade.