History Made at Tattersalls But Harsh Reality of Lower Market Tier is Evident

[Wandering Eyes]

NEWMARKET, UK — In contrast to the opening day of foal trade in Ireland just over a week ago, the Tattersalls December Foal Sale was slower out of the blocks with a clearance rate of 60%. The average and median did improve throughout the day and ended with slight increases on this session last year at 12,086gns (+8%) and 9,000gns (+13%). Turnover, from 111 of the 182 foals sold, dipped by xx% to 1,341,500gns, albeit from 24 fewer foals changing hands than on the corresponding day last year. Of those weanlings who found a buyer, 21 were bought for the minimum bid of 1,000gns.

There are doubtless different factors at play, with the noted influx of young Irish vendors last week far more likely to get involved locally initially, especially when it comes to the extra expense in travelling horses in and out of the EU since Brexit. There is not the same level of interest in foal pinhooking among British-based buyers, and the number of smaller British breeders has been in decline, along with the size of the foal crop. That will doubtless continue, in the short term at least. At this end of the market, the sums involved simply do not make commercial sense for breeders aiming to sell rather than race the horses they produce. 

It will be a different story come Friday of course, with some smartly bred individuals set to grace the ring, but for this first of four foal sessions it was a case of a steady start, albeit with an important piece of bloodstock history at the beginning of the day.

As is customary, Tattersalls chairman Edmond Mahony took to the rostrum to offer the first five foals through the ring, none of which was sold, and then came the debut of Shirley Anderson-Jolag, who became the first female auctioneer in Britain, knocking down her first lot (211), a filly by Ubettabelieveit (Ire), for 1,000gns to an online bid from HWRS. Applause rippled round the ring but Anderson-Jolag, who was been building up to this moment with plenty of practice through the last two years, pressed on in businesslike fashion to successfully complete what will be the first of two stints on the rostrum this week. 

“I had a good solid year of practice with Edmond [Mahony],” she said. “Harvey Bell has been really helpful, too, and I have sold cattle, antiques, sold after auction races and at charity events. About a year and a half ago it was Hannah Wall and David Redvers who gave me my first charity auction at a hunt ball – they kind of made me do it, which was great as I would probably have said no.”

Of the response to her first turn in the ring, she added, “It has been nothing but positive from everyone, and I am glad I have finally done it. Standing behind Edmond to go up to the front of the rostrum I felt as sick as a dog, but I knew I had the support of people and, once I saw people coming into the ring, that made me really happy, it was lovely. Once I got that first lot under my belt, I was okay.”

She continued, “Hopefully, in five years it will be norm, and loads of women will be doing this. It did weigh on me a bit coming into today but only for positive reasons, because I wanted to be good for other women coming through.”

Commenting on Anderson-Jolag's historic debut, Mahony said, “The company is nearly 260 years old, so to have a first female auctioneer is quite a moment. Tattersalls is viewed as a very traditional company and it is quite nice to buck the trend and be the first to achieve this. It is a great achievement on Shirley's behalf, she has put a lot of work into this. She was obviously nervous this morning, but she will be a lot freer and relaxed going forwards.”

First-Crop Space Traveller Colt Shines

A colt from the first crop of Space Traveller (GB) provided one of the highlights of the afternoon with a flurry of activity for the half-brother to the Windsor Castle Stakes winner Ain't Nobody (Ire) (Sands Of Mali {Fr}). The final bid for lot 385 was placed online at 82,000gns, with the colt, bred by Steve Parkin's Rathbride Farm, being marked as sold to Mick Carty of Kilmoney Cottage Stud. The  colt's dam Burmese Waltz (GB) (Showcasing {GB}) was a multiple winner for Parkin's Clipper Logistics, as was Space Traveller, winner of the G2 Boomerang Stakes and now resident at Starfield Stud.

Tom Blain, whose Barton Stud was the leading vendor on day one with 13 sold for 225,000gns, said, “Steve Parkin wanted to show the industry that the stallion is producing good foals, and I think this foal has achieved that – and he has a good pedigree with a Royal Ascot winner this year. He is good enough to be offered any day, this week, but today has paid off and all the judges were on him, all the pinhookers.”

Barton Stud also sold a colt by Pinatubo (Ire) (lot 387) on behalf of breeder Charlie Wyatt of Dukes Stud for 50,000gns to Anna Raddavero of St Simon Bloodstock.

She said of the son of the listed-placed High Hopes (GB) (Zamindar), “This is our first experience buying here. We'll see how he grows and then decide because we have some that we sell and others that we race.”

Raddavero also experienced her first winner in Britain this month when the Marco Botti-trained two-year-old Palazzo Blu (Ire) (Saxon Warrior {Jpn}) won on debut ay Chelmsford. 

Proven Standout 

Bidding through Paddy Vaughan, Roger and Tony O'Callaghan snapped up a son of Nathaniel (Ire) from Tom and Alexandra Whitehead's Altenbach Bloodstock for 55,000gns. An outlier in as much as the colt was the sole weanling in the top 20 sold whose sire had won at 1m2f or more. 

“A very athletic colt,” was Roger O'Callaghan's assessment of lot 376, who is a half-brother to the listed Prix Finlande winner Olendon (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}) who was also runner-up in the G1 Prix Saint-Alary. 

Saxtead's Faith in A'Ali Rewarded 

Members of the Yeomanstown Stud team were decked out in caps advertising their new stallion Mill Stream (Ire) and, as ever, were active foal buyers, signing up three new recruits for 78,000gns. 

At the head of that trio was lot 271, the A'Ali (Ire) first foal of the winning Aclaim (Ire) mare Kelapa (GB). The colt, who fetched 40,000gns, was bred by Bob and Fiona Temple of Saxtead Livestock, who also bred and raced the mare.

Fiona Temple said, “We have a breeding right in the stallion, and we have had two nice colts by him this year. Our mares tend to be quite big and he is a neat stallion.”

She added, “We're over the moon that Yeomanstown have bought him – it is so important that the horses go on to good homes, especially as he is a first foal out of the mare, he will get every chance now.”

The Temples are selling four colts this week through Barton Stud.

“They were all nice sorts and, as we do all the work ourselves, it is easier to deal with the colts as foals rather than yearlings,” Temple said. “We have a Stradivarius [lot 1107] to sell on Saturday and we think he is the nicest of the lot.”

The foal sale resumes on Wednesday at the sightly earlier time of 10am.

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