December Sale Off The Mark With Record Yearling Session at Tattersalls

[Wandering Eyes]

NEWMARKET, UK–After one last push over the top for the yearlings it is safe to say that the team at Tattersalls can reflect on a successful year for that sector of the market after the December Yearling Sale posted record figures across the board.

The final tally included the most expensive colt ever sold at this particular auction, a Frankel half-brother to the G2 Queen Mary and G2 Temple Stakes winner Dramatised (Showcasing) out of the Listed-winning Turtle Bowl mare Katie's Diamond. The mare, who had been bought by Joe Foley for 190,000gns at Tattersalls eight years ago on behalf of Steve Parkin, is set to sell from Parkin's Branton Court Stud next week as lot 1742.

Anthony Stroud and Alex Elliott, bidding from either side of the partition in the chute, took each other on for the colt from Hazelwood Bloodstock, with the latter having the final say at 425,000gns. 

Elliott reported that he had bought lot 85 for a partnership and added, “He looks a fast Frankel, and I am pleased to get him. He obviously should have been in Book 1 but he got a foot abscess and that needed time to grow out.

“It's a fast family and I remember the mare racing for Karl Burke. She has already produced a good one in Dramatised. The December Sale has produced some good horses and hopefully he can add his name to the roll of honour.”

The big-name stallions largely ruled the top of the leader board, with yearlings by Sea The Stars, Wootton Bassett, Lope De Vega, Night Of Thunder and Blue Point joining Frankel on the list of top ten yearling sires for the day.  One notable newcomer to that group was Baaeed, whose first runners will be in action next year and who is the sire of Staffordstown's colt out of the Listed Height Of Fashion Stakes winner Aloe Vera (Invincible Spirit). Offered as lot 8, he fetched 170,000gns from trainer Johnny Butler.

It took until the final lot through the ring for the previous record turnover to be beaten, but the sale of Shadwell's three-parts-sister to Baaeed, who sold for 100,000gns to Swan Bar & Entertainment, ensured that the aggregate of 7,287,500gns set a new benchmark. 

The clearance rate of 85% jumped up slightly from 83% in 2024, while the median improved by 33% to 40,000gns and by the average was up by 1% to 52,699gns.

Pedigree Picks

Sea The Stars was well represented in this opening session of the December Sale, with seven of his yearlings having sold for an average of 129,286gns. They included the most expensive filly of the day from the family of the great Time Charter, who sold for 260,000gns to Anthony Stroud. 

“The mare's been bred to Sea The Stars a number of times and all the runners she's produced have been highly rated,” he said of My Timing (Street Cry), the dam of Sea On Time, Truthful and Sea Just In Time, rated 100, 88 and 89 respectively. 

“The stallion's fee has gone up to €300,000 next year, so this represents reasonable value. He's undoubtedly a very good stallion.”

Peter Kavanagh of Kildaragh Stud was another to pick up a Sea The Stars filly and went to 200,000gns through Blandford Bloodstock for the half-sister to Group 1 winner Dreamloper (Lope De Vega) and Santorini Star (Golden Horn). Just last week the filly's half-sister by New Bay topped the Goffs November Foal Sale at €650,000.

“She's a pretty unique filly, they don't come onto the market that often and she is by Sea The Stars, who we have the utmost respect for as a sire of racehorses and as a broodmare sire,” Kavanagh said. “To get into the family is such an opportunity, it's so vibrant and current, the mare is relatively young, and there are two good runners on the page.”

Consignor Luke Lillingston of Mount Coote Stud added, “We were pleased with that. She is not a perfect model, everybody who came to look at her realised that, but I think it was a good result. Olivia Hoare bought her dam here at Tattersalls for 45,000gns, I introduced her to Ed Walker who was just starting to train. She won her final race, a Listed race, as a five-year-old and she went to stud and has been a marvellous broodmare. Today's price was established by those who have come before out of the mare, most especially Dreamloper, who Ed trained to win two Group 1s in France a couple of years ago.”

German Links Tempt Rau 

Tina Rau went back to her roots when signing for a German-bred daughter of Lope De Vega from Rathbarry Stud at 235,000gns. Lot 172, out of the wining Lord Of England mare Strawberry, is a half-sister to Group 3-winning juvenile Sea Bay (New Bay) as well as to Listed winner Samoa (Jukebox Jury), and was bred by Gestut Etzean. She had been an expensive purchase at last year's Breeding Stock Sale at Arqana, where she was bought for €175,000.

“She's been bought to race for a partnership in France,” Rau said. “I obviously know the family well. She was born on a very good German stud farm. She was raised on a very good Irish stud farm. The mare is without fault. The three-year-old [Starlight Lips] is staying in training and should be a Group winner next year. The two-year-old [San Marino] is exciting too, so there's a lot to like.”

Buying through Mark McStay of Avenue Bloodstock, MV Magnier scooped up the sole remaining Wootton Bassett yearling in the catalogue for 200,000gns. Bred by Kevin Blake's Golden Farm Thoroughbreds and sold through Tinnakill House as lot 53, the daughter of Entrancing (Mayson) is from the Cheveley Park Stud family of champion two-year-old filly Hooray (Invincible Spirit).

“She's a strong filly, and what more can we say about Wootton Bassett? He is a dreadful loss to the industry and to Coolmore,” said McStay.

Last Call for the Breeze-up Boys

The December Sale provides a last chance for the breeze-up pinhookers to sign up a yearling and Mick Murphy of Longways Stables doubled up with Tally-Ho Stud's St Mark's Basilica half-sister to Group 3 winner Glounthaune, who was bought for 140,000gns, and a Too Darn Hot colt out of the Listed winner Frankel Light (Frankel) for 98,000gns.

Murphy was responsible for breezing this year's G1 Dewhurst Stakes winner Gewan, by Night Of Thunder, but it is his friend Johnny Hassett who will take charge of a filly by the same stallion sold from the Castlebridge Consignment for 180,000gns.

Lot 161, out of the winning Sea The Stars mare Sous Les Etoiles from the Hascombe & Valiant family of Golden Horn, was bought by Ghrghar Stables, whose representative Ramzi Alghul said, “She has been bought to breeze and goes to Johnny Hassett in Ireland. It is a big investment in a breeze-up prospect, Johnny was very keen to have her and she is by the sire of the moment. Hopefully, she will come back to the Craven Sale.”

The first of four sessions of foals gets underway at Park Paddocks at 11am on Tuesday.

 

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