Havana Grey Colt Stars At 170k On Final Day Of The Tattersalls December Foal Sale

[Wandering Eyes]

Oh to be a bigger fish in a smaller pond. Coming in at 170,000gns, West Moor Stud's Havana Grey colt didn't just stand out on the final day of the Tattersalls December Foal Sale, he towered above the opposition.

Bought on behalf of Yeomanstown Stud by bloodstock agent Hamish Macauley, the Havana Grey colt was said to have stacked up well even against the Friday foals. 

“The best foal here today and he would have stood up well yesterday,” Macaulay said shortly after signing the docket. “He has size and scope and will be re-offered next year. I think a lot of people appeared around the ring in the last 20 minutes before this guy went through! We had that sort of mark on him and I think the market is unbelievably strong.”

Not only did the crowds appear around the ring for the Havana Grey colt, but the footfall at Park Paddocks for the Saturday session was much stronger than in previous years. It showed in the statistics. Despite the clearance rate falling by 9% to 69%, turnover on Saturday climbed by 6% to 2,395,700gns while the median was up by 17% to 14,000gns and the average by 14% to 19,166gns. 

The Saturday session-topping colt is out of black-type Exceed And Excel mare Thesme. He was bred by West Moor Stud's Simon Chappell and, speaking on behalf of the outfit, Kate Sigsworth said, “It has been a brilliant week. We have been really busy, which is great as you know you are going to sell well then. It is just a big thank you to everyone who helps at home – it is such a big team to get to this point. I'd also like to thank Yeomanstown as the farm has been a really good supporter of us. This foal was bred on the same cross as Vandeek and he has not put a foot wrong here all week. He is a young foal so there should be some improvement in him still. I'd like to give a shout out to the stallion owners, Ed Harper at Whitsbury Stud, as he has been brilliant with Havana Grey. He made his name with smaller breeders and he really does try to help British breeders.”

She added, “I think the main feeling is relief and satisfaction. The mare was very fast and was raced by Simon. She went to Havana Grey for last year's foal and got a filly, who has been retained and will go into training with Ed Bethell. It was on the strength of her that we went back. She was a late foal and we had not booked anything in for the mare, so I rang Whitsbury as Simon was thinking of Sergei Prokofiev as we thought Havana Grey would be full. I was chatting to Joe Callan, who asked about the filly, and when I told him that the foal is very nice, he said that Havana Grey had a lot of early mares and that he was more or less finished. He said that if we'd like to use him we could so I said, 'yes please!' Simon is in Costa Rica and there is a time difference, so I will ring him on the way home once he has properly woken up. I have messaged and he got back to me and said, 'very happy Kate, thanks very much!'”

Chaldean Colt Puts Cherry On Top Of Memorable Week

The strong demand for the progeny of 2,000 Guineas winner Chaldean carried over into the Saturday session as, just three lots after the sale-topping Havana Grey, a colt by the young stallion was knocked down to Baroda Stud's Padraic Gahan at 78,000gns.

The Chaldean colt was consigned by Jamie Railton and is out of the black-type Sea The Stars mare Yarrow.

Gahan, who signed under Carrigeen North, said, “Myself and David [Cox] saw him this morning and we liked him. We were watching the Chaldeans selling during the week and he's a sire we wanted to use during the year but didn't get the chance to. We would have liked one, so we got one now and he'll be offered for resale next year. Chaldean's progeny is very nice and this is a very good-moving colt. The mare has produced two highly-rated horses as well as being highly-rated herself, and she has a New Bay coming along for her, too.”

On the market, he added, “It seems as though everybody is still here. The mares are starting to show now, too, so I'd better get back to my day job!”

Chaldean proved to be one of the hottest stallions of the week with 25 of his foals selling for an average of 107,440gns.

Mahony Lauds Strong Trade 

Turnover fell by 13% to 37,893,400gns at this year's December Foal Sale while the clearance rate stayed the same at 78%. The median climbed by 2% to 30,500gns while the average was down by 13% to 58,659gns.

Tattersalls chairman Edmond Mahony said, “The Tattersalls December Foal Sale has long been Europe's premier foal sale thanks to the unwavering support of British and Irish breeders, and they have been rewarded with a sale that has produced a record median, alongside an average and turnover that have only been surpassed once – by last year's extraordinary results.

“We have seen the highest-priced colt and filly sold in Europe this year, including the 1,150,000 guineas Frankel colt from James Wigan's West Blagdon Stud. This represents the third-highest price ever achieved for a colt foal in Europe and is a fitting tribute to a consignment that is consistently one of the highlights of Europe's premier foal sale.”

He added, “The sale's market-leading status is further underlined by eight of the top ten prices in Britain and Ireland this year, a median that stands 40 per cent higher than that of our nearest competitor, and unrivalled average and turnover figures. The number of lots realising 50,000 guineas or more has also reached a record level.

“In addition to the continued support of the many pinhookers from Britain, Ireland, and further afield, Park Paddocks has once again attracted a substantial number of end-users, with buyers from China, Japan, and the USA joining their counterparts from across the Gulf and throughout Europe. The diversity at the top of the purchasers' list is particularly gratifying, with the top ten lots bought by ten different individuals.

“We now look forward to the Tattersalls December Mares Sale, which features an outstanding collection of fillies and mares within the Sceptre Sessions, and to welcoming the usual wide cross-section of buyers to Tattersalls for Europe's premier breeding stock sale.” 

Dragon Symbol Solidifies His Status

One of the fascinating subplots to this sale has been the market's positive reaction to Whitsbury's young stallion Dragon Symbol, who averaged 32,744gns for 41 foals sold.

Kinsale Stud was one of many breeders to benefit from that strong debut performance when selling a colt out of a sister to the speedy Star Of Lady M and from the family of Fantastic Light to Paddy Vaughan of Moanmore Stables for 60,000gns.

Consignor Richard Kempster said, “We are chuffed to bits – he deserved that kind of money as he has been a gorgeous colt all the way. We have always thought he was very smart and the pressure has been on to get him ready for today. We wanted to sell today as we felt we could be a bit of a standout on day four but I do think he would have stood out any day.”

On selecting Dragon Symbol, Kempster added, “We wanted to keep the speed element and Whitsbury has been doing a great job with first-season sires so we have been following the farm for the last couple of years. He is a lovely stamp of a stallion himself and we thought he'd suit the mare. It was very nerve-wracking when this foal was going around the ring, but it has all come right on the day and it is a big sigh of relief! A big thanks goes to the team at home.”

Thought for the day

Be it yearlings or foals, the top end of the market has never been stronger. That's all well and good but a very small cohort of breeders are operating within that sphere. What played out here on Saturday is more representative of the breeding sector in Britain and it was brilliant to see so many smaller operators get a good payday. In many ways, it's just as important that those breeders get their day in the sun and, regardless of pedigree, the nicer foals were well-received by the market on Saturday. 

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