Powerhouse owners Godolphin and Juddmonte were particularly active on day three of the Tattersalls Book 1 October Yearling Sale, including the former's purchase of a Wootton Bassett colt out of Time Tunnel.
Consigned Fittocks Stud, who were also responsible for a couple of seven-figure lots on Wednesday, Lot 477 ultimately went for 1.9m guineas. He is a half-brother to Stakes winner Topanga and from the quality Juddmonte family of Timepiece, Passage Of Time and Twice Over.
Godolphin also snapped up Kellsgrange Stud's Too Darn Hot three-parts brother to Bahrain Trophy runner-up Nightime Dancer (Lot 452) for 600,000 guineas.
Lot 401, a Frankel filly out of Group 1 winner Sea La Rosa (Sea The Stars) consigned by The Castlebridge Consignment was another bought by Godolphin for 500,000, while the same operation picked up a Kingman colt out of Simply Beautiful (Lot 422) for 450,000 guineas.
Thursday morning got off to a strong start as Juddmonte, underbidders on the 1.9m guineas Wootton Bassett, went to 1.05m guineas for a colt by the star sire Night Of Thunder. Consigned by Newsells Park Stud Ltd, Lot 364 is a son of the 2014 2000 Guineas winner out of Encosta De Lago mare Qushchi, a half-sister to multiple Listed winner and Group 3-placed Phantom Flight. The pair are also half-siblings to American Grade 2 winner Mrs Sippy.
After the purchase, Juddmonte's Simon Mockridge told Tattersalls: "It is a bit of a coincidence they are both by him, but at the end of the day, he has had a fantastic season with 13 Group winners. The quality of mares he has been covering over these last few years has got better and better, he is a sire on the rise and a sire we need to pay attention to.
"This colt has a proper pedigree; and there are some very good horses on this page. He is also an incredibly good-looking horse, and was very well presented by Newsells. The horse bought earlier this week (Lot 134) we think will be a miler to a 10f horse, he has a very fast hind leg on him, and I would say this horse is the same."
Of adding to the Juddmonte string of racehorses, Mockridge said: "We buy a handful of horses at public auction; we are very specialised in what we look for– these two horses have got to come back and fit into the top 10 per cent of yearlings at home."
Of Lead Artist, the new stallion recently added to the Juddmonte sire ranks at Banstead Manor, he said: "He has settled in very well. We have had a lot of traffic this week, and I think people have been very happy to see him as he is a very good-looking horse."
'It was love at first sight'
Juddmonte were on the money again with Lot 498, a Frankel filly who fetched 1.5 million guineas. The first foal out of the Group-winning Le Havre mare Ville De Grace, she was consigned by Watership Down Stud.
Tom Harris of Lordship Stud told Tattersalls: "My father and I were coming up from the Solario Yard and she was with Jennie Norris and, as we crossed the bridge, we just saw this filly walking, and we both said, 'Wow what is that?' It was love at first sight.
"She was an expensive mare, but she has been a very easy mare to mate, she is a fantastic-looking mare, she is an exceptional mare, she is an unbelievable mover and this is a beautiful first foal. And she has been from day one - we have thought she was a star rigt from the start, and she continued to develop in that way all the way through."
Of thoughts since being on the sale ground, Harris added: "When we came up here, we were looking at the fillies and each evening we'd say to each other, 'Have we seen anything better?' and the answer was always 'No!' We are delighted she has gone to Juddmonte and it is a great start for the mare. She is back in foal to Frankel."
Buyer Simon Mockridge said: "We went in there with a figure in mind and we’d reached that limit, but the family were happy to have one more go. It’s an outcross family, which is very important to Frankel. She’s a beautiful filly, a great action to her. Let’s hope she’s lucky.”
Two lots prior to the Night Of Thunder colt, Lot 362, a Sea The Stars filly consigned by Kildaragh Stud, went to Henry Lascelles for 750,000 guineas, while Blandford Bloodstock went to 500,000 guineas to secure a Night Of Thunder colt out of Royal Debt (Lot 385).
Lascelles was also successful at 1.1 million guineas for Barton Stud's Night Of Thunder half-sister to the 2024 Prix de l'Abbaye winner Makarova (Lot 494).
'He will be trained by Ed Walker'
MV Magnier was the purchaser as Lot 393, a Mehmas filly out of Sagely consigned by Tally-Ho Stud, sold for 480,000 guineas. She is a half-sister to Middle Park Stakes winner Perfect Power, a son of Ardad who also landed the Prix Morny and Commonwealth Cup for Richard Fahey.
Lot 419, a Siyouni colt out of Silver Horn (Golden Horn), a half-sister to champion three-year-old Nathaniel, champion two-year-old filly Playful Act, champion three-year-old filly Great Heavens, as well as five further black-type winners, was bought by Blandford Bloodstock for 600,000 guineas.
Ed Sackville (SackvilleDonald) signed for a Sea The Stars filly out of Skitter Scatter for 625,000 guineas (Lot 424).
"He has been bought for TBT Racing and will be trained by Ed Walker," Sackville told Tattersalls.
"TBT is keen to buy into some foundation pedigrees and to have some Classic-type fillies – hopefully, this is what she will become. Breeding will be something of interest as TBT already owns the likes of Qilin Queen, as well as Ombudsman's full-sister (named Synchronicity and also in training with Walker), who was bought here last year."
Amo Racing came to the fray on day three when signing for Lot 460, a filly by first-season sire Minzaal consigned by Redpender Stud for 550,000 guineas. The filly is a half-sister to July Cup winner Mill Stream and Prix Morny third Asymmetric.
Late in the sale, Karl & Kelly Burke went all the way to the seven-figure mark to secure Ballyhimikin Stud's Night Of Thunder colt out of Wild Rye (Lot 525). The 1m guineas purchase comes from the star-studded Juddmonte family of Kalpana, Zambezi Sun and Better Together.
"He is a gorgeous colt," Burke told Tattersalls. "I had gone over budget, but luckily I checked my phone and a message to press on had come in from the client.
"The Night Of Thunders are going well for me, with Zeus Olympios very exciting and really a horse for next year - the horses by Night Of Thunder do need a bit of time."
Wednesday review
Amo Racing continue to make a splash at Tattersalls Book One and they got the better of Coolmore to land Lot 247, a Wootton Bassett half-brother to Crypto Force, a horse they know very well, for 2.2million guineas.
Consignor Brian McConnon of Marlhill House Stud said: "Coming to the ring we were hopeful, all the right people were on her, but until the hammer falls you never know. But to get a seven-figure sale is always very special; it is beyond our wildest dreams."
Amo also won the battle (with MV Magnier) for Lot 275, a Gigginstown-bred Night Of Thunder colt consigned by Lynn Lodge Stud for 1.7m guineas. He is the second highest-priced yearling by the Darley sire to sell at auction.
"He is a fantastic-looking horse, great strength and movement, the full-sister can run, she is in the Fillies' Mile on Saturday," Ben McElroy, part of the buying team for Amo, told Tattersalls. "He is outstanding.
"Night Of Thunder started at the bottom and has worked his way up, he has proved it year in and year out and goes from strength to strength, he is getting to that elite level."
The Night Of Thunder colt is out of the Group 3 Sweet Solera winner Model Guest who was was bought by Mags O'Toole for 330,000gns at the December Mares Sale in 2021, in-foal to Kingman.
Gigginstown's Eddie O'Leary said: "He is an absolutely beautiful horse, he has a great mind, the sire is very good, and I hope the two-year-old filly is very good. The mare has had a stunning filly and colt by Night Of Thunder."
Of expectations coming here, he added: "You are never confident, you hope everyone shows up, and I hope this horse is as good as I think he is. The team has done a great job. You could have brought him here in February, and he'd have looked like that. He is a stunning horse. We didn't prep him, we just brought him on here. It is a great day."
Fresh from being the biggest spenders on the opening day, Godolphin were back in action on Wednesday morning.
Having secured ten yearlings for a combined 9.3m guineas on Tuesday, Sheikh Mohammed’s team saw off all-comers for Lot 197.
A Fittocks Stud-consigned son of Frankel, the colt is a half-brother to Ottoman Fleet, a prolific winner for the Moulton Paddocks team, his new owners having to go to 2.2m guineas to secure him.
Two lots later they parted with 800,000 guineas for a Wootton Basset filly who is a half-sister to Facteur Cheval.
Coolmore made their first seven-figure purchase of the week at lunchtime, stretching to 1.3m for Lot 281, a Dubawi colt out of Nassau Stakes winner Lady Bowthorpe.
"He is a lovely horse, Lady Bowthorpe was a very good race mare, it is a great result for Emma Banks who is a very nice lady, so well done to her," MV Magnier told Tattersalls.
"Dubawi is still going very well, and we have retired Delacroix this year – he is a complete outcross for us, and he is probably one of the most important horses we have retired for a good while. If this lad is any good, he will be the same."
MV Magnier also signed for a No Nay Never colt out of Millisle, the Cheveley Park Stakes winner, at 1.7m guineas (Lot 266). The half-brother to winning Frankel filly Alfareqa (trained by Owen Burrows) was consigned by Watership Down Stud.
Simon Marsh, general manager of Watership Down, told Tattersalls: "To get all the stars to align is very difficult, but he this is a lovely horse, and he was on a lot of lists. It is a wonderful price, but now we need him to be a good racehorse."
Of the choice of No Nay Never as a sire, he said, "I felt that MiIlisle being a Cheveley Park winner, we needed to keep the speed. He has had an exceptional year, and this colt was an exceptional horse. She has got a Siyouni colt foal, and we would love to get a filly out of the mare now."
Of his purchase, Magnier said: "No Nay Never is having another great year with the likes of Charles Darwin, who’s very good, and True Love. The mare was very good.
"Blackbeard is having a good sale, and there’s plenty of good word for the Little Big Bear foals. The best ones by Blackbeard that we have will be going to Ballydoyle. We bought the Blackbeard half-brother to Arizona Blaze earlier today. He is a very good horse. Flash always spoke very highly of him."
Karl & Kelly Burke were also among the big spenders on Wednesday afternoon, the Spiggot Lodge team going to 800,000 guineas to secure the Wootton Bassett half-brother to Ghaiyyath, himself a promising sire for Darley.
The pair's dam, Nightime, has also produced Grade 1 winner in America Zhukova, and the Group-placed Knight To King.
The third colt to realise 2.2m guineas was another son of Wootton Bassett (Lot 349) and another purchase by emerging racing superpower Amo Racing, this time consigned by Newsells Park Stud. The colt is out of the 1000 Guineas third Qabala and was knocked down to Amo Racing after a rapid fire bidding duel outside the sales ring.
Bred by Al Shahania Stud, the colt’s sale was part of dispersal by the breeder and Newsells’ Julian Dollar said: “We have sold for Al Shahania, who is sadly dispersing the thoroughbred stock and is just focusing on the Arabians. The farm has some lovely stock to come here in December, including Qabala and her Ace Impact foal.
“We have had a lovely association with the farm, Bertrand Le Metayer looks after things and is brilliant to deal with and the farm has an exceptional manager in Arnault Leraitre.”
Bloodstock agent Alex Elliott said: “It is a dispersal and when the bidding started at zero, I thought we might get a chance – there were three parties out here and it was strong! But I think we have bought two serious Wootton Bassett colts today.
“Qabala’s Persian King colt Raammee looks a bit of a freak, his performance at Kempton was pretty special, and then he won at Newcastle. Wootton Bassett is an upgrade on most stallions, this goes back to a Juddmonte family, and this colt has the potential to be a very special horse.”
Bertrand Le Metayer commented: “We went to Wootton Bassett because we wanted to have an outcross. He has proved to be exactly what we were hoping for, and it is rare when it works. He looks a proper miler, hopefully a Guineas horse, and hopefully the new owners will believe in him the same way we do.”
Tuesday review
Godolphin got the better of a tussle with Amo for Lot 90, a Sea The Stars colt out of Crystal Zvezda.
The regally-bred chestnut is from the family of Crystal Ocean and Hillstar and bidding was swift, when the hammer came down it was Sheikh Mohammed’s team who won the day.
He was their eighth purchase of the session so far, a haul that also included a 1,000,000 guineas Blue Point half-brother to San Donato and a New Bay half-brother to Bayside Boy and Forest Ranger.
"He is by Sea The Stars and from a great Rothschild family that goes well with sire. This colt is majestic the way he moves and walks, he is a lovely horse. He stood out for us and is the one we really wanted," winning bidder Anthony Stroud told www.tattersalls.com.
"You have to pay for the ones you really want, and he was that horse. You always have to pay more than you want!"
And they were soon back into the fray, securing a Too Darn Hot out of Dane Street for 1,000,000 guineas.
Earlier Amo beat Coolmore to Lot 15, a Frankel colt out of Aljazzi making him a full-brother to Partying, who Kia Joorabchian’s paid 4.4m for at last year’s sale. The hammer came down at 3.6m. His dam won the Duke Of Cambridge Stakes at Royal Ascot during her racing career with Marco Botti.
"The boys loved him, we could not let him go, we want to keep the family tight and see how the family works out – obviously if he becomes a good horse, he is going to be a stallion. He probably goes to Freemason." Joorabchian told www.tattersalls.com.
"Obviously, we like the filly, though she has not run yet. This is a different project – if she does not run she still has a huge residual value as a broodmare, and we have five stallions; if he does not, then it is a different kettle of fish. We paid more than expecting, then we are up against Coolmore and it is five [partners] against one. It is an early strike!"
Juddmonte also paid 1,000 guineas for a Night Of Thunder colt from the family of Park Express, New Approach and Was.
Purchaser Simon Mockridge said: "He is just a super horse, a lovely horse and that is what you have to pay, it is very expensive in there [the sale ring]. He is a very good mover, easy going, and showed well all week. It is an amazing family, it is a wonderful page, and the stallion has been fantastic this year. We are delighted to buy him; he looks a fast horse."
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