The top lots at the Tattersalls October Yearling Sales

In the current financial climate, everyone from households right up to the government might be more conscious than ever about their spending, but one place in recent weeks where such everyday concerns didn’t seem to permeate was a record-breaking Tattersalls October Yearling Sale. In total, 199 million guineas were spent over the four Books of the sales, with around 126 million of that going on the blue-blooded yearlings in Book 1. No fewer than 73 yearlings sold for at least 500,000 guineas at Book 1, with 16 of those fetching seven-figure sums.

But records for turnover were also broken at the Book 2 and Book 3 sessions, indicating a strength in the market that went deeper than the select few bidding for the yearlings with the flashiest pedigrees. In any case, there have been some good advertisements this year for yearlings who weren’t catalogued in the elite session. Derby winner Desert Crown (280,000 guineas) and Prince of Wales’s Stakes winner State of Rest (only 60,000 guineas) were former graduates of Book 2, while Cheveley Park Stakes winner Lezoo was a Book 3 yearling last year when selling for 77,000 guineas.

The offspring of more than 80 different stallions were catalogued in Book 1 but all the demand at the top end was essentially focussed on just two sires; Frankel and Dubawi. If he needed it, Frankel gave a timely reminder of why he’s in such demand when his daughter Alpinista won the Arc days before the sale opened, while Dubawi, who is all set to take the champion sires’ title from Frankel this season, can boast a couple of classic winners this year in 2000 Guineas winner Coroebus and St Leger winner Eldar Eldarov.

Between them, Frankel and Dubawi accounted for all bar two of those 16 yearlings who sold for a million guineas or more. Frankel had the top four lots, all of them colts, including the son of Musidora Stakes winner So Mi Dar who was bought by Godolphin for 2.8m guineas, making him the most expensive yearling sold in the world this year.

Godolphin had excellent results with Frankel last season, his sons Adayar and Hurricane Lane both winning classics for them. It was therefore interesting to see rivals Coolmore keen to share in that success, as they were the buyers of two of the other top four Frankel colts. One was a close relative to this year’s Hardwicke Stakes winner Broome and last season’s smart two-year-old Point Lonsdale, bought for 2m guineas, while the other was from the family of Man O’War Stakes winner Highland Chief who sold for 1.9m guineas. The same buying partnership of M. V. Magnier and White Birch Farm were also the successful bidders on one of the most expensive fillies, also by Frankel, the first foal of the listed-placed Shambolic who fetched 1.5m.

Godolphin naturally focussed most of their attention on lots by Dubawi, the most expensive of which, ironically, was a colt from one of the best Coolmore families. Sold for 1.6m, he was out of How, a maiden sister to three classic winners, Minding, Empress Josephine and this year’s Oaks winner Tuesday. Another Dubawi colt, sold for 1.5m, which went to Godolphin was out of a sister to the Ballydoyle Group 1-winning fillies Hermosa and Hydrangea.

Godolphin’s other seven-figure purchases by Dubawi were colts out of Italian Group 1 and Park Hill Stakes winner God Given for 1.5m, a filly out of Prix de la Nonette winner Jazzi Top for 1.3m, a colt out of Pretty Polly Stakes winner Urban Fox for 1.1m and a colt out of Queen Elizabeth II Stakes winner Persuasive for 1m. The colt out of God Given, in particular, must have been high on Godolphin’s shopping list, as not only is he a half-brother to their smart two-year-old Silver Knott, who won the Autumn Stakes at Newmarket just days later, but God Given is a half-sister to one of Dubawi’s best performers, Postponed. With Sheikh Mohammed himself present, Godolphin purchased eight of the Book 1 lots who sold for a million guineas or more.

The most expensive Book 1 filly was an exception among the top lots in that she was by neither Frankel nor Dubawi and neither was she bought by one of the ‘superpowers’, the successful bid going instead to bloodstock agent Richard Knight for 1.8m. He was bidding on behalf of an unnamed client, though did reveal the filly is to be trained in the UK. She’s by Lope de Vega out of Anna Law, making her not only a half-sister to top sprinter Battaash, but also to The Antarctic, last seen finishing second in the Middle Park Stakes. Knight was also the purchaser of the other colt among Frankel’s top quartet, from the family of Sprint Cup winner Tante Rose and Poule d’Essai des Poulains winner Make Believe, for 2m guineas.

The other odd one out among the 16 seven-figure lots was another filly, this time a daughter of Kingman. At 1.05m, she was the most expensive purchase by Shadwell who made a welcome return to the yearling market after cutting back on their numbers last year following the death of Sheikh Hamdan. The filly’s price was doubtless boosted by the recent success of her half-sister Place du Carrousel who appeared in the catalogue as a Group 3 winner, though won the Group 1 Prix de l’Opera just days earlier. Another Shadwell purchase, for 880,000 guineas, was a filly by Siyouni and the first foal of St Leger runner-up and Middleton Stakes winner Lah Ti Dar, herself a sister to the dam of the sale-topper.

The late Galileo might no longer be Book 1’s most sought-after sire but he still had 16 yearlings catalogued from his penultimate crop, with the most expensive of them at 725,000 guineas being a full brother to 2019 Arc winner Waldgeist. He was consigned by Newsells Park Stud and returns there after the stud bought out the colt’s other joint-breeder.

After a tremendous season with his two-year-olds in particular, including Group 1 winners Little Big Bear and Blackbeard, it was no surprise to see yearlings by No Nay Never in demand. He had 29 catalogued, with the most expensive of them, a filly out of a half-sister to Kingman, finding a German buyer for 780,000 guineas. The half-brother to Missed The Cut, winner of the Golden Gates Handicap at Royal Ascot this year, and a filly out of a close relative to Oaks winner Alexandrova, who were bought for 650,000 and 625,000 guineas respectively, were purchases by M. V. Magnier so will no doubt be joining Little Big Bear and Blackbeard at Ballydoyle in due course. Little Big Bear’s full brother won’t be joining them, however, as he was bought by Godolphin for for 500,000 guineas.

Finally, as well as the established names, a number of sires had representatives from their first crop of yearlings in Book 1, among them Advertise, Blue Point, Magna Grecia, Masar, Ten Sovereigns and Too Darn Hot. The Dewhurst and Sussex Stakes winner Too Darn Hot, a brother to So Mi Dar and Lah Ti Dar who had their own sales success as mentioned already, had the most expensive yearling from this group. That was a half-brother to this season’s useful Ballydoyle two-year-old Age of Kings out of the May Hill Stakes winner Turret Rocks who was sold to David Redvers for 600,000 guineas. Commonwealth Cup winner Advertise had a colt out of the Nell Gwyn Stakes runner-up Squash sell to Richard Knight for 500,000 guineas, while Godolphin secured the top lot by their Derby winner Masar, a half-brother to the dam of Gold Cup winner Subjectivist who fetched 350,000 guineas.

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