Park Paddocks was bathed in sunshine for the third edition of the Tattersalls
Guineas Breeze Up Sale, which saw a total of 74 lots sell for 2,819,200 guineas,
at an average of 38,097 guineas and a median of 25,000 guineas with a daughter
of Danehill Dancer headlining trade on Friday.
Catalogued as Lot No. 57, the gray filly out of Moon Festival (Be My Guest)
was knocked down to the London based agent Jamie McCalmont for 170,000 guineas
after he saw off Irish-based agent Hugo Merry. The filly was consigned to the
sale by Willie Browne’s Mocklershill Stables in Ireland and provided a great
return for her owners, who had purchased her for €58,000 last year.
The second highest price for the day was 140,000 guineas paid for Lot 27, an
Oasis Dream (GB) filly. Consigned from Jane Foley’s Ballyhane Sales, the
daughter of multiple Group 2-placed Molomo (Barathea [GB]) attracted plenty of
attention following an impressive breeze. Irish bloodstock agent Luke
Lillingston, alongside Newmarket-based trainer Michael Bell, made much of the
running to secure the filly but the pair were beaten by locally based bloodstock
agent Richard O’Gorman.
O’Gorman also signed for the next lot into the ring, the Langfuhr colt who
had also impressed in the pre-sale breeze. Consigned from Tom Whitehead’s
Powerstown Stud, the chestnut colt out of Party Circuit (Kingmambo) was knocked
down to O’Gorman for 130,000 guineas after he saw off the efforts of BBA
Ireland’s Patrick Cooper and Whitsbury-based trainer Ralph Beckett. The sale
provided a pinhooking triumph for the Powerstown team who had purchased the colt
as a yearling for $37,000.
It was certainly a notable day for the O’Gorman name with Richard’s niece
Emma, who runs Seven Springs Stables with her partner Armando Duarte, consigning
the co-third highest priced two-year-old to the sale. Lot 105 was a bay filly by
Exceed and Excel out of the winning Amiata (Pennekamp) who was knocked down to
local bloodstock agent Jill Lamb for 130,000 guineas after she withstood the
efforts of another local agent, Richard Frisby. Lamb indicated that the filly
was purchased on behalf on British-based Irishman Liam Sheridan and would go
into training locally. The sale represented a great return for Emma O’Gorman and
Duarte, who had purchased the racy filly for €36,000 last year.
The Tattersalls Guineas Breeze Up Sale was followed by a partial dispersal of
Martin Myers’ Mountgrange Stud and saw 21 of the 22 offered lots sell for a
total of 669,900 guineas. The star attraction was the three-year-old colt
SPLENDORINTHEGRASS (Selkirk), fifth in last year’s Horris Hill S. (Eng-G3), who
was knocked down to Charlie Gordon-Watson for 160,000 guineas. BULLET (Galileo
[GB]), an unraced three-year-old colt, realized 105,000 guineas to the bid of
BBA Ireland’s Patrick Cooper whilst the Group 1-placed BLUE MONDAY (GB)
(Darshaan) was knocked down to Amanda Skiffington for 72,000 guineas.
“After the 80 percent rise in turnover at this sale last year it was hard to
predict quite how the current economic conditions would impact on today’s sale,
but overall we can be satisfied with the returns which have included more six
figure transactions than last year,” Tattersalls Chairman Edmond Mahony
commented at the conclusion of the Tattersalls Guineas Breeze Up. “The market
has been selective and we would have liked a better clearance rate, but the
trainers and agents have remarked throughout the day that it has been hard to
buy a nice horse, which is how it should be.
“Two-year-olds that breezed well (Thursday) have attracted plenty of
competition in the ring and the figures have comfortably bettered the levels of
2007, which must be regarded as perfectly respectable under the prevailing
conditions. The domestic trade has held up well and we have welcomed new buyers
from some emerging new markets including Morocco and Iran.
“The Mountgrange Stud dispersal was conducted under unfortunate circumstances
but it also demonstrated the enduring demand for quality horses and provided
further encouragement for the industry in these testing times.
“Looking ahead, however, it is hard to find positives following the
Chancellor’s recent announcement of a significant increase in the highest rate
of income tax. To date the bloodstock industry has demonstrated healthy
resilience in the face of adversity and we will continue to explore as many ways
as possible to attract buyers to Tattersalls, but realistically the present
government does not inspire confidence for the immediate future.”