Doncaster Bloodstock Sales’ St Leger Yearling Sale ended with figures down
Wednesday, but the purchase of a son of Dansili (GB) for
£200,000 provided a notable highlight. As on
the first day, Newsells Park Stud were the consignors of the topper, and Renata
Jacobs’ operation supplied Hip No. 337, whose dam is the stakes-winning and
Grade 2-placed Cayman Sunset (Ire) (Night Shift). M.V. Magnier saw off trainer
Howard Johnson and Shadwell’s Angus Gold to secure the March-foaled bay, who
will race for the Coolmore triumvirate of Magnier, Tabor and Smith.
“He’s for the three lads and will come back to Coolmore now and they’ll see
then about where he goes,” Magnier told the Racing Post. “He’s by Dansili
out of a Night Shift mare, so he’s bred to be fast and was a lovely looking
colt.”
Later, Richard O’Gorman paid £125,000 on
behalf of John Ferguson for Ballyphilip Stud’s Hip 443, a Compton Place
half-brother to this year’s Vintage S. (Eng-G2) winner Xtension (Xaar), fending
off that juvenile’s trainer Clive Cox and Michael Donohoe from BBA Ireland.
Average and median were down by 23 percent, but DBS Managing Director Henry
Beeby was refusing to look on the downside.
“The DBS St Leger Yearling Sales has enjoyed a meteoric rise over the last
decade from quite humble beginnings to its current standing as a Premier League
Sale that is attended by every major buyer and regularly sends out winners of
the highest quality,” he said. “However, it seems nothing is immune from the
current financial climate and we have taken a hit over the last two days in
terms of statistics, although the most pleasing aspect of the sale has been the
very respectable 79 percent clearance rate that reflects a pragmatic approach by
our vendors and the hard work of the DBS auctioneers.
“It is simply a harsh fact that people do not currently have as much money to
spend on racehorses and there was a strong element of selectivity in the trade.
Whether that trend will be replicated throughout the autumn remains to be seen,
but last year’s sale which seemed slightly disappointing at the time looked
pretty respectable at the end of the season and that may be the case again this
year.”
Full results are available at dbsauctions.com.