The 12-year-old SPECIFICALLY (Sky Classic) topped Wednesday’s penultimate
session of Tattersalls’ December Sale in Newmarket, selling for 1,850,000
guineas to join the broodmare band at Klaus Jacobs’ Newsells Park Stud.
The mare, a half-sister to this year’s Champion S. (Eng-G1) winner Pride (Peintre Celebre), was purchased at Goffs November for just 50,000 by agent
Susie McKeever two years ago. Specifically’s two-year-old of 2005, Speciosa
(Danehill Dancer), captured the Rockfel S. (Eng-G2) last year, and the mare was
offered at Goffs again. She found no takers and RNA’d at 320,000, but that price
tag looked a bargain after Speciosa added the English One Thousand Guineas
(Eng-G1) to her resume this year. John Warren, agent for Newsells Park, bought
Specifically after winning a long battle against rival bidder Luke Lillingston,
accompanied by Lord Derby’s brother Peter Stanley.
“She’s was beautiful and you can’t beat a (classic-producing) mare — they
don’t come up for sale very often,” Warren said. “We’ve taken advantage of the
few superior mares to have come up for sale here. Mr. Jacobs is keen to
concentrate on the top British families and pedigrees and it has been a good
catalog that, in consequence, has drawn a real international marketplace.”
Consigned by Lisieux Stud, Specifically is carrying a full sibling to
Speciosa.
In addition to the gains made on Specifically on Wednesday, Liseux Stud also
sold her 2005 foal, a filly by Statue of Liberty, for 270,000gns at the 2006 Tattersalls October sale; and her 2006 foal, a colt by Indian Haven (GB), for
180,000 as a Goffs November weanling.
HALLAND PARK LASS (Spectrum) was another to show a huge profit for her vendor
on Wednesday. The seven-year-old was bought 12 months ago for just 12,000gns by
a partnership headed by Trickledown Stud’s Paul Thorman, but that was before her
son Dutch Art (Medicean) won this year’s Prix Morny (Fr-G1) and Middle Park S.
(Eng-G1). Agent Charlie Gordon-Watson paid 710,000gns to outbid Shunsuke Yoshida
of Japan’s Northern Farm for the mare, whose Kyllachy filly foal made 280,000gns
on Saturday.
“She’s been bought for a commercial breeder in Ireland to go to George
Washington, and you’d hope to get another fast one like Dutch Art,”
Gordon-Watson said. “Full marks to the vendors, they’ve done really well.”
Halland Park Lass is in foal to Tobougg (Ire).
Hugo Lascelles went to 650,000gns to get MAID OF KILLEEN (Darshaan) — the
dam of Cheveley Park S. (Eng-G1) heroine Indian Ink (Indian Ridge) — in foal to
Azamour (Ire), from Killeen Castle Stud.
“We’ve been after a Darshaan mare for a long time and we were underbidders on
Puce on Tuesday night. She’ll go to Galileo (Ire) next year,” Lascelles said.
The final session of the sale starts Thursday morning.