Rip Van Winkle Colt Tops Tattersalls December Yearling Sale

A colt by the first-season sire RIP VAN WINKLE was the star on the opening day of the Tattersalls December Yearling Sale. A total of 145 lots were sold for 3,570,100 guineas at an average of 24,621 guineas and a median of 15,000 guineas, rises of 14% and 15% respectively. 

The RIP VAN WINKLE colt out of the RAINBOW QUEST mare AURELIA gave breeder Richard Moses and consignor’s David and Trish Brown a day to remember when knocked down to BBA Ireland’s Patrick Cooper for 200,000 guineas after he saw off Japanese owner Ryoichi Ohtsuka.

When asked if his was most one of his horses had ever made in the ring, he laughed and said: "I should think so! I am over the moon, this is beyond my wildest dreams - it's all down to Trish and David (Brown)."          

Trish Brown of Furnace Mill added modestly: "The colt has always been a lovely horse and came to us to prep for the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale from Richard. Unfortunately, he pricked his foot ahead of Book 1, maybe in the end it was for luck!"

Moses added: "We are based in Carmarthenshire and we have two mares, both of them at home. It is family affair and my wife Jackie, son Rees and best friend Shirley are all involved - we do everything, all the foaling, but we send them to Trish and David to prep.

"We bought Aurelia from Kirtlington Stud - she was bred by Fittocks Stud, was owned by Prince Salman and trained by Sir Mark Prescott. We bought her at the end of her racing career in the Tattersalls December Mare Sale as a four-year-old. She has a Canford Cliffs foal and is in foal to Paco Boy."

John Ferguson secured the TEOFILO colt consigned from Francois Drion’s Taroka Stud for 120,000gns.

"The sire has done well and I thought he was a lovely colt and is from a family that Sheikh Mohammed knows well and has had a lot of success with," said Ferguson.

The colt is out of the CAPE CROSS mare HENTIES BAY, a half-sister to Sheikh Mohammed's champion two-year-old BLUE DUSTER and to his Group 1 Middle Park Stakes winner ZIETEN.

David Redvers signed for the only GALILEO to be offered at the December Yearling Sale after he went to 135,000gns to secure the daughter of the GREEN DESERT mare ARTFUL. The Denford Stud consigned filly is a half-sister to the Listed Rose Bowl Stakes winner DUPLICITY and hails from the family of 2012 Group 1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner SOLEMIA.

"I thought she was a stand-out and from a very current family, you couldn't get more up to date," said Redvers. "The mare has already produced a stakes winner and she should be worth that money on residual value alone."

Redvers secured the filly after seeing off trainers John Gosden and Mark Johnston and Blandford Bloodstock’s Tom Goff.

The four-day Tattersalls December Foal Sale starts on Wednesday, November 27 at 9.30am.