Sceptre Sessions Head Outstanding Catalogue for Tattersalls December Mares Sale

A truly outstanding collection of fillies and mares including five Group 1 winning race fillies have been catalogued for the forthcoming Tattersalls December Mares Sale, headlined by the new Sceptre Sessions, which will take place Monday 28th November to Thursday 1st December with the Sceptre Sessions on Monday 28th November and Tuesday 29th November. The catalogue for Europe’s premier breeding stock sale numbers 1054 lots and can be viewed online at www.tattersalls.com.  

The Sceptre Sessions were introduced to showcase the highest quality race fillies and broodmares to be offered for sale in Europe and amongst the stellar cast for the inaugural sessions are dual Champion and four-time Group 1 winner ALCOHOL FREE, two-time wide margin Group 1 winning miler SAFFRON BEACH, exceptionally fast Group 1 Nunthorpe Stakes winner WINTER POWER and the regally bred Group 1 winning duo LA PETITE COCO and PEARLS GALORE, both trained by Paddy Twomey. In addition DESERT BERRY, the dam of imperious unbeaten Derby winner DESERT CROWN, promises to be another highlight in an exceptional catalogue.  

Further star performers include Group 1 Prix Jean Romanet runner up ROSSCARBERY, Group 2 winner and Group 1 British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes placed INSINUENDO, Group 2 Sapphire Stakes winning sprinter MOONEISTA, Group 2 winner BOUNCE THE BLUES and the promising Group 1 Prix Marcel Boussac runner up GAN TEORAINN, and they are joined by a further 23 Group winning fillies and mares in Tuesday’s Sceptre Session alone. Completing the lineup of 2022 Group winners are Group 3 winners BOTTLE OF BUBBLES, JUMBLY, MARBLING, MRS FITZHERBERT, RUMBLES OF THUNDER, STATEMENT, TRANQUIL LADY and VIAREGGIO, with 77 Group and Listed performers to be offered across both Sceptre Sessions.  

Alongside fillies who have excelled on the racecourse, the Sceptre Sessions feature fillies and mares from the best families in the European stud book, including WALDFABEL, a FRANKEL half-sister to exceptional broodmare WALDLERCHE, FLORA, a GALILEO daughter of Irish Oaks winner and excellent producer MOONSTONE, CRYSTAL ZVEZDA, a Listed winning DUBAWI half-sister to Champion CRYSTAL OCEAN, HIDDEN ANGEL, a DARK ANGEL half-sister to star three-year-old filly EMILY UPJOHN from a blue-blooded Aga Khan family, and two fillies from Kirsten Rausing’s illustrious ALRUCCABA and ALPINISTA family.  

The Sceptre Sessions will also showcase exceptional broodmares led by the dams of several of this year’s outstanding performers. As well as DESERT BERRY, the dam of Derby winner DESERT CROWN, ROGER SEZ, the dam of Group 1 Cheveley Park Stakes winner LEZOO, and LUZIA, the dam of Group 1 Sun Chariot Stakes winner FONTEYN, are among the highlights, and the covering sires featured are reflective of the Sceptre Sessions’ outstanding quality with mares on offer in foal to elite stallions including DUBAWI, FRANKEL, LOPE DE VEGA, NO NAY NEVER, SEA THE STARS, SIYOUNI and WOOTTON BASSETT.  

The Godolphin consignment is a perennial highlight of the December Mares Sale and for good reason, with the dams of 2022 Group 1 winners FONTEYN, HIGHFIELD PRINCESS and LEZOO all sourced from previous years’ drafts for 3,500 guineas, 18,000 guineas and 28,000 guineas respectively. The leading owner-breeder has a strong draft of 72 catalogued, with eye-catchers including dual Classic and three-time Group 1 winner BLUE BUNTING, in foal to Derby winner MASAR, and several DUBAWI own-sisters to stars of recent years, including LATHARNA SKIES, an own-sister to 2000 Guineas runner up MASTER OF THE SEAS, and OPHELIA’S DREAM, an own-sister to dual Group/Grade 1 winner WUHEIDA out of dual Group/Grade 1 winner HIBAAYEB who will be offered in foal to Champion two-year-old PINATUBO.

Juddmonte Farms can boast an even more prolific Group 1 winning year for the progeny of mares sold at past consignments, with BELBEK, NATIVE TRAIL, ONESTO and PROSPEROUS VOYAGE illustrating why their drafts are always so highly sought after. Amongst this year’s regally bred team are broodmares ATONE, an OASIS DREAM own-sister to Champion mare MIDDAY, and SHIELDING, a half-sister to Grade 1 winner VIADERA, both offered in foal to FRANKEL. COLOURFUL, a CHAMPS ELYSEES half-sister to FRANKEL’s dam KIND and Champion POWERSCOURT, the Group 1 placed PRINCIPAL ROLE and VENTOUX, a GALILEO half-sister to 1000 Guineas winner SPECIAL DUTY, will all be offered in foal to KINGMAN and as usual the consignment features several beautifully bred fillies including sisters to Group/Grade 1 winners EPICURIS, EXPERT EYE and ICE BREEZE and brilliant two-year-old sprinter CALYX.  

Shadwell Estates will offer a select draft of nine including dual Group 1 winner MAJMU, offered in foal to KINGMAN, and Listed winner YAAZY, a TEOFILO daughter of excellent broodmare TANAGHUM, offered in foal to PALACE PIER. Other lots sure to prove popular are MUBHIRAH, a RAVEN’S PASS half-sister to Champion TAGHROODA offered in foal to NIGHT OF THUNDER, and the beautifully bred filly AL HUSN, a 100 rated daughter of DUBAWI out of the Group 1 placed HADAATHA.  

Several of Britain’s leading studs will offer significant consignments, with the 30 strong draft from Newsells Park Stud including the dispersal of Philippa Cooper’s Normandie Stud. The Sceptre Sessions will feature five Group and Listed winning mares from the famous Normandie families of DOLORES, FALLEN STAR and FOODBROKER FANCY in foal to stallions including FRANKEL, PINATUBO, SEA THE STARS and ST MARK’S BASILICA, and the promising three-year-old Listed placed filly JUDITH. They are joined in the catalogue by Group 1 Nassau Stakes winner SULTANINA, offered in foal to CAMELOT. Tweenhills Farm & Stud will offer a consignment of 44 led by Classic winner SIMPLE VERSE, who is in foal to TOO DARN HOT and will go under the hammer in the Sceptre Session, and a number of Group and Listed winning mares in foal to their 2000 Guineas winner KAMEKO including Group 2 winner RICH LEGACY and Group 3 winners KIYOSHI and PURR ALONG.  

At the head of the December Mares Sale consignors table since 2015, The Castlebridge Consignment comprises 83 lots with highlights of their draft including broodmares STAR EMPRESS, a TAMAYUZ half-sister to Group 1 winner MINZAAL offered in foal to his sire MEHMAS, and CHESHIRE PLAIN, an INVINCIBLE SPIRIT own-sister to Grade 1 winner DIGITAL AGE, also  in foal to MEHMAS. High class fillies amongst the consignment include HERMANA ESTRELLA, a Group 3 winner on debut, and ROMANTIC RIVAL, a Group 3 placed daughter of SHAMARDAL. In a catalogue of real depth, dual Group/Grade 1 placed FLIGHTY LADY is part of a typically strong team from French based consignors European Sales Management who will also offer the beautifully bred GALILEO mares BOUFFANT, out of French 1000 Guineas winner BEAUTY PARLOUR, and AMERIQUE, out of Champion mare AQUARELLISTE, in foal to WOOTTON BASSETT and PALACE PIER respectively.  

Commenting on the catalogue for the 2022 Tattersalls December Mares Sale, Tattersalls Chairman Edmond Mahony said;  

“The Sceptre Sessions, named after one of the greatest fillies ever to grace the turf, were introduced to showcase the very best race fillies and broodmares and to add a new dimension to the Tattersalls December Mares Sale which is long established as the most prestigious and influential breeding stock sale in Europe. To have catalogued five truly exceptional Group 1 winning fillies as well as the dam of this year’s Derby winner DESERT CROWN is the best possible start and suggests that the new ’Sceptre Sessions’ have immediately captured the imagination of some of the world’s most successful owners and breeders. In addition to the array of elite fillies and broodmares in the two ‘Sceptre Sessions’, the Tattersalls December Mares Sale also features consignments of real quality from Godolphin, Juddmonte Farms, and Shadwell Estates alongside dispersals from Normandie and Southcourt Studs, all of which has combined to produce an outstanding catalogue for Europe’s premier sale of breeding stock.”