Spectacular Start to Tattersalls July Sale
The Tattersalls July Sale got off to a spectacular start with a record-breaking session that saw turnover better all previous sessions at this midsummer fixture, realising 7,208,629 guineas for the 234 lost sold, a rise of 71% on the opening session last year. The average rose 50% to 30,806 guineas whilst the median rose 17% to 14,000 guineas.
Headlining the session was the 79-lot Godolphin draft of fillies and mares who provided the top ten lots for the day and turnover of 4,393,500 guineas. The highest-priced of them was the three-year-old filly CARTE DE VISITE who was knocked down to BBA Ireland’s Eamonn Reilly on behalf of Maurice Regan’s Newtown Anner Stud for 270,000 guineas. The unraced daughter of STREET CRY is out of the US Grade 3 winner ASCUTNEY and is a half-sister to the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes winner RAVEN'S PASS and the Grade 3 winner GIGAWATT.
"This is a lovely mare and Newton Anner, who have had some great success with the likes of Fascinating Rock, are looking to upgrade their mares," said Reilly.
"This has been a fantastic opportunity today for them and drafts such as this do not come along very often - this is the best July Sale catalogue I have known."
Reilly also struck earlier in the day for the same owners when he went to 250,000 guineas to secure the Listed-placed TEOFILO mare DESERT SNOW in-foal to the 2,000 Guineas winner NIGHT OF THUNDER. The mare hails from one of Kirsten Rausing’s great families that includes the Group 1 winners AUSSIE RULES, ALLEGRETTO, ALBANOVA and ALBORADA.
"She is lovely mare, and Maurice Regan Snr picked her out as the one to buy today," said Reilly. "She is a foundation mare and the foal will be retained. It is such a brilliant family developed by Kirsten Rausing and is so difficult to buy into."
Three lots later Cormac McCormack secured the Listed-winning mare ZUHOOR BAYNOONA for the same amount – 250,000 guineas. The daughter of ELNADIM was the first mare offered in-foal to 2015’s European Champion Sprinter MUHAARAR and was secured by McCormack after he saw off Oliver St Lawrence, stood with Newsells Park Stud’s Julian Dollar as well as Seamus Burns.
"She has it all," said McCormack, also adding that the mare will probably be going abroad.
St Lawrence didn’t have to wait long to allay his disappointment when he secured the INVINCIBLE SPIRIT filly ZOELLA for 220,000 guineas, also in foal to NIGHT OF THUNDER.
"She is for a British-based client and the foal is likely to be sold as a yearling," said St Lawrence. "She is a good-looking mare and has every chance of producing a good-looking yearling. There are some young Dubawi's to come through the pedigree so all is very positive."
ZOELLA is a grand-daughter of TALENTED, who did as her name suggests both as a racehorse when winning the Group 2 Sun Chariot Stakes and as a broodmare, being the dam of the Group 2 Dante Stakes winner and Group 1 Prince Of Wales's Stakes runner-up CARLTON HOUSE.
The Tattersalls July Sale continues on Thursday, July 7 with the first of two sessions to start at 9.30am.