Twelve Top 100,000 Guineas on Second Day of Tattersalls December Foal Sale
The second day of the Tattersalls December Foal Sale saw robust trade with twelve lots making in excess of 100,000 guineas headed by a son of Whitsbury Manor Stud’s remarkable sire HAVANA GREY at 250,000 guineas and a clearance rate of 81%.
Déjà Vu as Whitsbury Manor’s Havana Grey Colt Tops Session
Appetite for the progeny of HAVANA GREY showed no signs of abating on the second day of the Tattersalls December Foal Sale with the session headed by a colt consigned by Whitsbury Manor Stud, who stand the brilliant young stallion. An opening bid of 100,000 guineas indicated a healthy level of interest in the well-related colt who was eventually secured for 250,000 guineas by Rumstar Bloodstock, bidding online, with bloodstock agent Alex Elliott the underbidder.
Bred by Whitsbury Manor Stud, the April-foaled colt is an own-brother to the Group 3 Cornwallis Stakes winner RUMSTAR out of the SAKHEE’S SECRET mare STELLARTA, a daughter of Group 2 Cherry Hinton Stakes winner and twice Group 1 placed TORGAU.
The colt is the joint highest priced foal by the sire to date, with the previous HAVANA GREY foal to fetch 250,000 guineas also consigned by Whitsbury Manor Stud to top the equivalent day of the 2022 Tattersalls December Foal Sale. The son of ARCAMIST proved a shrewd purchase by Stauffenberg Bloodstock Services who sold him to Godolphin for 600,000 guineas at Book 1 of this year’s Tattersalls October Yearling Sale.
Kingman Colt to Haras de Meautry for 200,000 Guineas
The second highest priced lot of the day was the KINGMAN colt consigned by Newsells Park Stud who was knocked down for 200,000 guineas to Nick Bell, the director of Baron Edouard de Rothschild’s Haras de Meautry. Bred by Gestut Hof Ittlingen, the January-foaled colt is the first foal out of dual Group 3 winner LIBERTY LONDON, a daughter of MAXIOS from the deep German family of Champions LANDO, LACCARIO, LOVELYN and LOVE ACADEMY and Group 1 Deutches Derby winner LAROCHE.
"He has been bought by Haras de Meautry for Edouard de Rothschild," reported Bell. "He will be kept to go into training and hopefully will go to Andre Fabre in two years' time, that's the plan.
"We always buy a couple of foals every year and there was not one for us this year in France. It is a thing we do every year so we can compare them to the foals we have at home, and we think we get a bit better value as a foal than buying as a yearling."
Of this colt he outlined: "He is a nice, good-looking, good-walking foal and out of a good racemare. She won from three to five and she ran in good company all the time, that was a big thing for us, she was obviously tough. As he was a first foal too it probably worked in our favour, as there is nothing for the pinhookers to come through. That was the sort of price we had in mind, I told Edouard he would cost from 150,000 guineas to 200,000 guineas."
Grangemore Stud Strike for Too Darn Hot Colt
The dispersal of the late Sir Robert Ogden’s stock has been a poignant feature of several recent Tattersalls sales and a TOO DARN HOT colt consigned by New England Stud on behalf of Lady Ogden proved one of the highlights of the second day when selling for 185,000 guineas to Grangemore Stud. Bidding swiftly developed into an O’Callaghan duel with Tally Ho Stud’s Tony & Roger O’Callaghan making a determined effort to secure the January-born colt from their customary spot beneath the bidder’s rail, but it was Robert O’Callaghan who offered the successful bid on behalf of Grangemore Stud from high on the stairs.
The January-born colt is out of the OASIS DREAM mare CANONBURY, a winning daughter of Ballymacoll’s exceptional dual Champion racemare ISLINGTON. CANONBURY’s two-year-old son TCHAIKOVSKY posted a stylish maiden win since catalogue publication and her lightly raced daughter KENSINGTON had also added a further win to the page.
New England’s Peter Stanley commented: "Obviously the Ogdens have enjoyed their racing for so many years and things are changing, so it was lovely to end up with a really nice one by Too Darn Hot and there has been a couple of updates recently.
"It is the most wonderful family with Islington, and with the class of Too Darn Hot who is looking very exciting, and I can only think he will be even better next year with his thee-year-olds. This colt was an obvious one to make good money, he spoke for himself - he has a great walk, a bit of size and some quality. We have a few mares to offer next week from the dispersal, including Canonbury so hopefully this is a good advertisement for her!"
New England Stud will offer Lady Ogden’s SHOWCASING colt out of WAR AND PEACE, a daughter of Group 1 Matron Stakes winner EMULOUS, on Friday of the Tattersalls December Foal Sale, before selling the dams of both colts at next week’s Tattersalls December Mares Sale.
Blue Point Colt Sparks Wild Celebrations for Hawes Stud
Grangemore Stud struck again a few lots later at 170,000 guineas for a colt by BLUE POINT, who like his Darley studmate TOO DARN HOT has impressed with his first crop of runners this year. The February-foaled colt was consigned by Hawes Stud and was followed into the ring by the stud’s SPACE BLUES half-sister to Group 3 winner VIAREGGIO who sold for 75,000 to Woodstock.
Hawes Stud’s Michael Gaffney, whose star alumnae as a breeder include the four-time Group 1 winner ALCOHOL FREE who memorably topped last year’s Tattersalls December Mares Sale at 5,400,000 guineas, was a little emotional after the sale and declared he was going to have a very strong cup of tea to celebrate, commenting:
"It is brilliant with the two horses, it is absolutely fantastic. We sold two more earlier today and that was a bit bumpier, but these two make up for that. Glowing Star is from a very, very fast family, we went to Blue Point whom we thought was a rocket and we loved him when we saw him. We put two rockets together and we got a superstar of a horse so we are thrilled!
"This is one of the better prices that my wife and I have sold under the Hawes Stud banner. We had been with my brother Tom of Churchtown House Stud and now we have sold for a couple of years under Hawes Stud, we are diverging but staying together."
Of the GLOWING STAR he reported: "We bought her a long time ago, we loved her the minute we saw her. We bought her cheap and the family has just improved. We have bred all her offspring and we have Two Stars - he won for us earlier this year and will race on for us next year, he runs in my wife's colours."
Already the dam of the Listed placed KING OF STARS, GLOWING STAR is a CLODOVIL half-sister to the Group 2 Ridgewood Pearl Stakes winner and Group 1 Irish 1000 Guineas placed DEVONSHIRE, herself the dam of Group 3 Prestige Stakes winner FAIRY CROSS, from the family of Group 1 Nunthorpe Stakes winner WINTER POWER.
The next session of the Tattersalls December Foal Sale will commence at 10am on Friday, 1st December with a viewing day on Thursday, 30th November.