Youngsters with form as good as La Bellota (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}), a great winner of a Listed competition in Doncaster less than a week ago, don't come along very often and it was Blandford Bloodstock agent Tom Biggs who did The gelding achieved a record performance of 425,000 grams at Tattersalls on Wednesday.
Biggs applied on behalf of his Blandford colleague Richard Brown, who was already halfway across the Atlantic on his way to the Breeders' Cup when La Bellota walked through the ring on Wednesday evening.
Of course, La Bellota is a horse Brown knows well, considering the John Ryan-trained runner was responsible for Wathnan Racing's Diego Ventura (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}) at Doncaster. Like Diego Ventura, La Bellota was ranked by Tally-Ho Stud, with Ryan securing the horse for 52,000gns at the Guineas Breeze-Up Sale earlier in the season.
“He is the best freelance two-year-old on the market right now and has a rating of 105,” the trainer said. “He performed better than most out there. Honestly, losing him is bittersweet. But at the end of the day we bought it well and sold it well.”
Ryan added: “He's a superstar – a great horse to train and anyone would love to have this horse in their garden.” But he will be called La Bellota and we can follow him. I think he is a very special horse. I hope it continues to be what I envision it to be.”
Overall, Wednesday's session failed to keep up with what was otherwise a very mighty sale at Park Paddocks. Wildcard Square d'Alboni (Fr) Zarak {Fr}, a listed scorer recently offered by Alex Elliott's Imperium Sales, failed to find a suitor at 950,000gns on a day when some of the key figures suffered a setback.
Despite a slightly larger catalog, sales fell 16% to 9,935,000g, while the average fell 22% to 37,633g and the median fell 6% to 22,000g. The clearance rate fell by 1% to 90%.
Boman brings in Hawk Power for Annabel Neasham
One of the more captivating bidding wars of the day was between Ryan McElligott and Stuart Boman for Hawk Power (Ire) (Gleneagles {Ire}), which went the way of the Blandford Bloodstock agent for 300,000gns. Like many of this week's larger lots, Hawk Power has been bought by Boman to continue his career Down Under, with Annabel Neasham set to take charge of the listed Godolphin runner.
Boman said: “Nice horse. There are obviously no reserves when buying out Godolphin, and that initially attracts a lot of people. Very consistent horse and it was the only horse I wanted to buy after going through everything. It was bought for Annabel Neasham and we bought a few others along the way. I think he’ll be better on the floor.”
The agent continued: “He ran on gentle ground and ran onto the moor on his last start in the Listed race at Chantilly when he was third behind Brisk Tracker, who was sent off as favorite for the French Derby. It was rocky terrain that day and he had had a long year. He is a very well behaved horse with a pedigree having worked in Australia. And he comes from a Street Cry mare, which was also attractive.”
Najd Stud Corners Juddmonte Draft
Whether at the mare sale in December or at horse training, Juddmonte's designs always attract a lot of attention. It was no different on Wednesday when Najd Stud and Bloodstock agent Nico Archdale spent 640,000gns on highly rated artists Amphius (GB) (Kingman {GB}) and Task Force (GB) (Frankel {GB}).
A brother to three black runners, including Group 3 scorer Sangarius (GB) (Kingman {GB}), the 95-rated Amphius scored a maiden at Beverley on his penultimate start and most recently finished second in a Newmbury Handicap.
He took 380,000 grams, while the Task Force, which boasts a score of 109, was beaten for 260,000 grams.
“These are pretty horses,” said Saud Al Qahtani. “It was more than we expected, but when you buy quality you have to make an effort. Both were bought with the King’s Cup in mind.”
Mullins Massive at the Golden Horn
Dominant National Hunt trainer Willie Mullins placed another bet on Golden Horn's progeny when he secured his second son of the two-time Derby winner for a six-figure sum within days.
Poniros (GB), who won over an extended mile on his debut as a two-year-old and has rock-solid handicap form at three, sold for 200,000 grams. Mullins had already added Too Bossy For Us (Ire) (Golden Horn {GB}) to the stable 24 hours earlier for 330,000gns through his right-hand man Harold Kirk.
“I’m collecting them now,” Kirk joked. “This boy has a little more class than yesterday's horse and he could even be the guy to drop back in the trip. It is very light-footed, has mighty movements and was once again purchased as a dual-purpose type.”
Mullins and Kirk also spent 200,000gns to secure Pappano (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}), bringing the total spent for the week to 730,000gns.
Purchase of the day
With his roll buying for Lady Bamford and Tony Elliott of Rogue's Gallery, bloodstock agent Henry Lascelles has been making waves at some of the substantial sales of behind schedule. But Lascelles may have sniffed out a bit of a bargain in the form of 1,000gns to buy in Nartaji, UK, on Wednesday. The daughter of Iffraaj (GB) hasn't shown much ability in two starts for Roger Varian, but she is a half-sister to the impressive first scorer Waardah (Ire) (Rescheduled {Ire}), who won't look out of place in Saturday's Montrose Stakes in Newmarket. If this 1,000gns entrant can match the black type, the 1,000gns Lascelles gave up for Nartaji will look very clever indeed.
Thought for the day
A quick look at the list of horses that have earned around 200,000gns or more this week shows that a few trends immediately catch the eye. First of all, sometimes there is no law, as some unknown sires are quite capable of getting a good one. What was most captivating, however, was that it seemed to be the horses over a mile that made the most money in the ring. The reality is that at every yearling sale in the UK and Ireland, the earlier, spicier varieties around the 200,000g mark are the most popular, compared to the horses that take some time. This week's results could provide food for thought for buyers – and even breeders – who have some patience.
Quote of the day
“Who is Mohammed?”
To put it even more simply, comedy reportedly occurred at the Tattersalls office on Wednesday when one of the buyers signed simply as Mohammad. Given the enormous number of Middle Eastern buyers purchasing the horses in training sales, you can imagine the confusion that arose at Tattersalls when the clipboard ended up back in the office.
