July Sale Concludes With Record Returns

July topper Asanta Sana | Tattersalls

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It took until the final session of the record-breaking Tattersalls July Sale for the true star of the show to emerge and, as so often these days, it was a daughter of Galileo (Ire) who played the lead role.

Asanta Sana (Ire) (lot 833), a sister to the G3 Munster Oaks winner Pretty Perfect (Ire) and placed fourth on her only two starts for John Gosden earlier this season, was the subject of a tug of war between Andy Williams and Cathy Grassick during the earlier bidding rounds before Sheikh Mohammed's associate Saeed Manana stepped into the fray and placed the winning bid of 330,000gns.

The 3-year-old will remain in training and switch to the Newmarket stable of James Tate, who said, “We hope to make her a winner and eventually she will join Saeed Manana's broodmare band. She's had a little break so we'll get going with her again and hope to run her in the autumn.”

The filly's dam Milanova (Aus) (Danehill) is a sister to champion 2-year-old Holy Roman Emperor (Ire) and a grand-daughter of the top-drawer racemare and broodmare Fanfreluche (Can).

She led yet another strong day of horses-in-training trade as Tattersalls' midsummer fixture concluded its three-day run. The clearance rate hit 95%, with 178 of the 188 horses offered finding new homes. The final day aggregate peaked at 4,161,300gns (+56%), with the median up by 53% at 12,000gns and the average improving by 54% at 23,378gns.

For the sale as a whole, the record level of turnover settled at 14,691,700gns (+19%), with the median up by 20% at 12,000gns and the average up by 19% at 25,595gns. The clearance rate for the three days was a respectable 89%.

Qatar's relentless quest for European-bred imports for the local racing scene continued with the purchase of Allography (Ire) (Iffraaj {GB}) (lot 872) for 185,000gns. The Godolphin 3-year-old , formerly in the charge of Micheal Halford, is a three-time winner over a mile, is rated 87 and was one of 10 horses bought by Al Ghazali this week for 705,000gns.

On Bastille day, on which the G1 Juddmonte Grand Prix de Paris is annually contested in Paris, an Oasis Dream (GB) half-sister to a former Juddmonte-bred winner of that race, Zambezi Sun (GB) (Dansili {GB}), went under the hammer as part of the owner-breeder's draft, selling to Rabbah Bloodstock for 150,000gns. Impala (GB) (lot 705), an unraced 3-year-old whose other half-siblings include Group 2 winner Kalabar (GB) (Kahyasi {GB}), is another to be joining Saeed Manana's breeding operation.

Also reaching the 150,000gns mark was Mubarak Al Naemi's Qatar Man (Ire) (Archarcharch) (lot 849), a winner last year for Marco Botti who was runner-up in the Listed Al Basatkiya at Meydan in March who was also fourth in the G2 UAE 2,000 Guineas.

We'll be hearing plenty more about the Ballymacoll Stud dispersal as the season progresses and the first solo member of the batch to take to the ring was the dual Group 3 winner Arab Spring (Ire) (Monsun {Ger}) (lot 826). The 7-year-old stallion will race on in Dubai under the care of trainer Rashid Boursely, who went to 100,000gns to add the half-brother to Australian Group 1 winner Glass Harmonium (Ire) (Verglas {Ire}) to his string for next year's carnival.

“We'll give him a rest now and then try to get him back on track. He's a good horse and an exciting horse who could stand as a stallion eventually,” said the trainer.

At the end of a blockbuster three days, Tattersalls Chairman Edmond Mahony commented, “The Tattersalls July Sale continues to go from strength to strength. The 2016 renewal produced record turnover and average as well as an 88% clearance rate, and this year's sale has made gains across the board with turnover approaching 15 million gns, an average well over 25,000gns and a remarkable clearance rate of almost 90%. The figures look even more impressive when considering that as recently as 2012 the July Sale turnover was below 5 million gns and the average price was less than 12,000gns.”

He continued, “Tribute should be paid to the consignors whose consistent support of the July Sale has made it an important international fixture which regularly attracts buyers from more than 30 different countries. The significant consignments from Godolphin, Juddmonte Farms and Shadwell have yet again been particularly eagerly sought after with Godolphin fillies fetching three of the top five highest prices. But arguably the feature of this week's sale has been the apparently insatiable demand for horses in training at all levels of the market.”

Postponed On Show At Darley Stallion Parade
Darley's Dalham Hall Stud threw open its doors for its annual stallion parade on Thursday and Friday this week, showing 20 stallions on the British and Irish rosters and introducing Postponed (Ire), the treble Group 1-winner who retired earlier this season with nine victories to his name fro 20 runs and just shy of £5 million.

Among the established line-up of Postponed's sire Dubawi (Ire), Exceed And Excel (Aus), New Approach (Ire), Teofilo (Ire), Fast Company (Ire) and Raven's Pass, there were plenty of young sires on parade, with the ultra-tough juvenile The Last Lion (Ire) being one who particularly caught the eye. The Derby, Eclipse S., Irish Champion S. and Arc winner Golden Horn (GB) was richly dappled, while freshmen Territories (Ire) and Charming Thought (GB) had both let down really well after their first covering season.

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