By Emma Berry
NEWMARKET, UK–Phew. There was a little bit more time to compose one's thoughts during the third session of the December mares' sale following a blockbuster Tuesday when every other lot sold for the price of a modest family home.
A slight rejigging of the catalogue to include the second batch of the Juddmonte draft on Tuesday rather than in its traditional Wednesday afternoon slot, meant that the prices took a bigger dip than usual, but the demand remained just as strong and the list of buyers every bit as international.
With the clearance rate remaining constant at 87%, this larger session led to 227 fillies and mares changing hands–27 more than on the corresponding day last year when 11 horses returned six-figure sums, with seven of those being Juddmonte-breds. This time around three mares sold for 100,000gns or more. The aggregate dropped by 18% to 4,374,000gns and the median and average were also both down, for reasons explained above. The session average was 19,269gns (-27%) and the median was 11,000gns (-21%).
The rolling aggregate for the three days, however, is already far in excess of last year's entire sale, and is currently sitting just above 61.5 million gns. Last year's total turnover was 43.1 million gns.
In the absence of Juddmonte, fillies and mares from Godolphin and Shadwell took top billing, with the day's star turn being provided by Bespangled (Ire), an unraced 3-year-old filly by Dubawi (Ire) out of the Meydan listed winner Pure Diamond (GB) (Street Cry {Ire}). With the filly's grandam and great grandam both being former champion 2-year-olds in Germany, there was much to recommend lot 2163 to breeders and it was Elwick Stud, recent winners of the G3 Bahrain International Trophy with their globetrotting grey Lord Glitters (Fr), who lasted longest in the bidding to 330,000gns.
Agent Billy Jackson-Stops was acting on behalf of the Turnbull family and said after securing Bespangled, “The team at Elwick Stud was very keen on her, she was an obvious standout in this session. They have had a lot of good horses along the way, and they are revamping the stock and this is one for them.”
Elwick Stud was until last season the home of another of Geoff and Sandra Turnbull's top-flight winners, Mondialiste (Ire). The young son of Galileo (Ire) has his first runners on the track this year and stood the 2021 season at Haras d'Annebault in Normandy.
Jackson-Stops added, “I don't know what plans are, but as the farm has its own sire I would be tipping that she might visit him.”
Bespangled's juvenile half-brother Symbol Of Light (GB) (Shamardal) has won twice in the last two months for Charlie Appleby from just three starts, and their dam has offspring by Frankel (GB) and Kingman (GB) to follow. Pure Diamond is herself out of the G1 Deutsches Derby runner-up White Rose (Ger) (Platini {Ger}), who has also produced three other black-type performers.
Ragsah (Ire) (2151), a Shamardal half-sister to Dubai Millennium (Seeking The Gold) was another leading pick from Godolphin, fetching a bid of 130,000gns from Hazelwood Bloodstock on behalf of Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa al Maktoum's Essafinaat UK. Now 13, the chestnut mare was a winner in her juvenile season, when she was also placed in the G3 Firth of Clyde S. Her two winners to date include the Grade II-placed Richmond Avenue (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), and she has fillies by Iffraaj (GB) and Camelot (GB) on the ground.
“She has been bought for an existing client, one of our greatest supporters,” said Adrian O'Brien of Hazelwood Bloodstock. “We are delighted to get a mare with that profile. She has not got a blemish-free breeding record, but she is a sister to an iconic horse. It is brilliant, it bolsters the team at home fantastically well. We will take her home, regroup and make a plan.”
Dubai Millennium and Ragsah are out of the G2 Prix de Pomone winner Colorado Dancer (Shareef Dancer), herself a daughter of the blue hen Fall Aspen (Pretense), five of whose sons went on to be stallions. Two of Ragsah's half-sisters are also proving themselves as broodmares, with Chaquiras having produced the G2 Lowther S. winner Threading (Ire) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}), while Dubai Sunrise is the dam of Dee Ex Bee (GB). The latter, runner-up in the Derby and twice a Group 3 winner who has just joined Arctic Tack Stud, is a son of Farhh (GB), the last covering sire of Ragsah, though she was sold barren.
Early in the session Robert O'Callaghan of Yeomanstown Stud went to 120,000gns for another Dubawi mare, Nawassi (GB) (lot 1960), this time from the Shadwell draft. Members of the Yeomanstown team are on the lookout for mares to support the stud's new stallion, Supremacy (Ire), a Group 1-winning son of the popular Mehmas (Ire). Nawassi's foal, a colt by Yeomanstown's Dark Angel (Ire) had passed through the ring last week and sold for 100,000gns to Philipp Stauffenberg.
“Her Dark Angel foal was very good so it will be bred on the same lines,” said O'Callaghan of the plan to send the mare to Supremacy next year. She is currently carrying to Eqtidaar (Ire), who is by Dark Angel's and Mehmas's sire Acclamation (GB).
He added, “We're trying to buy some nice fast mares for Supremacy. We've bought seven now. She's a very good-looking Dubawi, from a very good family as a daughter of a Queen Mary winner–that was a big draw. It makes it a lot easier to buy these mares when you can see what they're producing. She was the one today that we wanted to buy and we're very glad to get her.”
O'Callaghan continued, “We're very excited about Supremacy. He's gone down extremely well with breeders so it is a very exciting year ahead. It is our first Group 1 winner since Dark Angel to go to stud; if he can be half as good as Dark Angel we'll be happy. We had a lot of showings and bookings. Generally we'd have two or three shows a day through December and January and then we can kick on in February and start covering.”
Out of the G2 Queen Mary S. winner Maqaasid (GB) (Green Desert), Nawassi won her sole race at two. She stems from Shadwell's signature family as her third dam is Sarayir (Mr Prospector), a stakes-winning daughter of Height Of Fashion and subsequently the dam of 1000 Guineas winner Ghanaati (Giant's Causeway).
Cathy Grassick of Brian Grassick Bloodstock was another to plump for a mare from Shadwell, signing for lot 2033, Ghazawaat (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}), in foal to Tamayuz {GB}) at 80,000gns.
“She has been bought for an existing Irish client,” said the agent. “This autumn I bought her daughter by Dark Angel as a yearling, I like her a lot and she is going to Jessie Harrington.”
Grassick added, “It's hard to tell at this stage, but you can't go to wrong with a Siyouni stakes mare. She was rated 100 and he really looks like the broodmare sire of the future, he is such a lovely stallion. She also has the benefit of being out of a Choisir (Aus) mare, and he has been a very lucky stallion for me and he really is a broodmare sire that I like.”
Grassick can also bathe in some reflected glory this week as her family's Newtown Stud was the breeder of Shades Of Blue (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) and co-breeder of Flotus (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}), who were sold for 850,000gns and 1,000,000gns to White Birch Farm and Northern Farm respectively on Tuesday.
The December Sale concludes at Tattersalls on Thursday, with the final session beginning at 9.30am.
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