Juddmonte Colt Sash Tops Day 1 of Tattersalls Autumn

A broad cross-section of global bloodstock buyers assembled for day one of the Tattersalls Autumn Horses in Training Sale on Monday, and trade was duly headed by the three-time winner Sash, who will now head across the Atlantic having been signed for by Red Baron's Barn and Rancho Temescal at 320,000 guineas (US$391,326).

It seemed as though the Juddmonte Farms-consigned 3-year-old would be staying closer to home when agent Alex Elliott struck a bid of 310,000 guineas. However, when auctioneer John O'Kelly turned to Tim Cohen, who was seated directly to the right of the rostrum, and said: "One more might just do it!" the California-based owner responded in kind and landed the prized offering.

Sash, a son of Oasis Dream from the family of Hasili, won three times for Amanda Perrett and Khalid Abdullah, and was last seen finishing runner-up to Top Rank in a handicap at Newmarket.

"I didn't want to keep going but I didn't want to let the horse go either." said Cohen after signing the six-figure docket. "The physical is great and he likes the firm ground and that's what we look for for California. Once I'm done with the sale I'll decide which trainer will get which horses."

The Red Baron's Barn team have been regulars at recent editions of the Autumn Horses in Training Sale, including when they spent 521,000 guineas on six lots 12 months ago.

"My dad (Jed) has probably been buying out here for almost 30 years, initially with Darrell Vienna," Cohen added. "We took a long break but we've been here for the last five years with Joe Miller, Ed Freeman, and Alastair Donald—each one of them brings a uniqueness to the team so it works well."

Juddmonte sold 23 lots during the session, a draft that brought receipts totaling 1,577,000 guineas ($1,928,500) at an average of 68,565 guineas ($83,847). The bunch featured five six-figure lots, including Britannia Stakes scorer Biometric, who will continue his career in Australia having gone the way of Lindsay Park Racing at 130,000 guineas ($158,975).

Surrey Thunder Rumbles for Waller

There was a notable Antipodean presence at Park Paddocks, and no Southern Hemisphere buyer made a bigger impact than Guy Mulcaster, who added Surrey Thunder to the all conquering string of Chris Waller at 280,000 guineas ($342,410).

The 3-year-old advertised his credentials with some smart performances for Joseph Tuite, most notably when he readily landed the listed Grand Prix de Clairefontaine on his penultimate outing.

"We thought he was the right sort of horse for Australia," said Mulcaster from his position at the top of the stairs opposite the rostrum. "He hasn't been over raced, he looks in great condition and is just a nice style of horse. We're very happy to have secured him at that sort of money.

"We've got plenty of good races in Australia and I don't think he needs a mile and a half, we'll just get him into the system and see how he comes out at the other end," he added. "There aren't too many horses like him that've actually turned up for the sale so we're lucky to have struck early on."

The sale of Surrey Thunder gave the Surrey Racing team of Clive Hadingham and Steve Grubb plenty of reason to cheer, with the horse having been added to the syndicate's ranks at €67,000 ($80,012) at last year's Arqana Breeze-Up Sale.

"He's been good for us and given the syndicate a lot of good times," said Hadingham, an investment banker by trade. "Unfortunately running a syndicate is an expensive business so we've had to sell to balance the books.

"We're fans as much as anything else though and when we started the business we looked to buy mile and a half types as there is that resale option. We have National Hunt horses too, we've just bought a mare who's with Nicky Henderson. We're always looking at different angles."

Surrey Racing have also enjoyed success with the likes of four-time winner Surrey Hope, though Grubb added that this was by far the syndicate's biggest sales ring result, saying: "This is the first horse we've been able to sell at this level. Hopefully this will enable us to go and buy two or three others."

Despite the Surrey monicker, Hadingham said the syndicate is comprised of members from far and wide, including Hong Kong, Switzerland, Ireland, and the U.S.

Mulcaster rejoined the fray later on when giving 260,000 guineas ($317,952) for Imaging, a smart son of Oasis Dream who won five races in the Juddmonte silks under the care of Dermot Weld.

"We thought he was a really nice type and it's always a pleasure to buy a horse from Mr Weld," said Mulcaster. "They're always so well cared for and Chris really respects Mr Weld's judgement."

No Denying McStay

While many of the most sought-after offerings boasted strong recent form, the session's fourth-top lot had no form at all, with the unraced Lady Corsica going the way of Avenue Bloodstock's Mark McStay at 220,000 guineas ($269,037) after a protracted duel with Tony Nerses. 

As a daughter of Galileo and a full sister to grade 1 scorer Deauville and the group 3-winning The Corsican, McStay said he was not deterred by the fact the filly had failed to make the track for trainer David Simcock and owner Michael Tabor, with the 3-year-old purchased as a broodmare prospect.

"She's a lovely filly and Galileo speaks for himself, he's the best stallion in the world and is proving so influential in the top and bottom lines of pedigrees," said McStay. "She's a full sister to two very good horses, including the group 1 winner Deauville.

Stroud Strikes

The first of the session's 15 six-figure transactions came when Anthony Stroud saw off Oliver St. Lawrence at 190,000 guineas ($232,349) to secure the progressive Intuitive from James Tate's Jamesfield Stables draft.

The son of Haatef has won four of his nine starts, including his last two outings, with a comfortable last-time-out success at Kempton earning him a career-best Racing Post Rating of 106.

"He'll be trained by Simon Crisford for an existing client," Stroud said. "He'll be aimed at the Dubai carnival. He's got the right sort of profile to do well out there."

The 3-year-old's racetrack's efforts had done plenty for his sales ring popularity, as he'd been bought for Sheikh Hamed Dalmook Al Maktoum by Blandford Bloodstock for €44,000 ($51,557) at last year's Goresbridge Breeze-Up Sale.

Egan On the Board

John Egan's Alliance Bloodstock was on the mark when the jockey turned bloodstock agent landed the five-time winner Coolagh Forest for 125,000 guineas ($152,862).

"He's likely to head abroad, where he's got plenty of options," Egan said. "I liked the horse—he's very athletic—and he's got strong recent form, which is important."

The son of Elzaam was bought by Joey Logan Bloodstock for €26,000 ($31,185) at the Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale, and had developed into a decidedly useful performer for Richard Fahey having landed a pair of York handicaps that took his peak RPR to 107.

From 305 lots offered during the opening session, 265 were sold for a clearance rate of 87%. The gross was up to 7,696,700 guineas ($9,412,240), a 37% gain over last year. The median was up 35% to 13,500 guineas ($16,509) and the average up 33% to 29,045 guineas ($35,519). 

The Autumn Horses in Training Sale continues Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. local time.