December Foal Sale Kicks Off at Tattersalls

Thoroughbred speculators will have bigger targets to aim at later in the week, and it seemed as though plenty were content to keep their powder dry during a somewhat muted opening session to the Tattersalls December Foal Sale Nov. 27.

By the close of trade, 168 of 246 offered lots had sold for a clearance rate of 68% and an aggregate of 1,695,300 guineas (US$2,290,056)—up 5% year-on-year. The average and median figures went in the opposite direction, with the average down 4% to 10,090 guineas ($13,631) as the median dipped by 17% to 5,000 guineas ($6,754).

The progeny of first-crop sires provided the lion's share of interest, none more so than the El Kabeir colt offered by Ballyreddin and Kellsgrange Studs who was knocked down to prominent pinhooker Philipp Stauffenberg at the session-topping sum of 65,000 guineas ($87,804).

The colt became the priciest member of the debut crop of El Kabeir, a son of Scat Daddy who covered a book of 151 mares at a fee of €8,000 at Yeomanstown Stud in 2018.

"I thought he was very well made, athletic, when you watched him going around the parade ring he really stood out, and for me he was the standout individual of the day," said Stauffenberg, whose purchase will be aimed at the 2020 yearling sales. "He was the one I wanted most so I'm very happy to have got him. We've done well with horses we've bought on the first day before so hopefully we'll be lucky again."

The colt is the second foal of the winning Invincible Spirit mare School Run, who shares her page with the group 1 winners Dream Ahead and Fairyland.

"He's the second progeny of the mare," Ballyreddin Stud's John Dwan said. "Her first is a filly by Lope de Vega, she was a good walker too but probably an early type—this foal always had a bit of scope about him. The mare is in foal to Sioux Nation so we've stuck with the Scat Daddy line."

One-Offs

While progeny of first-crop sires were the order of the day for many, foals by a couple of more established names brought two of the session's bigger prices. Another pinhooker in action was Jamie Railton, who went to 65,000 guineas for the Night of Thunder filly out of a half sister to high-class sprinters Blaine and Bogart offered by Genesis Green Stud.

"I'm a big fan of the family with Blaine and Bogart, and their 2-year-old half-brother called Byline is well rated too," Railton said. "She's a fine horse."

Night of Thunder's popularity has skyrocketed with 27 winners, seven stakes scorers and earners of more than £890,000 among his debut 2-year-olds. The filly was the sire's only representative Wednesday, and helped push his foal average to 77,860 guineas for horses bred at just £15,000.

Another stallion with a solitary offering Day 1 was Kodiac, with the Castledillon Stud-consigned filly going the way of Hugo Merry at 62,000 guineas ($83,751). The late-March foal boasted one of the session's stronger pages, as she is a half sister to the listed-winning Newsletter.

"She's been bought to resell but we won't worry about it; if that doesn't work out we're happy to race her," Merry said. "I saw her yesterday and thought she was a lovely filly. She's a half sister to a very good filly and it's a good back pedigree—the price is the same as Kodiac's stud fee too."

The 62,000 guineas mark was hit again later in the session when Good Will Bloodstock signed for a well-touted Territories colt from Cobhall Court Stud. The youngster is out of the winning New Approach mare Never Change, who was purchased with the Territories foal in utero by Howson and Houldsworth Bloodstock for just 11,000 guineas ($15,333).

"He's lovely foal from a very good farm. I like what I have seen of the progeny of Territories," buyer Michael Fitzpatrick said.

The colt was offered by Cobhall Court on behalf of Ciaran Paterson.