Thistle Bird Tops Rothschild Dispersal at Tattersalls

A packed Tattersalls sale ring played host to a poignant first installment of the Waddesdon Stud dispersal during the Dec. 2 session of the December Mare Sale, as the stock owned by the late owner-breeder Lady Rothschild, who died in January at 83, was offered without reserve.

There was an expectant hush as auctioneer John O'Kelly took to the rostrum to introduce the draft, and a sea of faces hung on his every word.

"These families have been nurtured to the highest standard by Lady Rothschild, and Tattersalls are very proud to host the sale of such a lovely group of mares," he announced.

The first mare into the ring was Aflame, and the daughter of Shamardal and Magical Romance set the tone when London Thoroughbred Services' James Wigan, who had also been Lady Rothschild's bloodstock adviser for the last 20 years, struck the winning bid of 675,000 guineas (US$915,085).

The undoubted highlight of the 14-strong draft was Newbridge Silverware Pretty Polly Stakes (G1) heroine Thistle Bird, who was also knocked down to Wigan, who sat among the crowd in the packed auditorium opposite O'Kelly's rostrum, at 750,000 guineas ($1,016,762) to top the session.

"It's very sad," said an emotional Wigan. "Aflame was bought for Erdenheim Farm and Thistle Bird was for George Strawbridge. I know the families well, certainly as well as anyone else. Aflame will go to America now but no decisions have been reached regarding next year's coverings for either mare."

Thistle Bird, an 11-year-old daughter of Selkirk out of the listed-winning Dolma, was offered in foal to Kingman, meaning the resultant offspring will be bred on the same cross as King of Comedy and the promising Kinross.

She has already produced two winners, including the promising 2-year-old Bullfinch, who provided his dam with a timely update, winning at Chelmsford last month.

"He looks all right; admittedly it was only a small race he won but he won it well," Wigan said of the son of Kodiac.

Aflame, who was offered in foal to Havana Gold, saw the McCausland family's Erdenheim Farm continue to spend big in the Tattersalls ring, after the Pennsylvanian operation acquired five mares for a total outlay of 2.86 million guineas during last year's December Mare Sale—a haul that included the 1.2 million guineas ($1,603,098) Off Limits and the 800,000 guineas ($1,068,732) Billesdon Bess.

Of the complete dispersal, which is set to continue next year, Wigan added: "The horses were all beautifully turned out—the staff at Waddesdon have done a wonderful job with them. It's the end of an era of sorts, but this year's yearlings will be going into training so there's a little bit more to come even though the stud itself will have closed down. The rest of the stock will come to the ring in due course."

Romance Returns to Tattersalls

Among the other members of the Waddesdon dispersal was 2004 Sky Bet Cheveley Park Stakes (G1) heroine Magical Romance, who joined Lady Rothschild's broodmare band for a then-world record price of 4.6 million guineas (US$9,358,608) at the 2006 December Mare Sale.

The 17-year-old, who looked in rude health despite her advancing years, was knocked down at 300,000 guineas ($406,705) to agent Hugo Lascelles, who hid away from the hubbub of the main auditorium down the back stairs.

The page has, of course, improved plenty in the intervening 13 years, with Magical Romance producing the Australian listed winner Tall Ship and minor winner Love Magic, who hit the headlines earlier this year when her daughter Channel won the Prix de Diane Longines (G1).

Fittingly, Magical Romance was offered in foal to arguably the best horse bred by Lady Rothschild in Nathaniel.

"There are a lot of daughters working for her—one is already the dam of Channel," said Lascelles, who signed on behalf of an undisclosed client. "Wouldn't it be lovely to have a Nathaniel filly out of her? She looks fantastic for her age and is still very good looking. There's a serious depth to that pedigree."

Magical Romance is out of Shouk, making her a half sister to Vodafone Epsom Oaks (G1) and Darley Irish Oaks (G1) heroine Alexandrova—herself the granddam of Aspetar—while further back this is the same family that has produced the likes of Chicquita, Magic Wand, and Rekindling.

By the time the 14-strong offering from Waddesdon Stud, all of which were consigned by Castlebridge, had passed through the ring, the group had brought total receipts of 3,193,000 guineas. 

Cool Silk Outbids Phoenix Partners for Sands of Mali

There was a dramatic end to Day 1 as Peter Swann of the Cool Silk Partnership went to 600,000 guineas ($813,409) to buy out Phoenix Thoroughbreds' shares in the group 1-winning sprinter Sands of Mali.

Swann stood with agent Matt Coleman in the bidders' area as Phoenix Ladies Syndicate manager Pamela Cordina took instructions on the telephone on the opposite side of the ring.

Cordina was joined by Phoenix's Tom Ludt, a regular at European sales by the side of Amer Abdulaziz, who has recently been named during court proceedings into the OneCoin scandal in the US. It is claimed that Abdulaziz acted as a key money-launderer for OneCoin before allegedly stealing €100 million to fund his racing enterprise, of which Sands of Mali was a key part.

Swann expressed regret that Sands of Mali had needed to be offered at public auction to dissolve the partnership between Cool Silk and Phoenix.

"It's a shame we've had to bring him here and go through all this but he was our horse in the beginning and he's our horse again now," he said. "We're delighted to get him back and he doesn't owe us anything at this stage."

Mango Tango Heads to Hokkaido

Japanese outfit JS Company signed for one of the session's priciest lots when Keisuke Onishi landed a final bid of 535,000 guineas ($725,290) to secure Mango Tango on behalf of Akinori Yano of Yano Farm.

The 6-year-old daughter of Siyouni, offered in foal to Showcasing, won seven races and gained valuable black type when she finished runner up in the Shadwell Prix de Pomone (G2).

"I have 26 mares on my farm in Hokkaido," Yano said, "and I was looking for a Pivotal-line mare. There aren't many Siyounis in Japan and obviously he's a very good stallion. We'll bring her home and foal her down and hopefully she'll go to Lord Kanaloa, the best stallion now in Japan. She's a good-looking, good-sized mare."

Offered by The Castlebridge Consignment, Mango Tango made her third visit to the sales ring her most fruitful appearance, having fetched €50,000 ($54,455) at the Arqana Breeze-Up Sale and €400,000 ($449,600)from Abdulatif Al Emadi at the following year's Arc Sale.

Firm Foundations for Elwick

The draft of mares from West Blagdon Stud saw the first major surge in bidding activity, as Peter Nolan and the Elwick Stud team went to 440,000 guineas ($596,500) to secure Stream Song, who won twice for George Strawbridge. 

The 4-year-old daughter of Mastercraftsman, who was offered in foal to the late Roaring Lion, is the sixth foal out of Montjeu's group 1 Prix Royal Oak (French St. Leger)-winning daughter Montare, meaning she is also a half sister to group 1 scorer Journey and group 2-placed Travelling Man.

"She's been bought for Geoff Turnbull's Elwick Stud broodmare band," Nolan said. "She'll go to Mondialiste next year and hopefully she can become a foundation mare. We didn't quite price her at that, but the boss is a hard man to beat once he gets going. Gary (Moore, stud manager) knows the family as he used to work at Whatton Manor."

When asked what the plan would be with the Roaring Lion foal, Moore said: "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it, but if she's carrying a colt that might be our next stallion."

Two-time grade 1 winner Mondialiste has gotten strong support since he retired to Elwick Stud in Hartlepool in 2018, including from Turnbull's own 45-strong broodmare band. His debut crop have fetched up to 60,000 guineas at the recent December Foal sale.

"Mondialiste has been well supported and he's got some really nice foals. They've made some good prices over the last few week," added Moore.