Walkinthesand Tops Tattersalls August Sale

Ted Voute's online shopping spree accounted for the top three lots at the Aug. 26 session of the Tattersalls August Sale, with the 220,000 guineas Walkinthesand claiming top-lot honors at the three-day auction.

Those in attendance at Park Paddocks scanned the ring to see where some punchy bids were being delivered from, but time after time the auctioneer pointed to the screen on the rostrum to indicate the determined bidder was participating online.

As well as securing the listed-placed Walkinthesand from the draft of Richard Hannon's East Everleigh Stables, Voute also went to 185,000 guineas for To Nathaniel, a three-time winner offered by The Castlebridge Consignment, and 180,000 guineas for Tell Me All, a useful son of Lope de Vega consigned by Sir Mark Prescott's Heath House Stables.

Voute's 650,000 guineas haul was completed by Kasbaan, a 5-year-old son of Dansili offered by Jamie Railton on behalf of The Horse Watchers syndicate. Like so many of the more eye-catching lots at the inaugural August Sale, Voute's purchases will continue their racing days in the Middle East.

"They've been bought for a new stud company called Najd Stud Limited, which is based in Riyadh," Voute said. "They were looking for horses who can run in the King's Cup series. As soon as the next flight is available, the horses will be shipping out to that part of the world."

Although Voute was not at Park Paddocks on Wednesday, he had visited 24 hours earlier to cast his expert eye over the lots first hand. He said of the selection process: "We vetted a whole slew of horses, and then I came up to Tattersalls yesterday and inspected those who made the shortlist."

Online bidders have made a notable impact throughout the August Sale, with Monday's top lot, the 75,000 guineas Cloud Drift bought by Al Adiyat Racing, among those purchased digitally, and Voute gave the digital process a firm thumbs-up.

"I'm at home in Stratford now and the online bidding was very easy, so it's been great," he said. "I actually learnt more online than I would if I'd been standing there in the ring. And with form horses, it's quite different as their appeal is there for everyone to see in the form book. We had a vet there today just to cover the eventuality that the horse took a lame step prior to going into the ring."

Nass Back for More

Fresh from securing Day 2's top lot, the 150,000 guineas Swindler, Fawzi Nass and Oliver St. Lawrence reentered the fray Wednesday and went to 125,000 guineas for another classy sprinter in Buffer Zone.

The Juddmonte Farms-bred son of Bated Breath has won four times and reached a peak Racing Post Rating of 110 for Ger Lyons. As is the case with Swindler, Buffer Zone will now join Nass's Bahrain-based string.

"He's been bought to team up with Swindler," Nass said. "He's got a good rating and we think he should appreciate firm ground, so hopefully he'll be well suited to racing in the Middle East. He'll be based in Bahrain but once he's settled in we can start to look at races in the nearby countries like Saudi Arabia and Dubai."

Nass, who landed the Dubai Golden Shaheen Sponsored by Gulf News (G1) with Krypton Factor, added: "He's come from a very good trainer so I'm not sure we can improve him but hopefully we'll at least maintain his level. There's a lack of sprinters in my yard at the moment so hopefully Buffer Zone and Swindler can fill the gap."

The 125,000 guineas mark was hit again later in the session when BBA Ireland's Michael Donohoe landed the recent Wolverhampton winner Vindicate.

Mann Keeps it Camouflaged

Progressive middle-distance performer Camouflaged is set to make the switch from Mark Johnston's Middleham yard to the base of Charlie Mann after the Lambourn-based handler went to 90,000 guineas for the strapping son of Dark Angel early in the concluding session.

Camouflaged won twice for Johnston and was last seen recording a career-best RPR of 80 when third in a Chester handicap over two miles earlier in the month.

"He was the only horse I came to see and I thought he was a standout," Mann said. "He ticks all the boxes for what I want in a jumping prospect. I suppose it was a lot of money for a horse rated 76 but he's proven over the right distance and he's the right size. I love the stayers and he's an out-and-out stayer so he should get two miles over hurdles and might even get a bit further."

Camouflaged is not the only exciting recruit to have joined Mann's yard recently, with the trainer also set to take charge of Gin Coco, an €80,000 Arqana purchase sourced for owner Johnny Mayo, in whose colors Camouflaged will also race.

"He's for a new owner called Johnny Mayo, he's got three very nice horses with me now," Mann continued. "I used to buy horses for a few quid on spec, but those days are well gone—I wouldn't sleep for a week if I'd bought Camouflaged on spec! He'll have two weeks away and then we'll make a plan from there.

"It's been very hard (buying jumps prospects) this year. I've bought a lot of horses in France lately. I've never been to France before because I've always thought they're too expensive, but we got some nice horses there."

Final Figures

Three days of trade reached a crescendo Wednesday as the concluding session saw turnover of 3,626,400 guineas, an average price of 20,147 guineas, and a median of 9,000 guineas. The clearance rate was a robust 95%, with 180 of 189 offered lots finding a buyer.

In total, the inaugural August Sale generated an aggregate of 8,430,400 guineas, an average of 16,530 guineas, and a median of 9,000 guineas. From 561 offered lots, an impressive 510 changed hands at a clip of 91%.

Tattersalls reported that nearly 60% of sold lots across the three August Sale sessions were subject to an internet bid, with 79 lots knocked down to an online participant and a further 93 lots underbid via the Tattersalls online platform. Those 79 sales contributed 1.6 million guineas—almost 19%—to the whole sale turnover.

In his end-of-sale statement, Tattersalls chairman Edmond Mahony said: "Another post-COVID Tattersalls sale with a clearance rate around the 90% mark has to be regarded as a success. We made the observation after the recent Tattersalls July Sale that this sort of clearance rate would be noteworthy under normal circumstances, but in the face of the multiple challenges that everyone currently faces, these sort of returns are little short of miraculous.

"From the Tattersalls perspective, we salute all those who have supported this new fixture and made it such a success. Vendors, purchasers, vets, farriers, stable staff, the list is endless, and everyone, whatever their role, has worked incredibly hard to ensure the smooth running not only of this week's August Sale, but of all our recent sales.

"In addition to the extraordinary clearance rate, the other notable feature of the August Sale has been the huge impact of our recently introduced live internet bidding facility, which is particularly well suited to sales of this nature.

"From start to finish, there has been sustained internet bidding from throughout the world at all levels of the market, and it has been fantastic to see this technology being so quickly and widely embraced. It certainly bodes well for the forthcoming sales at Park Paddocks, and we will continue to ensure that the platform is as simple and easy to use as possible.

"Naturally, there has been plenty of discussion about whether this new August Sale will become a more permanent Tattersalls fixture, and the success of this week has certainly demonstrated enthusiasm from vendors and purchasers alike. In a normal year there would be a major yearling sale taking place this week, but we will see how the rest of the Tattersalls sales season unfolds, have a look at the calendar, and assess how best to proceed once we have a clearer picture."