Postponed Colt Tops Trade at Tattersalls Guineas Sale

A colt (Lot 113) from the debut crop of Postponed  who fetched 135,000 guineas emerged as the clear front-runner in a solid market at the April 30 renewal of the Tattersalls Guineas Breeze-Up Sale.

There was plenty of action on the Glending Stables-consigned youngster, but just when auctioneer Matt Hall's gavel was raised, Richard Brown from Blandford Bloodstock emerged from behind the stairs to the left of the rostrum and gestured the decisive 5,000 guineas increase.

"I'm delighted to get him," said Brown after signing the six-figure docket. "He's been bought for my resale syndicate, the Never Say Die partnership. He'll be trained by David Simcock, so he'll be given plenty of time. David is actually on his way to Goodwood so has absolutely no idea I've bought him or how much I gave, so I might be in for a bollocking!"

He added: "We thought he did a cracking breeze; it wasn't particularly speedy, but it was the style he did it in that impressed me most, he's got a nice action and showed a great attitude. I like the fact that No Nay Never is sitting there under the second dam too. A client of mine, Andrew Stone, bred Postponed, so I've followed him the whole way through and he's a young sire I'd give a big chance."

The colt, out of a Malibu Moon   half sister to the dam of No Nay Never , was making his second appearance at public auction, having been signed for by Peter and Ross Doyle at 20,000 guineas at the December Foal Sale.

His six-figure sale continued a hot run of form for Glending Stables, who also sold a Mehmas  filly to Blandford Bloodstock for £150,000 in Doncaster last week. The County Kildare-based operation is run by Roderick Kavanagh, son of Antoinette and Peter Kavanagh of Kildaragh Stud.

"We've been on a good run, I don't know what to put it down to, but it's probably just good horses," said Roderick Kavanagh. "We've had a great team all winter too; we've got a lot of good riders, and the horses have all been prepared right. Ours don't always look like they're going quickly, but they're clocking well."

On the Postponed colt, Kavanagh added: "He's always pleased us and is definitely a racehorse. He showed so well, did an impressive breeze, and really fills the eye, even though he's quite a late foal. He sold brilliantly and has been very popular; he's been one of the talking horses of the sales ground."

Redvers Leaves It Late

The second six-figure lot came late in the session when David Redvers struck a 105,000 guineas bid to secure the Mehmas colt (Lot 262) out of Cheworee offered by Nanallac Stud.

The colt, a brother to a dual winner in Italy, made it third time lucky having been a vendor buy-back at €5,000 as a foal before failing to sell at just £9,000 during last year's Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale.

"I only know that he'll be trained in Newmarket, so Sheikh Fahad can keep an eye on him and give the trainer plenty of stick!" quipped Redvers. "He's by a very good stallion and exactly the kind of horse you'd expect to see at a breeze-up. I just loved him, and the guys who sold him have done a very good job. Hopefully, he'll be a decent 2-year-old."

The colt had been prepped on behalf of Nanallac Stud by Ian McCarthy, who said: "He's a horse who had a great preparation, and we've liked him all along. We've had plenty of interest in him in the last couple of days, and he did a lovely breeze under Micky Cleere.

"I owned him with two friends of mine who pinhooked him as a foal for €3,000. I suppose it's lucky that he didn't sell as a yearling now! He's developed as time went on and got much stronger, and he's really turned a corner in the last eight weeks. He's the only breezer I've done this year, but hopefully we'll be able to reinvest and get a few more now."

This was the second good result that McCarthy, who rode around 95 National Hunt winners during a spell with Dessie Hughes, has enjoyed in the Park Paddocks ring in recent times, having sold wide-margin bumper winner Ballybough Native to Henry de Bromhead for £195,000 during the Tattersalls Cheltenham March Sale.

O'Callaghan Gets Busy

Michael O'Callaghan has been busy restocking throughout the breeze-up season and added eight more 2-year-olds to his string on Friday at a cost of 409,000 guineas. His most eye-catching acquisitions were the 95,000 guineas Magician  colt (Lot 121) and 82,000 guineas Postponed filly (Lot 207), both consigned by Aguiar Bloodstock, and a 75,000 guineas son (Lot 108) of Dark Angel  offered by Tally-Ho Stud.

"The Magician is a lovely horse; he did a good breeze and was very professional," said O'Callaghan. "He came highly recommended; he vetted cleanly, so everything was right about him. He's bred to be a miler but he has plenty of pace as well, so we'll kick on with him.

"The Dark Angel is a lovely horse too; he did a very nice breeze visually, and he has great use of himself. He might not have clocked for some people, but for the type of horse he is I thought his time was good enough. He came from a great hotel that we have been very lucky with before and I think he might be a bit of value long term."

The Magician colt, a half brother to Italian listed scorer Secret Sharp, returned a tidy profit, having been pinhooked by Aguiar Bloodstock at just 14,000 guineas, while the Postponed filly proved to be another inspired Aguiar purchase, having been picked up for a mere 4,000 guineas during Book 3 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale.

Doyle Returns to the Source of Success

A pinhooking mission to Baden-Baden yielded a good result for Church Farm and Horse Park Stud as a colt by Sea The Moon  (Lot 70) picked up for €40,000 was resold to Peter and Ross Doyle for 82,000 guineas.

"He's a lovely individual, and we're huge fans of the sire, like most people," said Ross Doyle. "He comes from a great home. We've bought the likes of Mehmas from John Cullinan and Roger Marley before, and trainers love getting horses from them as they're so well educated. He'll go into training with Jim Boyle for established clients."

The colt, already named Herzbube, had an usually lean pedigree page featuring exclusively German form, but with Sea The Moon's profile in the ascendancy, Cullinan said they had been confident buyers would see beyond the unusual lineage.

"We split up the chores last autumn, and Roger went over to BBAG and bought this horse," said Cullinan. "We're very keen on the sire, as everyone is now. It's a light enough pedigree; there's plenty of space for notes on the page! But he's a lovely individual by a top sire, and we liked him a lot."

Goff Gets Involved

Richard Brown was not the only member of the Blandford Bloodstock team to get involved in the action as Tom Goff also dipped into the market to secure two of the top ten lots, namely Glending Stables' Ribchester  filly (Lot 240) at 80,000 guineas and the Almanzor  colt (Lot 208) from Kilminfoyle House Stud at 75,000 guineas.

"I was underbidder on three or four Ribchester yearlings last year, and there's a big word for them among the trainers," said Goff after signing for the filly from the further family of Millenary.

"Every trainer I speak to tells me they have one or two they really like. I thought this was a beautiful filly; she ticks all the boxes as a 2-year-old type who could go on at 3. She clocked a good time and has plenty of quality. She'll be staying in Newmarket."

On the filly, who is out of a daughter of Darley Irish Oaks (G1) runner-up Roses For The Lady, Glending Stables' Roderick Kavanagh added: "I'm delighted and it's a great return for a lovely filly. She was fourth-quickest [at the breeze]. We had lots of punters on her, and she's a stand-out physical."

The Almanzor colt, a €52,000 pinhook signed for by Five Star Bloodstock, possessed one of the catalog's more eye-catching pedigrees, being out of the group 1-winning Waikika.

Goff said: "He's a lovely staying horse out of a group 1 winner and by a very exciting young sire. He'll need a bit of time, but I'd be very hopeful he can make up into a nice seven-furlong or mile type."

Bromley and King Back in Action

Highflyer Bloodstock's Anthony Bromley and Alan King have plundered past Guineas Sales to great effect, having secured the likes of Trueshan and Tritonic. The duo were back in action on Friday when spending 173,000 guineas on four lots, led by a 75,000 guineas Noble Mission  colt (Lot 73) offered by Powerstown Stud.

"We've got a few owners interested in buying and this is one of our favorite sales, so this is the first buy and we've a few more to get," said Bromley. "This horse is very, very handsome, and he moved like a dream so he just kept selling himself to us.

"We don't normally go after American-breds, but Noble Mission is a brother to Frankel—his progeny seem to like softer ground—and he just looks like a nice back-end 2-year-old who'll make a nice 3-year-old. He'll be perfect for Alan."

The colt, who is out of the Louis Quatorze mare Hope's Diamond, provided Powerstown Stud with a successful pinhook after Tom Whitehead picked the youngster up for just $9,000 at Fasig-Tipton last year.

Final Figures

Trade simmered away throughout the session and, following a few notable hot spells, the final figures duly made for positive reading.

A significantly expanded catalog helped turnover increase by 68% year-on-year to 4,492,250 guineas, but arguably the most impressive metric was the median, which showed an uptick of 42% to 24,500 guineas.

The average was also up, rising by five points to 29,950 guineas. The clearance rate was a perfectly healthy 82% as 150 of 184 offered lots found a buyer.

At the close of play, Tattersalls chairman Edmond Mahony said: "A median bettered only once this decade at the Tattersalls Guineas Breeze-Up Sale combined with an average and turnover which both compare favorably with the 2019 and 2020 renewals are all positives to take from today's sale, as has been the consistent domestic demand at all levels of the market.

"Similarly, while not quite matching the unprecedented levels at the recent Craven Breeze-Up Sale, the clearance rate has also held up well, especially considering a significantly larger catalog than usual and the disruption to overseas participation owing to the current widespread travel restrictions.

"We can also reflect on a Guineas Breeze-Up Sale that has produced numerous impressive pinhooking triumphs, as ever reflecting the expertise of the consignors, and another sale that has underlined the importance of the Tattersalls live Internet bidding platform that has yet again proved to be invaluable, particularly for overseas buyers unable to attend the sale.

"COVID continues to test us all, but once more we have experienced trade of remarkable resilience and a collective determination from all involved to explore every avenue to provide as vibrant a market as possible in the face of considerable obstacles."