Man of the Night Headlines Tattersalls Day 2

Strong trade continued at Tattersalls on July 8 as racing prospects came to the fore during day two of the July Sale, with the market headed by Man of the Night after the classy performer fetched a final bid of 175,000 guineas (US$253,593).

The six-figure spend was made by Sheikh Abdullah Al-Hmoud Al-Malek Al-Sabah after the son of Night of Thunder  had shown smart form for Richard Hannon. The 4-year-old has won two of his fourteen starts, including when promoted to first on his penultimate outing in a 0-90 handicap at Doncaster. He changed hands with a peak Racing Post Rating of 103.

"We haven't chosen the race yet but he's rated 92 and is by Night of Thunder so I think he'll suit those big handicaps, then we'll send him to Saudi Arabia," said the owner. "It was a little more than what we thought we'd have to pay, but we're very happy with him. He'll stay in the UK until October."

Man of the Night, who previously carried the colors of classic-winning owner Saeed Manana, was making his second appearance at public auction, having been picked up by Rabbah Bloodstock for €350,000 (US$400,330) at the Arqana August Yearling Sale back in 2018.

The colt is out of the winning Bernardini   mare Mandheera, who in turn is out of the three-time group 1 winner Mandesha .

Richards on the Mark with Restitution

The second six-figure lot of the morning session was the lightly raced Restitution, who is now bound for Australia having been knocked down to Mark Richards at 150,000 guineas (US$217,365).

The 3-year-old son of Frankel  and the listed-winning Restiana , a Kendargent  half sister to group 2 scorer Restiadargent , made two starts for John and Thady Gosden, with his debut third to Royal Ascot scorer Surefire followed by victory in a Yarmouth maiden back in April.

Richards, who has only recently returned to Britain after a 22-year stint in Hong Kong, the last 10 of which have been spent sourcing horses for the Hong Kong Jockey Club's International Sale, revealed he was bidding on behalf of Mark Player of International Thoroughbred Solutions.

"I thought he was a lovely sort of horse," said Richards. "The fact he hadn't run for a while might've worried some people but I've done my homework and it seems to be a perfectly reasonable sale so hopefully he acclimatizes to Australia.

"He'd already proven that he stays a mile and a half and it was an advantage that he'd performed on a quicker track. He's just an athlete."

Thursday's appearance at Park Paddocks was the third time Restitution has changed hands at public auction. He was pinhooked as a foal by Jamie Railton at €320,000 (US$364,384) when offered by Guy Pariente's Haras de Colleville at the 2018 Arqana December Sale before being knocked down to Oliver St. Lawerence Bloodstock at 200,000 guineas (US$256,262) at the following year's Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale.

Expanding on his association with Player, a former colleague at the Hong Kong Jockey Club, Richards added: "He's well used to purchasing horses here to go to Australia and the mere fact of me being back meant he could make use of an old contact.

"He always likes to have someone on the ground who can see the horses and he knows the sort of horses I'd be looking at, so said if I saw something that would suit, I should get in touch."

McConnell Claims Camus

The headline act among the lots offered from John and Thady Gosden's Clarehaven Stables was the upwardly mobile Albert Camus, who drew a winning bid of 115,000 guineas (US$166,647) from trainer John McConnell.

The 3-year-old son of Teofilo  was cataloged as the winner of two races but had enhanced his profile further with a third victory coming at Haydock just seven days before he was presented at Tattersalls by The Castlebridge Consignment.

"We'll get him back to Ireland and see if he can jump a hurdle," said McConnell. "We don't expect to improve one from the yard he came from but if he jumps well he should be a nice hurdler for the people involved."

Bred by Woodcote Stud, the colt, whose further family includes Ladbrokes St. Leger (G1) winner Kingston Hill , was previously owned by Rachel Hood and George Bailey having been purchased by Sam Haggas' Hurworth Bloodstock at 40,000 guineas (US$53,696) at Book 2.

McConnell added: "He came highly recommended and we've had a bit of luck with Teofilo before. He hasn't gone on soft ground yet but I think he will, and he's got a good attitude. He won really well the other day and there could be more to come. That's what you have to pay for these progressive 3-year-olds."

Evening Action

It did not take long for the six-figure mark to be broken again once the evening session got underway, with the Aguiar Bloodstock-consigned Caio Shark fetching an online bid of 110,000 guineas (US$159,401) from a buyer who signed as SPI Racing.

The 2-year-old son of Kodi Bear  broke his maiden on the most recent of three starts for Michael Bell and Amo Racing, with his three-quarters of a length victory at Haydock earning him an RPR of 81.

The colt, whose dam is out of Sky Be Cheveley Park Stakes (G1) winner Magical Romance , meaning the likes of Alexandrova , Aspetar , Chicquita , and Magic Wand  appear further back in the pedigree, was making his second appearance on the public market, having been bought by Nick Bell for 55,000guineas ($75,143) at Book 3 of the October Yearling Sale.

The headline act among the early lots offered by Juddmonte Farms was the lightly raced Diderot, who went the way of Dan Downie, manager of the Elite Racing, Owners Group, and Axom syndicates, at 90,000 guineas (US$130,419).

The 3-year-old son of Bated Breath  ran four times for Ger Lyons, with his best effort coming when winning a Dundalk maiden, a performance that earned him an RPR of 89.

"I'm not sure which trainer he'll go to yet; we'll get him home and give him an easy month and decide where he's going after that," said Downie.

"He could either run for Elite Racing, Owners Group, or Axom, that's not been decided yet either. He looks really progressive though and hopefully there'll be more improvement to come. We really liked him as an individual too."

The youngster hails from a typically strong Juddmonte family, as he is out of the group 2-winning Zamindar  mare Modern Look , which makes him a three-parts brother to grade 3 scorer Grand Jete . Arabesque , dam of Showcasing, and Camacho , also appears beneath his second dam.

Another lot to fetch 90,000 guineas (US$130,419) was the smart sprinter Above  who was knocked down to Newmarket trainer Stuart Williams when offered by Jamie Railton. 

The 4-year-old son of Anjaal  reached a peak RPR of 105 for Archie Watson and Qatar Racing and notched three victories from 13 starts since being picked up for €150,000 (US$140,438) at the 2019 Arqana Breeze-Up Sale.

"The plan is to try and win a big handicap," said Williams. "He's for existing clients; we'd like to try and win something like the Ayr Gold Cup, something like that. We're taking him from a different place and there's a chance that it brightens them up every now and again. We will crack on with him."

The clearance rate on day two hit 91% as 145 of 159 offered lots found a buyer. In turn those transactions generated an aggregate of 3,445,100 guineas (US$4,993,446), an average of 23,924 guineas (US$34,438), and a median price of 14,000 guineas (US$20,287).

The Tattersalls July Sale concludes on Friday, with selling starting at 9:30 a.m..