Twilight Son Colt Tops Somerville Yearling Sale

There is a saying about getting only one chance to make a first impression, and the inaugural Tattersalls Somerville Sale made its mark in no uncertain terms in Newmarket Sept. 7.

The event had been on an upward curve while staged under the banner of the Ascot Yearling Sale but a particularly lively session of selling saw expectations exceeded and all previous records blown clear out of the water. 

The leading light was the Twilight Son  colt out of Baileys Jubilee  consigned as Lot 206 from Petches Farm who brought 120,000 guineas (US$174,376) after Adam Driver of Global Equine Group denied Oliver St Lawrence.

"We'll just get him back to Jo Fenton and she can work her magic breaking him in," said Driver. "He's a strong, solid horse so we'll see what he shapes up into. He's been bought for the same owner we bought some at the breeze-ups for (Raed El Youssef), including the Dark Angel  colt out of Jet Setting  (the £185,000/$262,165 Al Barez).

"The owner has been really lucky at the breeze-ups so now we're trying to get a few yearlings. The horse will stay in Britain but we'll get him broken in before deciding on a trainer. He's the only one on my shortlist, although I didn't expect to have to go that far, I thought he might cost around 75,000 guineas but the owner really liked the horse."

The colt is a sibling to two winners while the dam carried Paul Venner's familiar yellow and green silks to victory in the listed Prix des Reves d'Or-Jacques Bouchara. The daughter of Bahamian Bounty  was also placed in the Jaguar Cars Cheveley Park Stakes (G1) and Jaguar Cars Lowther Stakes (G2).

Petches stud manager Ollie Costello revealed that the six-figure youngster came perilously close to missing the sale after the lorry bringing the farm's two yearlings was involved in a crash while en route.

"The lorry was run off the road, it's a write-off," said Costello. "I rang Keith Harte, whose farm is only five minutes away, he jumped in his own lorry and came out to us. He was with us really quickly and both horses were hardly on the wrecked lorry. Both behaved impeccably and were swapped over on the road.

"Thank god everyone involved and the horses were all OK. Today's result is fantastic—I am so pleased for all the team."

As well as being a talented runner on the track, Baileys Jubilee is developing into a promising producer, but Simon Venner, son of Paul Venner and sales director of the family's Baileys Horse Feeds, explained that her future has not always looked so rosy.

"The mare is in foal to Oasis Dream ," Venner said. "She actually had laminitis three months after she came out of training so we started off thinking she was on slightly borrowed time.

"She seems in good form at the moment though so hopefully we'll be able to get a few more foals out of her. She's definitely a tough mare, so we'll just have to hope this lad can do it on the track now.

"We were obviously very hopeful bringing a nice individual here, but I didn't expect he'd quite go to that level. He's always been quite an eye-catcher, a real strong, straightforward individual, and hasn't taken too much work.

"He's been flat out showing and really owned the runway during inspections. Twilight Son is ticking over nicely now and it proved a good decision to wait for this sale as the stallion has helped us out along the way."

An expanded catalog and a vibrant session of selling saw turnover hit 4,952,000 guineas ($7,195,920), a 101% increase on last year's final Ascot Yearling Sale.

The average price was up by 76% to 21,345 guineas ($31,017) while the median was up by 93% from 8,400 guineas to 16,250 guineas ($23,613). Some 270 lots came under the hammer, 20 more than last year, and 232 of those changed hands for a clearance rate of 86%.

Aguiar in Action

The Robson Aguiar and Amo Racing axis signed for the 85,000 guineas ($123,516) Ardad  filly (Lot 128) who led the way for much of the session, while Aguiar, who was among the crowd at Park Paddocks but lodged his bids online, also went to 75,000 guineas ($108,985) for the Tasleet  filly (Lot 100) out of Royal Blush .

"I like the Tasleet filly, she stood out for me," said Aguiar. "She has a good walk, is strong with scope, and looks like a 2-year-old. I bought her to breeze and she looks like a potential Royal Ascot filly.

"I bought a few by Ardad last year and I breezed Perfect Power  and Ardad himself. This filly looks like the good Ardads. I think this sale is a good place to invest as I can pay the price I think they are worth, and if they are good you can make a few quid on them.

"I bought these horses for myself and a few people who are investing with me. I don't mind if I buy fillies or colts, I look at everything in the catalog, I'm just trying to buy horses who I think will be good racehorses."

The Ardad filly, who was bred and consigned by Cobhall Court Stud, is a sibling to four winners including Wimpole Hall and Blurred Vision, who went on to race as Red Kylin in Hong Kong. The filly is out of Sparkling Eyes , a two-time winner by Lujain  who was also fourth in the 2006 Queen Mary Stakes (G2).

She joined the Cobhall Court broodmare band when bought by Geoffrey Howson Bloodstock at 16,500 ($25,596) guineas in 2008. The stud's Scarlett Knipe said, "I'm a bit gobsmacked! She's never been in her box since she got here and she's been as good as gold, an absolute joy to do anything with.

"The mare is in foal to Havana Grey  and she had a Tasleet  colt foal at foot, but I sold him to Michael Fitzpatrick privately. I usually sell as foals but we've started keeping the fillies as you can't sell them, so I'm going home later to do 11 foals for the December Sale!"

The Tasleet filly, a particularly good advertisement for her young sire, was consigned by Trickledown Stud, although the operation's Paul Thorman was quick to deflect any praise towards her breeder and the filly herself.

"She was bred by Richard Tucker, we've only met her here but she just had everything you need," said Thorman. "She walked the walk but the best thing about her, I think, was her mind. She did over 100 shows and was still loving it, she obviously enjoyed being shown and walking up and down in a heatwave.

"She has a page and her half brother is rated over 100 and physically she's hard to fault. Ollie Fowlston said she was a Queen Mary filly. We all think they might be at this stage, but she just might be."

The filly is out of Royal Blush, a typically shrewd Geoffrey Howson Bloodstock purchase at just 7,000 guineas who has produced four winners, including the group 2-placed eight-time winner A Momentofmadness .

The youngster, who was bred at a fee of just £6,000, becomes the most expensive offspring of Shadwell's Nunnery Stud resident Tasleet, although Thorman was not expecting the filly to hold that title for long.

"I've used Tasleet and love him," Thorman said. "And I actually breezed his dam, Birdkey. They tell me that by the time the October Yearling Sale is over Tasleet is the one we'll all be talking about from the first-crop sires. They say there are some really nice yearlings by him coming up here in October."

Mahony Hails Europe's 'Most Progressive Sale'

At the close of trade, Tattersalls chairman Edmond Mahony said, "We are absolutely delighted with today's inaugural Tattersalls Somerville Yearling Sale. We had no choice but to relocate last year's Tattersalls Ascot Yearling Sale to Park Paddocks and it proved to be a great success which made the decision to rebrand and permanently relocate the fixture a relatively straightforward one.

"Sale turnover of double last year's wide margin record level as well as huge rises in average and median fully vindicate the decision and suggest that the Somerville Yearling Sale can legitimately be regarded as Europe's most progressive yearling sale.

"There has been a genuinely vibrant atmosphere around Park Paddocks for the past few days and just as with last week's Tattersalls August Sale, it has been a pleasure to have been able to conduct the Somerville Yearling Sale without the need for any restrictions.

"We have welcomed buyers from throughout Europe and further afield, but perhaps the most encouraging feature of today's sale has been the prolific number of British trainers who have been active.

"They have all contributed to a sale which has produced more lots sold for 50,000 guineas or above than the previous four Ascot Yearling Sales combined, a record top price of 120,000 guineas and a clearance rate well over 80%.

"We should also pay tribute to the consignors, both British and Irish, who have allowed us to take this sale to a new level. They have supported the sale with quality stock and their confidence in the sale and the venue has been rewarded.

"The inaugural Tattersalls Somerville Yearling Sale has been energetically and widely promoted, not least with the introduction of the £100,000 Tattersalls Somerville Auction Stakes, and the enthusiastic response from buyers is a positive indicator as we look forward to the Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale and Books 1 to 4 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale."