Operating Out in Front at Tattersalls August Sale

Buyers with overseas ambitions were out in force at the Tattersalls August Sale in Newmarket Aug. 31, where an international market was headed by the 250,000gns (US$306,826) Operating , sold as Lot 299.

Offered by The Castlebridge Consignment on behalf of the Coolmore partners and Georg von Opel's Westerberg, the well-related son of War Front   was knocked down to Tattersalls' Jimmy George, who was taking instructions over the phone from the Saudi Arabian operation Najd Stud.

Operating won two out of five starts for John and Thady Gosden, with his wins coming in a Windsor maiden and a Nottingham handicap from an official mark of 83. The full brother to Round Tower Stakes (G3) scorer Intelligence Cross  changed hands with a career-high rating of 91.

George said: "The Najd Stud team has been following the sale from home. There were a few on their shortlist and he was very much the name at the top of it. He's a nice prospect and very much fits into the mold that the team has bought here in the past."

Prince Faisal bin Khalid bin Abdulaziz's Najd Stud has been a big supporter of past August Sales, including with the previous years' top lots, namely the 350,000gns ($505,568) Fabilis, who was sourced through Peter and Ross Doyle in 2021, while Voute Sales signed for the 220,000gns ($303,785) Walkinthesand  in 2020.

The busy session of selling brought receipts totaling 5,267,300gns ($6,464,573), which was down just 2% year-on-year despite 69 fewer lots changing hands than at 2021's two-day renewal.

The average price was up by 29% at 24,273gns ($25,486), while the median rose by 40% at 14,000gns ($17,182). The clearance rate also improved by a point, with 236 Lots offered and 217 selling at a clip of 92%.

Mr McCann Bound for Bahrain

The second-top lot was the smart Mr McCann, who brought 210,000gns ($257,734) from Alastair Donald. The 3-year-old son of Kodiac  won three times at 2 while under the care of Tom Dascombe, and added a fourth success to his record when he won a Haydock handicap on his latest outing for Hugo Palmer.

"He's going to Bahrain," Donald said after signing for the 101-rated colt. "It's hard to find 3-year-olds with that sort of rating at that kind of price. If he'd had a couple of fewer starts, he might have been a lot more valuable for somewhere like Hong Kong, or if he'd been here in October we might've had the Saudi buyers here.

"He's pretty rock solid, he goes on all grounds, although it'll be fast where he's going, and he's a good-looking type who vets very well."

Another offered by The Castlebridge Consignment, Mr McCann was making his third appearance on the public market, having first fetched 45,000gns ($61,005) from Mags O'Toole as a foal before Lynn Lodge Stud sold the youngster to Sackville Donald for £65,000 ($90,537) at the Goffs UK Breeze-Up Sale in 2021.

Last year's August Sale was a two-day affair, and Donald said he hoped the event would once again attract a bigger catalog in the future. He said: "I think it's been a good sale, but I'm surprised it hasn't been better supported, personally.

"It makes more sense to get your money in before the yearling sales; for the lesser horses you can save two months' training fees and if you have a fast ground horse you'll find the ground changes soon.

"I hope the sale gets bigger and stronger and that Tattersalls and the trainers support the event in the future. I think this sale has a good future as long as people get behind it."

The sale concluded Wednesday after selling 217 Lots for gross receipts of 5,267,300gns ($6,464,573), establishing an average price of 24,273gns ($29,789) and a median of 14,000gns ($17,182).