Dubawi Sweeps at Tattersalls October

By Martin Stevens 

Courtesy of Racing Post

Dubawi made it a treble of top lots on each day of Book 1 of this year's Tattersalls October Yearling Sale after his colt out of Prix de l'Opera heroine Zee Zee Top—making him a half brother to dual group I scorer Izzi Top—was sold in the Thursday, Oct. 6 closing session to Shadwell for 2,600,000gns (US$3,444,170).

The price, which matched this year's Book 1 best given by John Ferguson for a Dubawi colt out of Coronation Stakes winner Fallen For You on Oct. 4, was paid by Shadwell after the operation's Angus Gold traded blows with trainer Roger Varian in the latter stages of bidding.

"He's a beautiful colt who looked an athlete," said Gold. "He was bred by a great farm and from one of their great families. It's one of those families that just keeps coming and it's a stallion's pedigree, so let's hope he can run.

"Meon Valley have to be congratulated on bringing a lovely group of horses here and they were well rewarded."

The colt's pedigree received a significant update when Izzi Top's first foal, the Oasis Dream colt Dreamfield, hacked up in a Nottingham maiden Oct. 5 for John Gosden.

Buyers' insatiable appetite for stock by Dubawi—who delivered his 25th individual group I winner Oct. 2 when Wuheida landed the Prix Marcel Boussac-Criterium de Pouliches (Fr-I)—meant the stallion ended Book 1 with a record of 15 sold from 19 offered for a total of 14,590,000gns ($19,327,080) and a remarkable average price of 972,667gns ($1,288,472).

Godolphin supremo John Ferguson bought eight of those Dubawis—including an 825,000gns ($1,092,860) half sister to Italian group I winners Awelmarduk, Crackerjack King and Jakkalberry from Watership Down Stud on Oct. 6—although he did not make a serious play for the colt out of Zee Zee Top.

Colorful Australian owner/breeder Paul Makin was well-known for his unorthodox bidding practices before he temporarily withdrew from bloodstock but, now back in the game with a new stallion in Marcel and a growing portfolio of racehorses, he was up to his old tricks again for one of Thursday's leading lights.

Makin deployed the 'king bid' tactic by offering 1,000,000gns for the Galileo sister to Saturday's Sun Chariot Stakes winner Alice Springs not long after she had entered the ring. When bidding reached 1,500,000gns he asked winsomely whether he could go straight to 2,000,000gns, a wish a surprised Ollie Fowlston on the rostrum was happy to grant.

But agent Peter Doyle had the final say with a less flamboyant bid of 2,100,000gns ($2,781,830) to ensure the brilliantly bred filly from Glenvale Stud would race for the partnership of Coolmore and Mayfair Speculators.

"The lads will sit down at the end of the week and discuss where the yearlings will be trained," reported Doyle. "She could go to Ireland but we've had success in France as well with the likes of Andre Fabre and Nicolas Clement, so she could end up going there.

"She's a lovely filly with a great walk and it's a very deep pedigree, one that keeps producing. She will make a lovely broodmare once she's finished racing; hopefully she will have enhanced the page herself by that stage."

Coolmore and Mayfair Speculators also teamed up to purchase a Frankel half brother to the horse who gave the sire one of his biggest scares on the racecourse—St James's Palace Stakes runner-up Zoffany, also last year's champion first-season sire.

M.V. Magnier had the winning bid of 1,100,000gns ($1,457,150) on the colt from Croom House Stud, which bought the dam, Tyranny, for 230,000gns in 2007 and has sold other yearlings out of the daughter of Machiavallian for 700,000gns and 220,000gns.

Coolmore and Mayfair Speculators, whose horses owned in partnership include the useful Douglas Macarthur and The Major General, were high-rollers during Book 1, spending just over 9,000,000gns ($11,922,120) on 12 yearlings together.

Nothing less than an emphatic victory in the Two Thousand Guineas (Eng-I) will be expected of a colt from Floors Stud whose sire and dam, Frankel and Attraction, both burnt up the Rowley Mile to win Newmarket Classics.

Shadwell bought the colt—offered by the Duke of Roxburghe's Floors Stud, whose silks Attraction carried to victory in five top-level contests—with a bid of 1,600,000gns ($2,119,490) after seeing off underbidder Roger Varian and other interested parties Matt Houldsworth and Sun Stud.

"He's just the coolest horse," said the Duke of Roxburghe of the colt. "One of our lads remarked that, in all the years we have sold here, we've never brought a horse with such a good attitude and temperament.

"Frankel is by far the most exciting thing this year, actually for many a year, and Attraction was the most exciting thing in my racing life, so it's a perfect combination. I'd have loved to have kept him but these studs cost a lot of money and I have nominations to pay. All the colts go to the sale anyway so it was an easy decision."

Attraction has had three other yearlings sell at Book 1 for 450,000gns, 420,000gns and 200,000gns, including group III-winning sprinter Fountain Of Youth.

A Frankel sister to this season's Prix d'Aumale winner Toulifaut—sold to Katsumi Yoshida for €1.9 million at the Arqana Arc Sale Oct. 1—will race for Moyglare Stud after the farm's Fiona Craig went to 900,000gns ($1,192,210) to see off the Coolmore team and Roger Varian for the Barronstown Stud-consigned filly.

"A lovely filly, very Darshaan," was how Craig described her. "I knew the mother and I thought she was very like her - you could see Darshaan in both of them.

"I thought the Alice Springs sister was an absolute queen but she got away from us. This filly is going to take a bit more time. It's a good, old Goulandris family. We don't have many English families—they're hard to buy into."

The second-crop Frankel yearlings were in strong demand all week and the ten who sold at Book 1 made an average of 733,500gns ($971,650).

Over the course of three days at Tattersalls, just shy of 88,000,000gns ($116,571,840) was spent on yearlings, with a record number of seven-figure lots.

The average price of 228,527gns ($302,724) was a 3% improvement on last year's edition, although the median dipped by 13% to 130,000gns ($172,210).

The clearance rate dipped by three points year-on-year to 78%.

Tattersalls chairman Edmond Mahony commented after the conclusion of trade: "While we can reflect on the positives to come from the past three days, it would be wrong to overlook the polarisation in the market place as the foal crops grow.

"Demand for the very best yearlings has been as strong, if not stronger, than ever, and that is reflected in the record number of seven figure yearlings and record turnover.

"The clearance rate, however, has not matched last year's levels and increasing selectivity is becoming a feature of the bloodstock market which presents both breeders and sales companies with challenges.

"Nevertheless, we now turn our attention to Books 2, 3 and 4 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale starting on Monday and as ever we have quality catalogues which look set to appeal to a wide cross-section of buyers."