On Snowy Tattersalls Day, Sun Stud Makes Headlines

On a day beset by increasingly heavy snow showers, the second session of the Tattersalls December foal sale was topped by a weanling son of Kodiac (GB) who went the way of Sun Bloodstock for 210,000 guineas (US$295,691).

It was another day of strong trade, with 216 lots changing hands for turnover of 9,258,500gns ($13,036,431) for a 10% year-on-year gain, an average of 42,865gns ($60,354) for a 7% increase and a median of 33,500gns ($47,170), up from 30,000gns. The clearance rate for Thursday's sale was 83.4%.

The session-topping son of Tally-Ho Stud's record-breaking sire Kodiac was the first foal this week to break the 200,000gns barrier, as the Australian-based Sun Bloodstock team saw off Hubert Honore for the Meadowlands Stud-consigned colt.

"He's really well bred, obviously Kodiac is a high-class stallion and he's a full relation to a stakes winner," said the stud outfit's bloodstock adviser David O'Callaghan regarding the full brother to grade 3 winner Spirit Of Xian.

"He's a lovely balanced, attractive colt and will be raced by Sun Bloodstock. It would have been a lot of money for a pinhook, and it was a lot of money to race too, but when you're buying to race, you can afford to spend a little more. If he can run, he won't look expensive."

Sun Bloodstock has been active as sellers as well as buyers this week, having bred a Kodiac half sister to Barney Roy who topped Monday's December yearling sale at 400,000gns ($559,944).

The transaction also provided Meadowlands' Brian Kennedy, who bred the colt out of the Touch Gold mare Gold Again, with his best ever result at Tattersalls.

"I bought the mare here as a maiden at the December sale in 2009 for 6,200gns ($10,830)," explained Kennedy. "I liked her because of the Miswaki in her pedigree. Her second covering was by Kodiac and she produced Spirit Of Xian. I like working with Tally-Ho and we have been lucky together. I always sell my stock as foals, then I can concentrate on the mares in the spring."

Kodiac, who has supplied a staggering 54 2-year-old winners in Europe in 2017, had seven lots sell this week for an aggregate of 702,000gns ($995,085) and an average of 100,285gns ($142,153) for foals bred at a covering fee of €45,000 ($48,897 based on Jan. 1, 2016 exchange rate).

The second horse to realize 200,000gns ($281,610) for the day was an Acclamation (GB) half sister to group 3 Sweet Solera Stakes winner Nations Alexander. Cataloged as Lot 664, and consigned by Paul and Sara Thorman's Trickledown Stud, the daughter of the Whipper mare Party Whip (IRE) was knocked down to Cheveley Park Stud's Chris Richardson after he saw off Shadwell Estates' Angus Gold.

"She is a beautiful filly and we are looking to invest in some new families," said Richardson. "She is very athletic, has a very good page and we're very pleased to have bought her."

"She was bred by Ned and Ann Kearney of Bridgetown Stud, Chris Mills and Terry Jennings," Paul Thorman of Trickledown said. "She came to us about six weeks ago and you could see straight off that she was an absolute queen.

"But they have to produce it when they get here, walk well too, and she never put a foot wrong, never missed a beat. She had 13 vets on her and in all my 40 years selling here, I have never had so many vettings for one foal. In the ring she still had seven or eight bidding on her over 100,000 guineas."

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