Hot Streak Heats Up Final Day of Tattersalls Mare Sale

Mares offered in foal to Tweenhills Stud stallion Hot Streak proved the order of the day during the fourth and final session of the Tattersalls December Mare Sale Dec. 6, with Poyle Dee Dee becoming the most expensive lot sold on the final day since 2012.

Poyle Dee Dee, offered by The National Stud on behalf of her late owner-breeder Cecil Wiggins, appeared an attractive proposition for buyers as a daughter of Oasis Dream, the Banstead Manor Stud stalwart who enjoyed a resurgent year thanks to group 1-winning sprinters Polydream and Pretty Pollyanna.

Among the mare's three runners to date are classy handicap sprinter Poyle Vinnie and the four-time winner Bounty Pursuit, while her 2-year-old Bated Breath colt Could Be King was a close fourth on his most recent start in the Killavullan Stakes (G3) and holds an entry in the Irish Two Thousand Guineas (G1) next May. 

Poyle Dee Dee, a half sister to Peugeot Lowther Stakes (G2) heroine Jemima, was eventually hammered down to Hannah Wall of Tweenhills for 68,000 guineas (US$90,928), with Henry O'Callaghan of Tally-Ho Stud as underbidder.

"Her colt really was the pick of the Hot Streak yearlings," said Wall, referring to Poyle Dee Dee's son who was sold by Tally-Ho for 150,000gns ($206,987) at Book 2 of the Tattersalls October Sale. "He was bought by Shadwell and is going into training with John Gosden—he really is a lovely horse. This mare is back in foal to Hot Streak and will probably visit Zoustar next spring."

"Cecil (Wiggins) would have got a massive kick out of Poyle Dee Dee because she was his favorite mare, and he'd have loved to top a sale like that," said Paul Thorman of Trickledown Stud, which consigned young stock on behalf of Wiggins for 20 years. "Cecil used the 'Poyle' prefix for all the horses he kept to race, as that is where his reclaim business was situated near Heathrow Airport.

"His best horses included Poyle George, who won the Rous Stakes at Newmarket, and Poyle Crusher, who was fourth in the Coventry Stakes (G1) at Royal Ascot. (Wiggins) died during the summer, and this was the final disbanding of his breeding stock. He looked after his horses incredibly well, and some of the granddams of the mares sold today are still on the farm at Poyle."

Tweenhills switched hats later in the session, offering the Storm Cat mare Kamarinskaya in foal to Hot Streak, the Betfred.com Temple Stakes (G2) scorer who is a £7,000 ($8,900) option for breeders next year. 

Trained by Aidan O'Brien, Kamarinskaya landed the Dimitrova One Thousand Guineas Trial Stakes (G3) at 3 and has produced three winners.

Bred in the purple, Kamarinskaya is a half sister to European champion 2-year-old and sire Fasliyev and the unraced Butterfly Cove, dam of champion 2- and 3-year-old filly Misty For Me and Total Prix Marcel Boussac-Criterium des Pouliches (G1) scorer Ballydoyle.

Misty For Me is also the dam of three-time group 1-winning miler Roly Poly and this year's Darley July Cup (G1) hero and Coolmore Stud retiree US Navy Flag, who will commence covering duties at a €25,000 ($28,300) fee next spring. 

"Kamarinskaya is for a client in Ireland," reported Robin O'Ryan after signing the docket at 25,000gns ($33,430). "She's a lovely mare with a good pedigree."

Kamarinskaya was a $2.2 million purchase by Skara Glen Stables as a 3-year-old from Fasig-Tipton's Kentucky Selected Fall Mixed Sale and a $3.2 million purchase by agent Kern Lillingston Association the very next year during the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale.

Jamie Railton—featured among the top 10 consignors during the December mare sale—was kept busy until the final day, when he sold Guarded Secret, an unraced daughter of Hill Welcome, back to her breeder, Fiona Denniff of Denniff Farms.

Denniff sold the 2-year-old Bated Breath filly to David Redvers for 35,000gns ($48,996) at last year's Tattersalls December Yearling Sale and will now look to race her.

Tattersalls chairman Edmond Mahony said in his end-of-sale statement: "We were conscious that the December Mare Sale catalog perhaps lacked the depth of the record-breaking 2017 renewal, which featured the Ballymacoll dispersal and the likes of Marsha and Zhukova, but Tuesday's sale all but matched last year's spectacular levels, with buyers from every continent in the world all making a significant contribution to a truly memorable session.

"In addition to the seven fillies and mares selling for a million guineas or more, we had 22 break the 500,000gns mark, second only to last year's record number, and an unprecedented 79 and 147 lots selling for 200,000gns and 100,000gns or more.

"The huge number of overseas buyers has been particularly encouraging for all concerned, with the top 20 lots selling to buyers from Britain, Ireland, China, Dubai, France, Japan, Kuwait, and the USA, while a strong Australian and New Zealand contingent also made its presence felt.

"Equally gratifying has been the participation of buyers at all levels of the market from throughout the Gulf region as well as Germany, India, Morocco, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, and Uzbekistan, all of whom have clearly demonstrated the unwavering demand for quality European bloodstock and contributed to the best December Sale clearance rate this century."

Thursday saw 113 of the 153 lots on offer change hands for receipts amounting to 609,500gns—down 7% from last year—at an average spend of 5,394gns. The clearance rate was up marginally to 74%, and the median remained at 3,000gns.

Figures for the overall sale showed aggregate sales had fallen by 11% to 60,712,100gns, thanks partly due to the absence of such standout lots like Marsha and Zhukova at the previous year's sale, while 728 of the 878 lots found new homes for an 83% clearance rate.

The average fell from 101,208gns to 83,396gns, while the median dropped from 25,000gns to 20,500gns.