Book 2 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale continued in robust fashion on the second day with five lots selling for 300,000 guineas or more and a HAVANA GREY colt topping proceedings at 425,000 guineas.
Stroud Strikes for Havana Grey Colt at 425,000 Guineas
The top lot on the second day of Book 2 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale was the son of HAVANA GREY consigned by Kilminfoyle House Stud, who lit up the sales ring when selling for 425,000 guineas to the bid of Stroud Coleman Bloodstock’s Anthony Stroud with Qatari Mohamed Al Mansour a persistent underbidder.
The Whitsbury Manor Stud bred colt was bought by JC Bloodstock for 82,000 guineas at the Tattersalls December Foal Sale and Kilminfoyle's Michael Fitzpatrick, no stranger to pinhook success at the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, said:
"I bought this colt as a foal solely on the full-brother - I sold him last year and loved him. Whitsbury Manor is a great breeder and this horse is pleasure to do anything with. My thanks go to Anthony Stroud, and I wish the new owners the very best of luck. I also can't thank my staff enough - Pamela, Hannah and Santos. It is only for them, the work they do, I actually think they are made of iron!"
The colt’s full-brother ELITE STATUS was bought for 56,000 guineas at the Tattersalls December Foal Sale and sold for 325,000 guineas to Karl & Kelly Burke at October Book 2 last year. Racing in the colours of Sheikh Mohammed Obaid, the talented juvenile won the Listed National Stakes, Group 3 Prix de Cabourg and placed in the Group 2 Norfolk Stakes at Royal Ascot this summer. Their dam DOTTED SWISS is out of a sister to SWEEPSTAKE, the dam of Group 1 winner BROOME and Group 2 winners POINT LONSDALE and DIEGO VELAZQUEZ.
Buyer Anthony Stroud commented: "He’s a very nice horse with a current update. Havana Grey has done terrifically well, and he’s a very well-balanced horse who moves very well."
Stroud has enjoyed notable success with progeny of Whitsbury Manor Stud’s record-breaking young sire this year, having purchased Group 1 Middle Park Stakes and Prix Morny winner VANDEEK for 625,000 guineas at the Tattersalls Craven Breeze Up Sale. When asked to compare this colt to the dual Group 1 winning colt he said: "With Vandeek we were lucky enough to see him breeze, but this colt has the credentials to be a very, very nice horse. He’s got the pedigree and he’s by a stallion who’s done very well and is really on the up. He’s been bought for Sheikh Nasser and will go to Simon Crisford.”
Wootton Bassett Colt to Fellowes for 350,000 Guineas
The second highest priced lot on the second day of October Book 2 was WH Bloodstock’s WOOTTON BASSETT colt who realised 350,000 guineas to the bid of Charlie Gordon-Watson Bloodstock’s Will Douglass, standing alongside trainer Charlie Fellowes, after seeing off the attentions of underbidder Richard Ryan to secure the well-bred colt.
"I am a little bit shaky!" laughed Charlie Fellowes after his most expensive sales ring purchase to date. "I am delighted to have got him as we loved him the first time we saw him. He is by a very good stallion out of a Galileo mare and has a very good pedigree. He walked around the back ring like he owned the place and he seems to have a good mind, there is a lot to like.
"He will be running for Paul Hickman, I bought a Frankel colt for him last week. He lives in Singapore but his children go to school in England so he is over quite a bit. He has had horses for a long time and had horses with Sir Henry Cecil. We had a good go on several horses last week and earlier in the season, but I think this one is as good as any of them."
Douglass added: "Paul Hickman is a very nice owner, he likes pedigrees and understands them. This is a very special horse and hopefully he is lucky! It’s not easy to buy, you follow the nice horses through and you are basically competing against countries! It is very tough to get the ones you want and get involved."
When asked what ambitions the new team has for this colt, Douglass said simply: "To win a Classic!"
The colt would not be the first in his family to do so, he is the first foal out of the GALILEO mare BELUGA, a three-quarters sister to Derby winner POUR MOI out of the DARSHAAN mare GWYNN. GWYNN is the dam of three further Group/Listed winners and to BELUGA’s unraced own-sister WHITE HOT, the dam of Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf winner PIZZA BIANCA.
WH Bloodstock’s Mimi Wadham commented:
"He is a very well bred horse, he comes from a fantastic family. He is a wonderful mover and everyone who looked at him really liked him. We expected him to sell well, and although he surpassed expectations he is worth it as he could be anything. Let's hope he is as good as he looks! He has not turned a hair since he has been here, he just gets on with the job and has a great attitude." She added: "The successful buyers have been coming up to me all day and asking what interest there had been, they were determined to have him, as was the underbidder. We were very lucky that two groups wanted to buy him that much."
More Success for Ballyhimikin with 325,000 Guineas Pinatubo Colt
Ballyhimikin Stud enjoyed a spectacular result during Book 1 when their GHAIYYATH colt was purchased for 1,050,000 guineas by Godolphin, and they hit the headlines again on the second day of Book 2 with another colt by a Darley first season sire, this time a son of PINATUBO who was knocked down to Ben McElroy, Hamish Macauley and Robson Aguiar. The colt was reportedly one of the nicest produced yet by the illustrious nursery, and buyers responded accordingly with an opening bid of 100,000 guineas from bloodstock agent Stephen Hillen swiftly countered by the American agent, who emerged triumphant at 325,000 guineas following a rapid bidding duel.
"He is a very imposing colt, a very fluent mover. He has carried himself well over the two or three days of showing, he’s just a lovely horse," said McElroy. "I actually thought he might cost a bit more, maybe the aggressive bidding stopped progress. He has been bought for Amo Racing and will go to Robson Aguiar, who will assess him for Kia and decide on a trainer next spring. Robson will see how he fits in with the other yearlings and two-year-olds and will decide whether he will make up into a Royal Ascot type."
The April-foaled colt is a half-brother to the Listed winner and Classic placed SAN DONATO, third in the Group 1 Poule d’Essai des Poulains, out of the Group placed ACCLAMATION mare BOSTON ROCKER, from the family of Group 1 winners ONE MASTER and RIVET.
Ballyhimikin’s James Hanly commented: "He is a homebred, we bought his dam Boston Rocker. She has been a great servant and has already produced a horse rated 116. Hopefully this guy will be every bit as good. We wish the new owner every success, and he is as nice a horse as we have ever had. He is a great reflection of Pinatubo."
McElroy Secures Earthlight Colt for 325,000 Guineas
Another Darley first season sire provided an excellent pinhooking result early in the evening when Redpender Stud’s son of dual Group 1 winning two-year-old EARTHLIGHT sold for 325,000 guineas to the bid of Ben McElroy, Hamish Macauley and Amo Racing, the highest price for a colt by the sire to date.
The colt had been purchased by Redpender Stud for 78,000 guineas at the Tattersalls December Foal Sale and Redpender’s Jimmy Murphy was delighted with the result, reflecting: "He was a nice, good-looking horse and we took a chance - plenty of others don't work out so well! Earthlight is a son of Shamardal and he is from a very good damline. We were lucky that Selenaia came up in the first dam and then Lake Forest in the second dam won the Gimcrack. He is very much a two-year-old, precocious type of horse, hopefully we will see him at Ascot."
The colt’s dam DETTORIA is a daughter of DECLARATION OF WAR and her first foal SELENAIA claimed the Grade 3 Honeymoon Stakes at Santa Anita this summer, and DETTORIA’s half-brother LAKE FOREST provided a further update to the catalogue page when scoring in the Group 2 Gimcrack Stakes at York’s Ebor Festival.
DETTORIA was bought for just 12,000 guineas at the Tattersalls December Mares Sale by agent John Walsh on behalf of Derek Iceton of Tara Stud, who bred this colt and sold him to Redpender Stud at last year’s December Foal Sale. Derek Iceton watched the colt go through the ring and commented:
"I am absolutely delighted. I had a good day last December and got paid well, and I love to see people make some money, and am so pleased to see him go on again now. I have a half-brother by Space Blues to come in December. She is a young mare so it is great."
Book 2 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale continues at 10am on Wednesday, 11th October with the third and final session.
