The Tattersalls July Sale concluded in spectacular fashion with QUAI DE BETHUNE selling for a record 775,000 guineas and the Busuttin Young stable also picked up lightly raced 3YO TIME ALLOWED for Australia.
Quai de Bethune was one of seven six figure lots on the sale’s third and final day. The sale turnover was 16,981,700 guineas, just shy of the record turnover of 16,986,000 guineas, whilst the median and average rose 36% and 17% respectively from the 2024 edition.
Blandford Secure Royal Ascot Winner For 775,000 Guineas
Royal Ascot winner QUAI DE BETHUNE was one of the standout lots in the July Sale on form and an opening bid of 100,000 guineas indicated that the colt could well spark fireworks in the Tattersalls sales ring. His final price of 775,000 guineas eclipsed the previous July Sale record of 550,000 guineas set on Wednesday, with Blandford Bloodstock’s Richard Brown securing the colt on behalf of emerging racing superpower Wathnan Racing.
The bidding developed into a three-way battle between Brown, Khalid Salami and an online bidder, with the latter first giving way at 700,000 guineas with Salami finally defeated at 750,000 guineas. Consigned by Andrew Balding’s Kingsclere Training Stables on behalf of Gary Gillies and Team Valor, the three-year-old colt boasted a Timeform rating of 107 having beaten a typically competitive field in the Golden Gates Stakes over one mile and two furlongs at the Royal Meeting on his sixth start.
“The horse won at Royal Ascot, didn’t have the smoothest passage in the race but still found a way to win,” reported Richard Brown. “It is rare for a Royal Ascot winner to come onto the market, and he is still relatively lightly raced. The plan looks like he is going to go back to Andrew with potentially a Middle Eastern campaign ahead, but we will give him a break now.”
He added: “You have got to buy them first, but we hope he has got a good future ahead. It was a stronger price than I thought – it is just quite rare that a Royal Ascot winner comes to auction straight after, and it was never going to be easy.”
Trainer Andrew Balding commented: “We are thrilled, we have had a very strong sale with the highlight obviously being Quai De Bethune’s price. It was always the plan to come to auction with him and, after he won at Royal Ascot, we thought he’d be in the position to make a decent price, which he has. It is great news that he is coming back to us.”
He added: “Time Allowed is a lovely horse, lightly raced and he has it all ahead of him. It has been a good evening, and it is great to be able to give owners a return.”
The son of PERSIAN KING is out of the unraced WOOTTON BASSETT mare EDAVANNA whose dam ELAYOUNA is a half-sister to the outstanding Aga Khan filly ERVEDYA, winner of the French 1000 Guineas, the Group 1 Coronation Stakes and the Group 1 Prix du Moulin.
General Admission Bound for Libya at 210,000 Guineas
In addition to the record-breaking top lot Andrew Balding’s Kingsclere Training Stables consigned both the second and third highest-priced lots of the session. The three-year-old KAMEKO colt GENERAL ADMISSION was knocked down for 210,000 guineas to Ali A Aneizi on behalf of Al Watan Club, having seen off the attentions of a persistent online underbidder.
GENERAL ADMISSION joined a string of horses bound for Libya including the NEW BAY colt HI YA MAL, who the Al Watan Club secured for 82,000 guineas earlier in the evening.
Of HI YA MAL Aneizi revealed: “He gets the Classic distance and we are targeting the big races in Libya at the end of October. He is by New Bay, he has muscle and size, is a strong horse and I hope he will handle the dirt track.”
On GENERAL ADMISSION Aneizi added: “It is the same story – he is for the big race in Libya, I think he will get the Classic distance, and he is a very sound horse.”
Expanding further Aneizi explained: “We are a racing club based in Benghazi. We have around 36 horses in the club, and there are 200 thoroughbreds trained in the city.”
Though still a maiden, GENERAL ADMISSION has shown significant promise in his seven starts to date for a Timeform rating of 80 and is a half-brother to this year’s Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile Stakes winner KING OF GOSFORD out of the Listed winning HARBOUR WATCH mare MISS SUGARS.
Time Allowed Heading Down Under for Busuttin Young Racing
TIME ALLOWED had broken his maiden impressively for Andrew Balding since catalogue publication and attracted the attention of several international purchasers, with Busuttin Young Racing eventually able to secure the lightly raced three-year-old for 160,000 guineas.
Trent Busuttin, speaking from the southern hemisphere, commented: “We have been active buyers over the last three or four years at Tattersalls and we have had great luck with similarly lightly raced horses such as this.
“He looks like an improving and progressive type and fits the criteria to go through the grades here in Australia. He will be syndicated.”
TIME ALLOWED broke his maiden by two and three-quarter lengths over a mile at Southwell in June for owners St Albans Bloodstock & Fittocks Stud. The son of LOPE DE VEGA is a half-brother to the Listed winner TOPANGA from an outstanding Juddmonte family, his dam TIME TUNNEL is a daughter of Juddmonte’s Group 1 Falmouth Stakes winner TIMEPIECE. TIMEPIECE is a half-sister to the Group 1 winner PASSAGE OF TIME, the dam of Group 2 winning sire TIME TEST and this year’s Tattersalls Irish 2000 Guineas runner up COSMIC YEAR.
Sir Les Patterson to Thorne for 155,000 Guineas
Stephen Thorne has made a flying start to his training career since setting up his own yard in 2024 and will add another smart prospect to the 20 horses currently resident having secured SIR LES PATTERSON at 155,000 guineas for his syndicate Shamrock Thoroughbreds, with Ali A Aneizi the underbidder.
Consigned by Jamie Railton, the four-year-old is the winner of three of his ten starts and finished third on his most recent start at York over six furlongs, beaten just a half-length and a short head under top weight of 10st 2lb for trainer Harry Eustace.
“He has got a high Timeform rating on his last couple of starts on the all-weather and the turf, and he could make up into a premier handicap horse at home,” commented Thorne. “There might be a bit more to come, and down the road he could develop into a horse with Stakes potential, he is still a very lightly raced sprinter. There is something of a lack of sprinters at home, and so I think he will fit the programme well. He might be one to travel, if he gets his rating up a bit too.”
On the market this week, Thorne said: “It has been tough week to try and buy what we wanted, and we were beaten on a couple yesterday. We have to pay plenty for these horses, but we need them on our side so we can get the yard to the next level. We are just very happy to secure a nice horse here – the horse came highly recommended by his former trainer Harry Eustace, and I know he was hoping to keep hold of the horse himself.”
A half-brother to the Listed placed HARMONY ROSE, the son of ZOUSTAR is out of the dual Listed-winning DUTCH ART mare EVIL SPELL, a half-sister to Grade 1 Gamely Stakes runner up OLIVIA MARALDA.
Chairman’s Statement
Tattersalls Chairman Edmond Mahony commented:
“Nothing drives demand like success, and the back cover of this year’s Tattersalls July Sale catalogue illustrates that perfectly. It features Sprint Cup winner Regional, Champion Hurdle winner Golden Ace, and Entreat, the dam of Prix du Jockey Club winner Camille Pissarro. All were purchased at the July Sale, clearly demonstrating the adage of ‘something for everyone.’
“That success, along with many similar stories, has attracted a diverse and international crowd to a sun-drenched Park Paddocks, creating a genuine buzz around what is one of the most enjoyable weeks of sales and racing in the European calendar. Buyers from Australia, the Gulf, Europe, and Asia played major roles in a sale that recorded significant increases in turnover and average price, as well as a record median.
“The enduring appeal of this sale is underpinned by the continued support of leading global owner-breeders such as Coolmore, Godolphin, and Juddmonte. Their high-class consignments consistently draw strong international interest, so it was no surprise that the beautifully bred Juddmonte filly Orchid Bouquet set a new July Sale record at 550,000 guineas. That record lasted barely 24 hours before the Andrew Balding-trained Quai de Bethune surpassed it, selling for 775,000 guineas after intense bidding between Qatari and Libyan interests to secure the Royal Ascot winner.
“We now look ahead to the Tattersalls Somerville Yearling Sale and the beginning of the yearling sales season, with optimism that the enduring appeal of British and Irish bloodstock will continue to resonate, despite the challenges currently facing the industry.”
