Australian breeders have had exposure to the Havana Grey sireline this spring with his champion son Vandeek (GB) shuttling to Arrowfield Stud and his foals were in hot demand overnight - Strong trade on the second day of the Tattersalls December Foal Sale was headed by a 260,000 guineas HAVANA GREY colt, the highest priced foal sold in the session since 2018.
23 lots realised 100,000 guineas or more on a day which saw turnover, average and median all up from the equivalent session last year. The clearance rate was 87%.
Whitsbury Manor’s Havana Grey Colt to Hillwood
Whitsbury Manor Stud’s HAVANA GREY colt out of Listed winner AVENGERS QUEEN was widely touted as one of the likely highlights of the second session of the December Foal Sale and did not disappoint when knocked down for 260,000 guineas to Hillwood Stud’s Charlie Vigors. The underbidder was bloodstock agent Tina Rau, standing with Haras de Meautry’s Nick Bell.
Hillwood Stud’s Charlie Vigors said: “We will get him home and make a plan from there, and he could well be coming back next year. For us he has the pedigree, and Havana Grey needs no introduction. He has the physical, he has the page, and we are delighted to get him. I was hoping to spend less, and we were at our limit.
“Havana Grey has been good to us – in fact he has been pretty good for everyone who has been involved with him. As the better mares are coming through, his profile is only going to keep on improving.”
AVENGERS QUEEN won the Listed Premio Vittorio Crespi in Milan and is a half-sister to the Group 2 Sandy Lane Stakes winning young sire EL CABALLO, by HAVANA GREY’s sire HAVANA GOLD, and the Group 2 Lowther Stakes placed filly SYMBOLOGY, by HAVANA GREY. Both AVENGERS QUEEN and her dam SHOWSTOPPA were bred by Whitsbury Manor Stud.
Ace Stud (Yulong) Strike for Shaquille Colt at 180,000 Guineas
The first crop of foals by Champion Sprinter SHAQUILLE have certainly made an impression on buyers at the December Foal Sale and the second highest priced lot of the second session was a colt consigned by Genesis Green Stud who realised 180,000 guineas to Ace Stud, who now stand the July Cup and Commonwealth Cup winner.
Church View Stables’ Tom Whelan and Paca Paca Farm’s Harry Sweeney made most of the early running before the Ace Stud team entered the fray and moved bidding swiftly past six figures, with Harry Sweeney a persistent but ultimately frustrated underbidder.
Ace Stud’s bloodstock and racing manager Paul Curran commented: “As the market has been suggesting the foals by the sire are well liked and it is a great indictment of the stallion that he has started off so very well commercially. For us this colt was the standout for the day, we came into this week and wanted to buy the best by him and I think we have got that.
“We now have three foals by him and we have plenty of mares in-foal to him. It is nice to see that he is stamping his stock. They are a bit like himself, he is a beautiful horse and he is exactly what it says on the tin. His foals are of good size with substance which is what we want to see, and they are strong and look precocious types – we are really happy with what is here. The market is realising that as well and it is good to have a horse that is being talked about so positively.”
The colt’s dam SUNSET AVENUE is already the dam of two black type performers and was bought by consignor Genesis Green Stud at the 2023 Tattersalls December Mares Sale for 6,500 guineas.
Genesis Green’s Michael Swinburn revealed: “We bought her barren and she died a couple of weeks after foaling this colt – she had cancer and this foal was reared on a foster mare. He just came out a nice foal and stayed a nice foal, that is the way they are.
“I just thought I’d be very clever and put a nice one by the sire in this sale, and I was very surprised when I saw the pedigrees of the foals by Shaquille in the book – I realised then that I was only one of a lot of good ones here!
“The stallion has to have a great chance with the mares he has had and they have been going down a storm, all the proper people have been buying them. We have one on Friday, and we think he is really nice.”
Havana Grey Colt to Tally-Ho for 165,000 Guineas
HAVANA GREY has continued to burnish his credentials as one of the best young stallions in Europe with fifteen black type two-year-olds in 2025 and his progeny proved consistently popular in the sales ring with Whitsbury Manor Stud consigning two further six-figure colts by the sire in addition to the day’s top lot.
A glut of pinhookers followed their March-foaled colt out of AMOREENA into the sales ring but it was Tally-Ho Stud who emerged triumphant at 165,000 guineas. The colt was the second HAVANA GREY purchased by the Irish operation on the day and Tally-Ho’s Tony O’Callaghan commented:
“He’s a good-moving horse by a good stallion. We’ve had bits and bobs by the stallion before, we’ve bought two by him today but we just worry about the model. We had 150 in mind going in there if we wanted to give ourselves any chance of getting him.”
The colt is out of the three-time winning SWISS SPIRIT mare AMOREENA, a half-sister to Group 3 winning and Group 1 placed sprinter DILIGENT HARRY and to the Listed winner HARRY THREE. Her dam HARRYANA TO is a half-sister to Group 2 Mill Reef Stakes victor TEMPLE MEADS and to SHOWSTOPPA, the dam of Group 2 Sandy Lane Stakes winning young sire EL CABALLO.
Paca Paca Farm Secure Ghaiyyath Colt for 160,000 Guineas
Underbidder on Genesis Green’s SHAQUILLE colt, Paca Paca Farm’s Harry Sweeney was not to be denied for the day’s third highest priced lot, finally seeing off Ballyphilip Stud’s Paul McCartan with a bid of 160,000 guineas for the GHAIYYATH colt consigned by Starfield Stud.
Starfield Stud’s Micheal Orlandi revealed: “We bought the mare while she was in training, we liked the pedigree, we went to Ghaiyyath and got a smashing foal and we are delighted with this result. We selected the stallion because he was by Dubawi and was a top racehorse. We have a son of Dubawi at home, Dubawi Legend, and we are huge fans of Dubawi as a sire of sires. We thought going forward that Ghaiyyath is a stallion who was going to progress, and that coming here with a foal buyers would be looking positively and upwardly for him.
“He is also at a price point that is achievable and affordable, and thankfully the stars aligned this evening. He was a very popular foal and a lot of very shrewd judges were on him, but a lot of them were pinhookers and they have to buy at what they think is value, but we are very thankful to all of them who bid.”
The colt’s dam SPIRITUOSO is a half-sister to the dual Listed winner DEAR MY FRIEND and herself went through the Tattersalls sales ring when bought at the July Sale for just 2,000 guineas by Frederick Tylicki Bloodstock. Her dam DUSTY RED is a daughter of the influential broodmare DUST DANCER, the dam of Grade 2 winner SPOTLIGHT and ancestress of Group 1 winners ZOFFANY and LAND LEGEND, Irish Derby second ROSTROPOVICH and St Leger runner up BERKSHIRE ROCCO among a host of high class performers.
Lush Lips’ Brother to McStay for Parkland Thoroughbreds
Stringston Farm’s TEN SOVEREIGNS colt had enjoyed a spectacular update since publication of the December Foal Sale catalogue and he proved unsurprisingly popular in the sales ring, realising 150,000 guineas to Avenue Bloodstock’s Mark McStay on behalf of Parkland Thoroughbreds.
McStay purchased the colt’s own-sister LUSH LIPS as a yearling and the three-year-old has enjoyed a stellar year in the USA culminating in a first Grade 1 victory in the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup and her sale for $3,700,000 to Dixiana Farm.
“When breeders produce a horse like that they are entitled to get paid,” said McStay. “Ten Sovereigns has been very lucky for me and I have purchased this colt for Steve Weston of Parkland Thoroughbreds. He has been a really good client in recent years with Lush Lips and Porta Fortuna amongst others.
“The colt will probably go from here to Luke Barry’s Manister House and Steve has the option to race or resell. This is a really nice colt and when I saw him I felt we had to have him – we will make our plans further down the line and in the spring, and it is a nice problem to have!”
McStay added: “Lush Lips was an outstanding physical and this foal is a really good type too, fair play to the Pococks. It is not an easy game breeding racehorses and that farm breeds winners, let’s hope this is another good one.”
Stringston Farm’s Nick Pocock said: “It was hard to value him coming here and we were cautious coming up, but we felt we had a very good horse – we are delighted he has gone to Mark after he bought Lush Lips.”
The pair are out of the ARCANO mare LAMYAA, a half-sister to Group 2 winning sire ELECTRIC BEAT and YOU LOOK SO GOOD, the dam of Group winning fillies MELO MELO and TREASURING. LAMYAA’s dam was bought in 2002 at the Tattersalls December Mares Sale, a fortuitous day for the family as Pocock revealed:
“My parents bought this colt’s grandam Divine Grace on the same day as they bought Sitara, and she went on to become the dam of the Melbourne Cup winner Rekindling. We have had the families for over twenty years, and Lamyaa is now in-foal to Little Big Bear.”
The Tattersalls December Foal Sale will continue at 10am on Friday, 28th November.
