It was one of those nights at Tattersalls on November 28, when the opening session of the highly-anticipated December Big Sale attracted a huge crowd and plenty of great prices.
It was standing room only inside the Park Paddocks Auditorium shortly before 7pm as the elite fillies and mares from the inaugural Scepter session took to the stage and the biggest offering of the day came from Hunscote Stud manager, Andy Lloyd, which went to 800,000gns (US$1,015,148) for the proven producer Archangel Gabriel .
The mare consigned by Norris Bloodstock (Lot 1622), who was offered to dissolve a partnership between Hunscote Stud and Humber Bloodstock, produced two winners including the 2021 Newmarket Pony Academy Pride Stakes (G3) marker Ville de Grace which will be offered on November 29 as Lot 1893.
Although 9-year-old Archangel Gabriel has not raced, she is an Arch sister to the 2005 Gulfstream Park Handicap (G1) Breeders’ Cup winner, Prince Arch. Her yearlings generated 795,000gns ($1,008,804) in Tattersalls receipts and was offered in foal for St. Mark’s Basilica .
“I was one of the partners so obviously I was paying 50p in the pound,” Lloyd said. “She’s a gorgeous mare, you don’t get many chances and we’ve had one. I think she’s a decent buy for us on what she’s bred for. She’s got good cover and the family is very active so we’re very lucky. to keep her .
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“Her progeny have made six figures several times, so we will see what the colt from St. Mark’s Basilica will bring in March. We have no plans for spring yet; you don’t make plans unless you have something, and now we have that, we can make a plan.”
The Southcourt dispersal is central
Buyers lined up to secure some of the late Sir Evelyn de Rothschild’s partial dispersal from Southcourt Stud, and the leading light in the draft, which was offered through New England Stud, was Crystal Zvezda (Lot 1618), which attracted a bid of 775,000gns ($983,425) from Stroud Coleman Bloodstock.
The 10-year-old daughter of Dubawi was a class performer on the track, winning twice including a listed event at Newbury. He got his second career off to a promising start as he produced two winners from as many runners. Her second foal, the Frankel filly Crystal Caprice added another black guy to a pedigree full of stakes form when third Zanbaq in a contest listed at Newbury. Crystal Caprice is another to be offered at Tattersalls on Tuesday as Lot 1895.
“She is a beautiful mare from a very good breeder,” said Anthony Stroud. “Crystal Caprice is highly rated – you will see her tomorrow. This mare was bought for a long time client who is looking for some very good mares and remains in England.
Crystal Zvezda consigned as Lot 1618 was one of the choice offerings from his dispersal by the late Sir Evelyn de Rothschild
“It is a fine pedigree developed by Sir Evelyn, but it also shows what Sir Michael Stoute has done for the family and for the pedigree. He has produced all these horses with his patient approach.”
Crystal Zvezda was preceded in the lively ring by her mother’s half-sister Wailea (Lot 1617), which was brought down by Adrian Nicoll of BBA Ireland at 550,000gns ($697,915). The 12-year-old daughter of Not now offered as a colt to Pinatubo, she landed the Newsells ParkStud Aphrodite Stakes during her time on the track and is a half-sister to The crystal star mother of genius The crystal ocean and his Grade 1 winning brother Hillstar .
Another part of Waila’s family Sea The Stars colt, sold to Johnny McKeever and Ballyhimikin Stud for 400,000gns ($508,790) just three days earlier, while her promising 2-year-old daughter Infinite Cosmos (Lot 1954) is due to go under the hammer on day two of of December Great Sale.
“She’s a lovely stakes-winning mare so I’m very happy,” Nicoll said. “He will go to Ireland for a partnership. We haven’t decided what to do with next year’s stallion yet, but she is a wonderful mare and a great reflection of Sir Evelyn de Rothschild’s breeding program. It’s one of the picks of the day.”
New England Stud’s Peter Stanley reflected on the evening’s offerings saying: “They are lovely, lovely mares from Southcourt. I am so sad that these wonderful ladies are leaving us. They are gorgeous mares; everyone is a queen. It’s not often you see such a beautiful group of mares together, each athletic, each with depth, substance and bone, just gorgeous.
“I think the testament was the four foals that sold so well last week. They showed the type of horses they were breeding. You can’t complain about the prices but it’s terribly sad when things end.”
The same project was also responsible for Crystal Starlet (Lot 1634), a winning daughter of Frankel and Crystal Zvezda in foal The Palace Pier . Sam Haggas’ Hurworth Bloodstock signed the ticket at 425,000gns ($539,298).
Innevera heads to Newsells Park
The second lot of the Scepter Session was Innevera (Lot 1612), consigned by Fittocks, which fetched a final bid of 750,000gns ($951,702) from agent Jill Lamb alongside Newsells Park Stud owner Graham Smith-Bernal.
The 8-year-old daughter of Motivational won twice in France and is already his mother Ottoman fleet , a son of Sea The Stars whose record includes wins in the Denbury Homes Fairway and the National Stud Welcomes Stradivarius James Seymour Stakes. The mare was offered in foal to the exciting Zarak who will stand the 2023 covering season at a fee of €60,000 ($62,340) at Haras de Bonneval.
“We’re really excited to get her because we’ve been targeting her,” Lamb said after signing the file. “It ticks every box; she is a lovely person, she bred a stakes winner with her first foal which is highly rated and I loved her. Le Havre yearling (a filly, bought by David Redvers for 350,000gns ($416,346) at Book 1), is a beauty and I think she will go to Ralph Beckett, so she is in safe hands.
Achelois , which was offered by Andrew Balding’s Park House Stables on behalf of Thurloe Thoroughbreds as Lot 1613. The owners are donating 20% of her sale price to the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity. His 4 year old daughter Zoffany won four races in training including this year’s British Stallion Studs EBF Lyric Fillies’ Stakes at York.
“She will come home to be a foal mare for an existing client,” Vigors said. “We’ll have to come up with a cover plan later.”
It wasn’t just the bloodstock that had the auditorium jammed as a model of the late Queen Elizabeth II with a mare and foal, the 60cm scale version of the statue which stands at the entrance to Newmarket’s Rowley Mile racecourse, was knocked down . to Jamie McCalmont at 165,000gns ($209,374) ahead of the first Scepter Session offering.
Proceeds from the sale of the piece, which was created by renowned sculptors Etienne Millner and Charlie Langton, are being donated to the National Horse Racing Museum.
BBA Ireland Shopping Spree continues
There were plenty of six figure trades throughout the day and for much of the session the market was led by Violante (Lot 1535) which was signed to Michael Donohoe of BBA Ireland at 330,000gns ($418,749 ).
The 14-year-old daughter of Kingmambo sired two winners, notably the 2019 Prix Messidor (G3) scorer. Impulsive and is out of Allez Les Trois, making her a half-sister to Prix du Jockey Club (G1) hero Anabaa Blue and his dam. Tamayuz . Allez Les Trois is of course a half-sister to the great matriarch Urban Sea, meaning her influential sons Galileo and Sea The Stars appear again in the pedigree.
Violante is set to be among the books of high quality mares being assembled to support Yulong Investments Lucky Vega in his second season of service at the Irish National Stud.
“It’s for Lucky Vega,” Donohoe confirmed. “I don’t do Kingmambo mares anymore and it’s a great family. I think Kingman (yearling colt) and Frankel (colt colt) out of her are nice, reports are pretty good. It should fit Lucky Vega physically and we think the Mr. Prospector moniker will work with him as well.”
Godolphin sold 31 mares during the session, with the project generating earnings totaling 1,985,500gns ($2,519,471) and an average price of 64,048gns ($81,272).
No No Never . 4-year-old Divine Herald unplaced but by Frankel and two-time winner Stanjamesuk.com Dahlia Stakes (G3) Heaven Sent making her a sister to the five-time winner and placed on the list Seven Heavens .
Donohoe and Yulong’s Lucky Vega Syndicate were the top buyers at the recent Goffs November Breeding Stock Sale, where an outlay of €5.625 million ($5,844,375) took 19 foals and mares, including top-selling Aspiring, at 790,000 euros ($818,843).
The December Mare Sale continues on November 29 with a session with people like Alcohol-free — (Batch 1904), Crown of the Desert dam of Desert Berry-Lot 1891 and Saffron Beach -Lot 1878. The sale begins at 9:30 a.m. and the Scepter Session is scheduled to begin in the mid-afternoon.