Tattersalls

NEWMARKET, UK-They say that necessity is the mother of invention. The very fact that Tattersalls is contriving to stage the December Sale, while adapting to the strictures of lockdown, attests to that axiom. And so, too, did the fact that the highest bid of the second session was made online--by someone who was actually on site, and could have dived into the ring in an emergency. That resourceful gentleman proved to be Gerard Lowry of Oneliner Stables, who emerged from the cloak of cyber anonymity after the hammer came down...

The 2021 breeze-up sales scheduled was announced by Tattersalls on Tuesday. The Tattersalls Craven Breeze Up Sale (Apr. 12-14) and the Tattersalls Guineas Breeze Up and Horses in Training Sale (Apr. 29-30) will be conducted in Newmarket. Fairyhouse will host the Tattersalls Ireland Goresbridge Breeze Up Sale from May 20-21. The Tattersalls Ascot Breeze Up Sale will not be held next year. Nominations for all three sales are now open and inspections will begin in January. "It will be a huge relief for all concerned to have the Tattersalls Breeze...

As an aviation executive who is accustomed to spending some 250 days a year away from his home in the West of Ireland, life has been much different in 2020 for Donal Boylan. Thankfully, Boylan--who has been involved with the founding and execution of some of the most successful aircraft leasing companies in the world--has a twin passion in the form of his five-strong broodmare band, and while he and many of his jets have been grounded this year, Boylan was given quite a lift when the colt he bred,...

Last year's G2 July S. winner and G1 Phoenix S. third Royal Lytham (Ire) (Gleneagles {Ire}) has been added as a wildcard to the Tattersalls December Mares Sale and will be offered as a horse out of training as lot 1508A. The 3-year-old son of the French stakes-winning Gotlandia (Fr) (Anabaa) was unplaced in three runs this year for Aidan O'Brien. Three other wildcards added to the sale on Thursday include the winning 4-year-old filly Ela Katrina (GB) (Kendargent {Fr}) (lot 1752A), a daughter of the G3 Lancashire Oaks winner...

In March and April, the bloodstock sales world stood on the precipice, or so it seemed, as the Inglis Easter Yearling Sale--the first major international auction to confront the social upheaval of COVID-19--was put under severe pressure. In the event, team Inglis rose to the challenge and showed a potential way forward for other sales houses with its innovative virtual sale. It didn't, however, escape completely unscathed, and trepidation remained high for those with horses to sell all over the Northern Hemisphere. Six months on, we can now report that...

LEXINGTON, KY--The European-trained runners may have been shut out on opening day of the Breeders' Cup at Keeneland, but there would have been plenty of smiling faces in Ireland, France and England on Friday evening as 'TDN Rising Star' Aunt Pearl (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) kept her perfect record intact with a powerful front-running score in the GI Juvenile Fillies Turf under Frenchman Florent Geroux for trainer Brad Cox. Aidan O'Brien's Mother Earth (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) made up significant ground late to grab second, mowing down the Ringfort Stud-bred...

The Tattersalls December Sales will take place in Newmarket on their originally planned dates-Nov. 23 through Dec. 3-in accordance with government regulations concerning livestock and horse auctions. The UK will enter its second national lockdown on Thursday and it will run through Dec. 2. The sales will be restricted to those attending in a professional capacity and under strict COVID safety protocols. Live internet and telephone bidding will be available. "We are delighted and relieved that we have received clarity on this crucial issue and it is clear that the...

Following the UK government's announcement of a nationwide lockdown on Oct. 31, all possible options and dates will be considered for the upcoming Tattersalls December Sales, Tattersalls announced on Monday. The COVID-19 cases in the UK and abroad have been rising, and, as a result, the lockdown will begin on Nov. 5 and last through at least Dec. 2, interfering with the current sales dates. "As has so often been the case this year, we are having to respond to events and decisions entirely outside our control, but we would...

Ralph Beckett trainee Lullaby Moon (GB) (Belardo {Ire) bagged two of her first three outings before hitting the board in Ayr's Sept. 19 G3 Firth of Clyde Fillies' S. and broke through for a first black-type success in Redcar's Oct. 3 Listed Two-Year-Old Trophy last time. Sent postward as the 11-10 odds for Saturday's G3 Prix Miesque at Chantilly, she overcame a troubled passage to justify favouritism and earn a career high in the seven-furlong contest. The eventual winner was swiftly into stride and on the lead early, but was...

There was a tragic postscript to the Tattersalls Horses-in-Training Sale when a lorry carrying horses from Newmarket to Spain caught fire. Seven of the 10 horses on board lost their lives but no people were injured in the accident. Dominick Mahony, the Spanish representative for Tattersalls, said on Friday morning, "It is very sad. The horses were on their way to Madrid racecourse and I believe one of the front tyres burst and the lorry caught fire. It was very windy and the wind fanned the flames which spread very...

NEWMARKET, UK—There are obviously lessons to ponder, regarding the divergent economies of British and Australian racing. But first and foremost, let's pause and give due credit to those who brought English King (GB) (Camelot {GB}) to the point where he could on Wednesday become much the most expensive colt ever sold at Europe's premier horses-in-training sale. After all, when auctioneer John O'Kelly tried to coax one last effort out of underbidder Ted Voute for lot 1153a, he told him: "There's only one chance to buy English King." But Jeremy Brummitt...

This year's Listed Lingfield Derby Trial winner and G1 Derby favourite English King (Fr) (Camelot {GB}) is headed Down Under to continue his racing career, having been secured by Ballymore Stables and Paul Moroney Bloodstock for 925,000gns, with Armando Duarte signing the ticket. The 3-year-old colt, who finished fifth in the Derby, was bought by Bjorn Nielsen for €210,000 at Arqana's October yearling sale in 2018 and was trained for him by Ed Walker.