When Richard Tattersall set up his auction house back in 1766, he could scarcely have dreamt that 250 years later his name would be world renowned in bloodstock circles. His company has continued not just to exist but to thrive, and last year almost 6,500 Thoroughbreds walked the ring at Park Paddocks, chalking up till receipts narrowly in excess of £275 million. Almost a third of that harvest is reaped in three frenetic days in October when around 500 yearlings bearing the bluest of blood are gathered for Book 1 of the October Sale.
This year's Book 1, which begins on Tuesday, October 4, features 550 yearlings and is the largest since 2010, when 689 yearlings were offered. More than 50 of those assembled are half-siblings to Group 1 winners – a list too long to detail in full here, but for the odd enticing snippet conjure up such supreme gallopers as Highland Reel (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) (lot 109), Mecca's Angel {Ire} (Dark Angel {Ire}) (lot 58), Shalaa (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) (lot 74), Legatissimo (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}) (lot 422) and Galileo Gold (GB) (Paco Boy {Ire}) (lot 71).
“It's certainly a special year – for any company in any sphere to operate for 250 years is a fair achievement. It's something to be proud of and obviously Tattersalls has changed enormously in that time but we're still trying to follow in that extraordinary ethos created all those years ago,” says Jimmy George, the company's long-serving Marketing Director.
“It's fair to say that this year's Book 1 is certainly on paper an outstanding book so it's a great way to bring the curtain up on our yearling season. Our job is to promote any sale as best we can and Book 1 of the October Yearling Sale is I think regarded by a lot of people as the premier yearling sale, not just in Europe but in the world. If that's the way it's regarded then that's fantastic and we're really proud of that.”
Last year, six yearlings breached that magic million-guinea mark and four of them have half-siblings for sale this time around. They are led by Newsells Park Stud's Dansili (GB) colt out of Loveisallyouneed (Ire) (Sadler's Wells) (lot 166), whose Dubawi filly sparked one of those now-rare bidding wars between Coolmore and Godolphin and eventually topped the sale at 2.1 million guineas, bought by MV Magnier.
Another stellar mare to have visited Dansili in 2014 was Meon Valley Stud's dual Group 1 winner Izzi Top (GB) (Pivotal {GB}). Last year her Oasis Dream (GB) colt fetched 1.1 million gns and her Dansili colt is catalogued on the first day as lot 125.
Peter Stanley sold a Galileo filly out of A Z Warrior (Bernardini) in 2015 on behalf of his uncle Christopher Hanbury for 1.3 million gns and this time around Stanley's New England Stud will offer a full-sister to the filly now named Key To My Heart (Ire) and in training with Aidan O'Brien.
She is one of 21 yearlings by the champion sire in Book 1, while his own high-flying son Frankel (GB) is not far behind him with 17, including a colt out of William Farish's Oaks winner Casual Look (Red Ransom) (lot 523).
Dubawi (Ire) was the leading sire by average at Book 1 last year with 11 sold for an average of 662,273gns. His world-class son Postponed (Ire) – bought at the 2012 October Sale for 360,000gns – adorns the back cover of the catalogue and Darley's flagship sire has greater representation within its pages this year with 21 slated to sell. Enticingly, these include a rare chance to buy into a high-achieving family from Normandie Stud with lot 39 being the second foal and first colt of Philippa Cooper's G1 Coronation S. winner Fallen For You (GB) (Dansili {GB}).
Meanwhile, another of the Meon Valley Stud draft is a Dubawi colt out of the G1 Prix de l'Opera winner Zee Zee Top (GB) (Zafonic), making him a half-brother to the aforementioned Izzi Top and G2 Prix de la Nonette winner Jazzi Top (GB) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}).
Thinking ahead to the potentially stellar cast waiting for their curtain call, George adds, “It's not just the sire power, and that's pretty remarkable in itself if you think of the number of yearlings in this catalogue by Galileo, Dubawi, Sea The Stars, Invincible Spirit, Shamardal – household names – and then you add 17 by Frankel.
“I don't think there's anybody out there who wouldn't have wanted Frankel to succeed in his secondary career, but equally I don't think anybody expected him to start in such an extraordinary fashion, and that's added another dimension to the sale.”
Europe's finest sires are joined on the list by some of the best from across the pond. Ken Ramsey's desire to establish Kitten's Joy, America's turf sire par excellence, in the leading turf racing nations has resulted in a select bunch of his yearlings appearing at Arqana, Goffs and Tattersalls. His quartet in Book 1 include a sister to GI Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup S. winner Kitten's Dumplings (lot 88), while one of two non-Ramsey-breds is Stratford Place Stud's half-sister to Chesham S. winner Zaidan (Street Cry {Ire}).
Arch, Bernardini, Curlin, Exchange Rate, First Defence, Giant's Causeway, Lemon Drop Kid, Lookin At Lucky, Scat Daddy, Speightstown and War Front also make the list of American stallions with yearlings in Book 1 during what has been a markedly successful season on the track for USA-breds in Europe. Most notable of all is perhaps a single yearling by Tapit (lot 196), the first foal of Midnight Thoughts, a Henrythenavigator daughter of Moyglare Stud's G2 Ribblesdale S. winner Irresistible Jewel (Ire) (Danehill) who was bought carrying this colt by Paul Dunkley of the up-and-coming Apple Tree Stud in Gloucestershire.
Though the outcome of Britain's EU referendum has caused consternation in certain circles, for an international business selling its wares in sterling, or at least an old-fashioned version of it, 'Brexit' could well be an advantage.
George continues, “I think the stallion roster in Britain at the moment is at an all-time high in the post-war era – it's a real golden age – and there's amazing quality out there. To have so many yearlings by some of those stallions in this catalogue is a huge opportunity for buyers all around the world. Then you lob in an ailing currency – for anybody who's not trading in sterling it's a great opportunity as the pound is trading at around 20% lower than it was at this time last year.”
Where George feels Book 1 has an edge over some other yearling sales is in the long-term appeal its graduates have to buyers looking to establish not just a string of racehorses but also a broodmare band.
He says, “There are brothers and sisters in there to more than 50 Group 1 winners and that sort of quality will not go unnoticed by people who not only looking to race horses but also to breed. It's the first opportunity for people to get their hands on some really nice bloodlines and sometimes the only opportunity. If they are superior performers, some of these fillies will never appear on the open market again and I think that's a key component of Book 1.”
In 2015, Books 1 to 4 of the October Sale amounted to 2,173 yearlings. Now, with Book 4 having been moved up from its previous slot after the Horses-in-Training Sale in late October to immediately after Book 3, the catalogue has been deliberately pruned to 1,884.
“When you're cataloguing the thick end of 2,000 yearlings in two weeks it's challenging to get the balance right,” George explains. “Last year there were perhaps too many – we want it to be workable and manageable for all concerned and I think we're as confident as we can be that we've got that balance right this year. We've reduced the numbers in Books 2 and 3 and I think that will benefit the sale enormously. The assessment of yearlings is as far as possible collaborative – we're working with breeders and consignors – but sometimes it's not always easy to give people precisely what they want. I hope that we've achieved that balance this year and that everything will be workable for buyers and consignors. By tightening up the numbers it has allowed is to bring Book 4 into the mainstream yearling fortnight, which again should be beneficial.”
He also highlights the fact that in an incentive to aid smaller owners and breeders, all of the Book 3 and 4 yearlings will be eligible for the £150,000 Tattersalls October Auction S. which is run at Newmarket over six furlongs.
Book 1 Bonus A Boon
The sales race for Book 3 and 4 graduates is not the only initiative attached to the October Sale. For some years, the elite reputation of Book 1 has sometimes acted as a deterrent to some consignors and buyers not operating at the very highest level, causing middle-tier trade to struggle somewhat.
An enticement to buyers at last year's sale was issued by the introduction of the Tattersalls October Book 1 Bonus, through which a payment of £25,000 on top of prize-money is made to winners of qualifying maiden and novice races in Britain and Ireland. Thus far, 31 such graduates have won a bonus, with 14 of them having been bought as a yearling for £100,000 or less. Among these, the Mark Johnston-trained Kilmah (GB) (Sepoy {Aus}) won in excess of her purchase price of 32,000gns on her first start and has gone on to win the G3 Prestige S.
“We genuinely thought that this was a scheme that would appeal to owners, trainers and bloodstock agents and properly capture their imagination. It was not entirely coincidental that we brought it into operation in our 250th year,” offers Jimmy George.
“It is hugely rewarding and we have been thrilled with the way it has panned out. From the very first winner back at the Guineas meeting in May, which was Global Applause (GB) (Mayson {GB}), there have been some tremendous results. He was a 78,000-guinea yearling owned by a new owner in Britain and he won nearly £40,000 for that first success and of course went on to win the National S. at Sandown. He's a very good 2-year-old and that was a very good start to the scheme which has been replicated time after time.”
He continues, “And that was the whole point of the scheme: we wanted people to come to the sale and be able to buy horses that could nearly pay for themselves by winning one of these – they all pay for a year's training fees by winning a bonus. We've had owners contacting us and almost saying, 'don't pay us that prize-money just keep it because we'll be back to spend it.' That's a really big endorsement of the scheme.
“It doesn't matter if you own a country or a small back garden, prize-money of this magnitude for winning a maiden is noticed and it's appreciated.”
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