Eight yearlings sell for 1,000,000gns or more at Park Paddocks on Wednesday
The second day of Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale on Wednesday saw eight yearlings sell for 1,000,000 guineas or more, the highest priced yearling in the world this year and the European turnover record for a day at auction also broken.
Yearlings by Darley's Dubawi (Dubai Millennium) dominated the first day of trade at Park Paddocks on Tuesday, however, it was Juddmonte Farm's Frankel (Galileo) who led the way on Tuesday with the two most expensive lots to sell and another two of his progeny sold for seven figures.
Godolphin buy 2,800,000gns Frankel colt
The most expensive yearling to sell at Park Paddocks on Wednesday was a son of Frankel out of Group 3 winning Dubawi mare So Mi Dar who was bought for 2,800,000gns by Godolphin. Bred and sold by Watership Down Stud as Lot 221, the colt's second dam is Dar Re Mi (Singspiel) who is also the dam of Darley's multiple Group 1 winning shuttle sire Too Darn Hot (Dubawi) as well as Group 2 winner Lah Ti Dar (Dubawi).
Lane's End Farm's Bill Farish, sat alongside agent David Ingordo, was left the underbidder.
"Obviously he has a stallion's pedigree, by Frankel out of a very, very good mare by Dubawi from Watership Down's best family. He was the jewel in the crown and is an extremely nice horse," said Anthony Stroud, standing alongside Sheikh Mohammed outside the ring.
"The price was more than I had anticipated but the Sheikh was keen for this horse and Watership does a great job. The underbidders were strong opposition - he is an outstanding horse and he will be a very valuable horse if he is a good racehorse."
Watership Down Stud's owner Madeleine Lloyd Webber was obviously delighted and said: "It is always a shame to sell the wonderful stock out of the Dar Re Mi family but we just have to. He is a particularly beautiful colt, he looks so like his father Frankel yet he has the Dar Re Me line and the beautiful head. He walked beautifully, I could not really fault him. We obviously loved him, we are delighted that Godolphin bought him and he is going to stay here and be trained brilliantly. We could not have hoped for anything better really."
Frankel has had a remarkable year, with eight individual Group/Grade 1 winners so far in 2022 and he has passed both 100 individual stakes winners winners and fifty individual Group winners quicker than any other stallion in history.
Half-brother to Broome sells for 2,400,000gns
Shortly afterwards, MV Magnier and White Birch Farm went to 2,400,000gns to secure the Frankel half-brother to the Aidan O'Brien-trained Group 1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud (2400m) winner Broome (Australia).
Broome himself was bought by MV Magnier for 150,000gns at the 2017 Tattersalls December Yearling Sale, from the draft of Croom House Stud who sold this year's yearling.
"It is a family we know well, Denis Brosnan is a very good breeder and we have had a lot of luck buying from him in the past," said Magnier.
"Frankel is doing very well and we had the two brothers before and they are two very good horses, let's hope this one is too!"
Joe Hartigan, general manager at Denis Brosnan's Croom House Stud said: "We thought he'd make a million plus, he is a very nice horse and he had a heap of bids! It was absolutely amazing, I have never witnessed anything like it. He has a great attitude, the same attitude as his brothers."
Half-sister to Battaash Realises 1,800,000 Guineas
Later on in the day, the half-sister to unbeaten multiple Group 1 winner Battaash (Dark Angel) proved popular, selling for 1,800,000gns to Richard Knight Bloodstock.
Sold as Lot 344 by Ballyphilip Stud, the filly is out of Anna Law (Lawman) who is also the dam of the Group winning two-year-old The Antarctic (Dark Angel), who also ran second in the Group 1 Middle Park Stakes (6f) last month.
Bloodstock agent Joseph Burke opened the bidding on the filly before Amo Racing's Kia Joorabchian entered the fray as the price rose above 500,000gns. Bobby Flay then joined the battle to secure the filly before Richard Knight finally landed the winning bid.
For Paul McCartan of Ballyphilip Stud, it was the first million guinea yearling he had been involved with.
"Yes, this is the first!" smiled McCartan. "I worked for a lot of very good people and always tried to get them a million, when I went on my own I said I'd never be fulfilling that ambition. It is unbelievable to achieve it."
The breeder was delighted to be proved wrong by this filly, but he always had a feeling that she could be the one to realise his ambitions: "I thought we had a good chance, but everything had to fall into place," he said.
"She is a gorgeous filly and the sire is on fire - he has had three Group 1 winners in the last month. And for The Antarctic to do what he has done - he has shown so much promise. I keep thinking back to Battaash – he was only rated 97 when he was a two-year-old, this guy is rated 113 already. The way the Dark Angels improve, alongside the constitution he has to have achieved so much already, and he is in the right hands too."
Richard Knight, who has already signed for ten yearlings for a total of 6,130,000gns, said: "I thought she was probably the pick of the fillies in the sale, she is very racy. She is a half-sister to Battaash, The Antarctic, she ticks so many boxes.
" She is a gorgeous physical and very athletic and I'm delighted to get her. She will stay in the UK, she will be pre-trained and a trainer will be decided at a later stage. She will be a gorgeous filly to breed from at the end of the day."
Turnover record broken
The turnover during the session reached 49,545,000gns for 144 lots sold, which broke the turnover record for any day at a European thoroughbred auction set on the second day of the Tattersalls December Mares Sale in 2017.
There were significant increases in the average and median on the second day, which finished at 344,063gns and 200,000gns respectively, whilst the turnover jumped 65 per cent. The clearance rate for the day finished at 88 per cent.
The third and final session will be held on Thursday.
