Two lots make 110,000gns on the final day of the sale on Saturday
The four-day Tattersalls December Foal Sale came to a close on Saturday with two lots selling for 110,000gns, the top price for the day.
The first of these came when Barton Stud sold a colt by Mohaather (Showcasing) for that price to Shadwell Estate Company. The colt is the first foal out of the unraced Exceed And Excel (Danehill) mare Time Of Change, a sister to the stakes placed Taajub.
The colt is from the first crop of his sire who will stand for £15,000 at Shadwell's Nunnery Stud next year.
Purchase Angus Gold said: "Obviously we are a bit biased, Mohaather was a very special horse for us. We thought he was slightly underrated if anything, for me what he did at Goodwood that day in the Sussex Stakes was out of the ordinary, I have not seen a horse quicken like that since Kingman in the same race.
"So we are big fans, and I have liked the stock I have seen. What I particularly like is that leading into this week lots of people have told me that they have a really nice Mohaather foal, which is great to hear. We bought one two days ago, and the vendor told me they had an even better one at home. There are some really good vibes about him."
Of this foal Gold outlined: "I thought this was a really smart horse and a lot of people thought the same. I heard he had ten vets so he was always going to cost a bit. He is out of a half-sister to a horse who ran second in the Gimcrack and this horse looks a sprinter. If he is any good he will be fast and hopefully will be one to get the stallion off to a good start."
The colt was bred by consignor Tom Blain under his own Ickworth Stud banner and Blain commented: "We are really pleased, the mare Time of Change is owned in partnership. It is a great thrill and I am delighted for all involved. It was a bit weird to watch one of our own sell!
"We bought Time of Change for 9,000 guineas, she is a lovely mare by Exceed And Excel and I know the family as we used to board her dam Purple Tiger, and there is a lot happening under the second dam. She is a good-looking mare and she has thrown an absolute beauty of a first foal so it is really exciting.
"I think he should make up into a serious racehorse and I just want to thank Angus for his support. It is great that Shadwell and Sheikha Hissa are backing their own stallion. We used him a number of times in the first year so we are really happy."
Talking about Shadwell's plans, Angus Gold added: "We have bought seven foals. Obviously we sold quite a few mares over the last couple of years and now have around 50. I spoke with Sheikha Hissa and she was keen to get some foals to supplement the racing team, if we could buy at relatively sensible money.
"Over the last two years it was about getting it all to a manageable size. The family has got a bit more structure to the whole organisation now and I think Sheikha Hissa is just trying to see what sort of size she would like it to be. We will have around 100 horses in training next year and had about 75-80 this year."
Hawaafex was bought for 14,000gns at the February Sale earlier this year from the draft of Shadwell Estate Company.
Yeomanstown Strike for Masar
Shortly after the first 110,000gns lot, Yeomanstown Stud struck for a son of Masar (New Approach). Sold by Overbury Stud, the colt is a half-brother to Rogue Millennium (Dubawi) being out of the Group 3 winner Hawaafez (Nayef).
Further back this is the family of multiple Group 1 winner Moonlight Cloud.
The sale provided a quick and profitable return on an investment made earlier this year at the Tattersalls February Sale.
"Richard Brown bought the mare for me here in February. I was not around and he did it himself," explained Overbury Stud's Simon Sweeting.
"It looked like a chancy buy to start with but the mare was an exceptional racehorse and Rogue Millennium has come along, and everything else has landed into place, too - the two-year-old is now one for one and her Kingman yearling has gone to trainer George Boughey.
"It is definitely a progressive family, but that sale did take me by surprise - but it is a lovely surprise to have! He was a late foal but he has been very straightforward and everything has worked out well."
Figures show gains at the end of four days
After four days of selling, 744 of the 983 lots offered sold for 35,255,050gns. This was up 13 per cent from the 2021 figure when 734 lots sold for 31,301,500gns. The average rose 11 per cent, up to 47,386gns from 42,645gns last year. The median rose slightly from 25,000gns last year to 26,000gns.
One lot sold for seven figures, the Kingman (Invincible Spirit) filly out of Suelita (Dutch Art) who was bought by Juddmonte Farms for 1,000,000gns on Friday. Three lots sold for 500,000gns or more.
Juddmonte Farm's Kingman finished the sale as the leading sire by average with the three foals by him seeing for 1,655,000gns, last an average of 551,667gns. His barn mate Frankel had eight lots sell for 2,825,000gns, at an average of 353,125gns.
Whitsbury Manor Stud, who sold the sale topper, was the leading vendor by aggregate selling 19 lots for 2,201,500 at an average of 115,868gns. Langton Stud meanwhile led the way by average with three lots selling for 745,000gns at an average of 248,333gns.
Juddmonte Farms was the leading buyer having spent 2,425,000gns on four foals, while Yeomanstown Stud bought 13 lots for 1,320,000gns.
At the conclusion of the 2022 Tattersalls December Foal Sale, Tattersalls Chairman Edmond Mahony commented;
"Strong yearling sales will always drive demand for foals and the extraordinary strength of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sales has been followed by a Tattersalls December Foal Sale which has achieved significant increases in average and median as well as a record turnover in excess of 35,000,000gns. The cream of the British and Irish foal crop has been assembled here at Park Paddocks and buyers at every level of the market and from throughout the world have all contributed to yet another record breaking sale in a year of extraordinary sales at Tattersalls.
"To see so many British and Irish breeders rewarded so handsomely this week reflects the quality of the stock which they have brought to the market and we should thank the consignors for their confidence in the Tattersalls December Foal Sale which consistently showcases the finest foals to be found in Europe. The buyers, whether looking to race or to pinhook, know that the Tattersalls December Foal Sale will satisfy every possible requirement and the competition for quality foals has been unrelenting. In addition to Whitsbury Manor Stud's outstanding one million guineas sale topping Kingman filly, the sale has produced the four highest priced foals in Europe and a record-equalling 27 foals sold for 200,000 guineas or more, all of which has demonstrated the sustained appetite for the best European bloodstock which has been so evident at every Tattersalls sale in 2022."
