Operating tops Tattersalls August Sale selling for 250,000gns

Wednesday's Tattersalls August Sale was topped by three-year-old colt Operating (War Front) who sold to Saudi Arabia-based Najd Stud for 250,000gns while the one-day sale saw large gains in the average and median. 

Two lots sold for over 200,000gns during the third renewal of the sale with the turnover of 5,267,300gns on a par with the 2021 sale, which took place over two days, while the average and median rose 29 and 40 per cent respectively to 24,273gns and 14,000gns and the clearance rate finished at 92 per cent. 

Offered by the Castlebridge Consignment, the sale copping colt has won two of his five starts for John and Thady Gosden and was offered with an official rating of 91. 

"The team has been following the sale at home and they had a few on their short list that they have had a go at, but Operating was the number one target," said Jimmy George of Tattersalls who was bidding on behalf of Najd Stud. 

"He is a nice prospect and very much fits into the mould that the Najd Stud team has bought in the past." 

Mr McCann is Bahrain bound
The second lot to sell for over 200,000gns was fellow three-year-old colt Mr McCann (Kodiac) who was bought by Sackville Donald for 210,000gns and he will continue his career in Bahrain. 

Trained in England by Hugo Palmer and offered by The Castlebridge Consignment, Mr McCann has won four times to date and has an official rating of 101. He also placed fourth in the Group 2 Mehl-Mulhens-Rennen (1600m) back in May. 

"He is for Bahrain," said Donald. "They are hard to find - three-year-olds with that kind of rating and that kind of price. He is pretty rock solid; he goes on all ground, he is a good-looking type and vets very well." 

Of the Tattersalls August Sale, Donald added: "I think it has been a really good market. I think it makes much more sense to get your money in before the yearling sales and it saves two months' training fees, and for the fast ground horses they are going to lose their ground shortly. I hope the sale gets bigger and stronger." 

Another highlight at the #TattsAugust Sale for @TheCastlebridge as Mr McCann sells for 210,000gns to @SackvilleDonald. Rated 101, the 3yo Kodiac colt was last seen winning over a mile at Haydock for @hpalmerracing. pic.twitter.com/gYxgGN8bed

— Tattersalls (@Tattersalls1766) August 31, 2022

Mulcaster Strikes for Mostly Cloudy
Mostly Cloudy (Harzand) has been a fine flag-bearer for trainer Gemma Tutty in her first season with a training licence, accumulating an impressive sequence of five wins, and will now be bound for Australia after being purchase by Guy Mulcaster for 150,000gns. 

Fifth last time out in the Group 2 Lonsdale Cup (2m), the son of Harzand (Sea The Stars) has won five times in ten career starts. 

Jimmy George, who was bidding on behalf of Guy Mulcaster, commented: "Mostly Cloudy was bought very reasonably here at last year's Autumn Horses in Training Sale and Gemma Tutty has done a great job with him. He ran up a sequence of five wins and is a real tribute to Gemma Tutty and her team. He looks an ideal type to go on in Australia." 

The colt was purchased by Tutty with Kings Bloodstock for 23,000 guineas at last year's Tattersalls Autumn Horse in Training Sale and she had mixed emotions following the successful sale. 

"It is bittersweet, my best horse gone but it has been an amazing return and hopefully the owners will reinvest," Tutty said. 

"He has really put me on the map and done wonders for the profile of Kings Bloodstock and myself in finding him and buying him. With the sales upcoming it's the right time of year to be getting returns like this, so we can reinvest and owners can have confidence that we can find them. 

"It has been a hell of a journey. We are sorry to see him go but I hope he has a wonderful career in Australia." 

At the conclusion of the 2022 Tattersalls August Sale, Tattersalls Chairman Edmond Mahony commented; "We saw records broken across the board at the recent Tattersalls July Sale and it has been encouraging to see the Tattersalls August Sale follow on in similar fashion. 

" This is only the third renewal of the August Sale and very much the smallest catalogue for this new fixture, but the level of trade has demonstrated the sustained global demand for horses in training at all levels of the market and the extraordinary ability of sales of this nature at Tattersalls to attract buyers from throughout the world with such consistency."