Juddmonte see off Coolmore and Godolphin to land 4,500,000gns Teona at Tattersalls
How much for a Group 1-winning filly? On day two of the Tattersalls December Mares Sale on Tuesday we got the answer. And not just once but six times. In the case of Teona (Sea The Stars), the answer was 4,500,000gns (approx. AU$9,046,000) – but only after a protracted tussle that involved the buying teams from racing’s rival powerhouses Coolmore, Godolphin and Juddmonte.
MV Magnier and Paul Shanahan, both talking on their respective mobiles, lodged Coolmore’s bids from the middle of the packed gangway, while Godolphin representatives Anthony Stroud and David Loder were stationed on the opposite side of the bustling auditorium. However, the final play came from Juddmonte’s general manager Simon Mockridge, who admitted to being stretched further than intended to secure the daughter of Sea The Stars (Cape Cross).
Teona was offered by Barton Sales on behalf of Rabbah Bloodstock, having visited Frankel (Galileo) for her first covering earlier this year.
“You’ve always got to stretch a little bit further than you really want to,” said Mockridge. “To buy the best, that’s how competitive it is. We’ll keep seeing that tonight.
“I thought about three and a half to four [million guineas] was her valuation, but you have to make that extra stretch. That’s something that we’ve learned. It’s all very well trying to value them but, when it comes to the moment, you’ve got to be that little bit stronger.”
Teona registered three victories during her time in training with Roger Varian, most notably the Prix Vermeille (Gr 1, 2400m), in which she got the better of Anglo-Irish and Yorkshire Oaks (all Gr 1, 1m 4f) heroine Snowfall (Deep Impact) by a length and a half. She also won the August Stakes (Listed, 1m 3.5f) and finished her racing days with a third-place finish behind Yibir (Dubawi) in the Breeders’ Cup Turf (Gr 1, 12f).
Not only did Ali Saeed’s colour bearer win a Group 1 herself but she is out of a Group 1 winner in Ambivalent (Authorized), who carried the same owner’s silks to success in the Pretty Polly Stakes (Gr 1, 1m 2f), beating Oaks heroine Was (Galileo) by half a length. The daughter of Authorized (Montjeu) has bred three winners, with Teona a half-sister to Prix Hocquart (Gr 2, 2400m) victor Al Hilalee (Dubawi).
“She’s the best mare in the sale,” said Mockridge. “A Group 1 winner out of a Group 1 winner, and that’s what it costs you. For us, she’s got a great pedigree and she’s by Sea The Stars, who’s made a fantastic start as a broodmare. He’s already the damsire of five Group 1 winners. She’s everything that we want and she’ll fit in very well.
“There were plenty [of elite mares] at Goffs that we tried hard on but we got beaten on most of the great individuals there, but mares like this are very difficult to find. She’s a little bit of an outcross for Frankel, which is ideal.”
Ambivalent has also come under the hammer in recent weeks as she sold to Avondale Bloodstock for €925,000 carrying a Sea The Stars sibling to Teona during the Goffs November Breeding Stock Sale.
Boughey brace bring 4,900,000gns
George Boughey’s Newmarket stable was represented by two of the market leaders, with Via Sistina (Fastnet Rock) selling to an online bid of 2,700,000gns (approx. AU$5,428,000) to a buyer signing as Evergreen Equine, while Katsumi Yoshida‘s Northern Farm went to 2,200,000gns (approx. AU$4,422,000) for the 1,000 Guineas (Gr 1, 1m) heroine Cachet (Aclaim).
The Grove Stud-consigned Via Sistina was making her second appearance at Tattersalls and brought a staggering 5,400 times more than she did the first time around. She was first bought by bloodstock agent Stephen Hillen for the scarcely believable sum of 5,000gns when she was offered by Jamie Railton at the 2019 December Yearling Sale.
She quickly proved that valuation all wrong, winning twice at three for Joe Tuite before switching to Boughey during the autumn of her four-year-old season. She ended that campaign by adding the Prix Fille de l’Air (Gr 3, 2100m) to her record.
Her progression went up a gear at five as she resumed with a six-length demolition in the Dahlia Stakes (Gr 2, 1m 1f), beatening subsequent Nassau Stakes (Gr 1, 1m 2f) scorer Al Husn (Dubawi), before claiming the Pretty Polly Stakes by a bloodless two lengths.
Hillen described watching Tuesday night’s transaction as “surreal” before reflecting on the journey the daughter of Fastnet Rock (Danehill) had taken him and wife Rebecca on.
“It’s been tremendous,” he said. “She was broken in by Jamie Magee, who has a lot of good stock through his hands, and he rang me in about February of her two-year-old year and said, ‘This thing gets up the gallop better than anything else.’ He said we could breeze her but I said that racing her was the right thing to do. She didn’t go into training until August because her pedigree just said wait.”
He continued: “She’s such a strong traveller in her races but she walked around the ring like a sheep, she’s just the most amazing horse. It’s a dream. I thought she’d bring two [million guineas] plus. I thought that if we didn’t get what we wanted for her then we’d keep her, so it was going to be a celebration either way.”
Looking back to the day he bought Via Sistina in December 2019, Hillen said: “I’d have given a lot more for her at the time. She was a foal share but wasn’t protected by either side. She needed a fair bit of imagination. You buy those things sometimes and most of them turn out useless, but she just had something.”
Although Via Sistina was unable to add to her tally after the Pretty Polly Stakes she has run some fine races in defeat, not least when beaten a nose by Mqse De Sevigne (Siyouni) in the Prix Jean Romanet (Gr 1, 2000m) and when filling the runner-up spot behind King Of Steel (Wootton Bassett) in the Champion Stakes (Gr 1, 1m 2f) on her latest outing. The latter performance was given a career-best Racing Post Rating of 120.
Bred by Melba and Colin Bryce of Laundry Cottage Stud Farm, Via Sistina is out of Nigh, a Galileo (Sadler’s Wells) half-sister to dual Group 1-winning sprinter Kingsgate Native (Mujadil). Nigh also came under the hammer on Tuesday evening, selling to an online bid from Lucky Vega of 200,000gns (approx. AU$402,000). She was offered by Far Westfield Farm carrying to Too Darn Hot (Dubawi).
The rise and rise of Cachet rates a real Cinderella story given she hails from distinctly humble origins. Bred by John Bourke of Hyde Park Stud, the filly is out of Poyle Sophie, a placed daughter of Teofilo (Galileo), who was bought with the Classic winner in utero for a mere 3,000gns in 2018.
Cachet first appeared on the public market at the now defunct Tattersalls Ascot Yearling Sale but was retained by her vendor at 14,000gns. She then reappeared at the Craven Breeze-Up Sale the following spring, where she fetched a slightly more respectful 60,000gns from Highclere.
She proved high-class at two, winning on her debut and gaining a handful of black type, most notably when third in the Fillies’ Mile (Gr 1, 1m). She also finished fourth, beaten just a length by Pizza Bianca (Fastnet Rock), in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (Gr 1, 8f).
She took her form to new heights at three, however, as she kicked off her campaign by landing the Nell Gwyn Stakes (Gr 3, 7f) by two and a half lengths before etching her name into the history books by winning the 1,000 Guineas. She defeated Prosperous Voyage (Zoffany) by a neck, with Oaks and Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf (Gr 1, 13f) heroine Tuesday (Galileo) two lengths away in third.
“Of course she’s the 1,000 Guineas winner and she looks gorgeous,” said Northern Farm’s Shingo Hashimoto. “We felt something special from her and we’re excited to take her back to Japan. She’ll be covered, maybe in Europe first, we haven’t decided yet. The options her pedigree gives us is one of the good parts, and she definitely has the speed.
“We always try to diversify the blood that we have among our stock, we don’t want to put all the eggs into one basket, and that’s part of our plan. We’ll always come here to buy.”
Boughey was among the faces in the crowd watching on as the two fillies fetched seven-figure sums and the trainer shared his reflections on the pair bringing a combined 4,900,000gns (approx. AU$9,850,000).
“It was a very special evening and to have two Group 1 winners to sell on the same night within half an hour of each other, it’ll probably never happen again,” said Boughey, “It’s a huge credit to the team at home. Chas Robertson, Laura Toller and Antonia Peck all had an involvement riding these horses and both have been beautifully managed by my team. They came here in super condition.
“To have Highclere’s first Classic winner was amazing and for Steve and Becky Hillen to turn 5,000gns into 2,700,000gns, it won’t be repeated for a very long time. I’m very proud to have been a very small part of it. It’s nice when a plan comes off.”
Beckett pair a source of bittersweet emotions
Another stable responsible for a seven-figure brace was Ralph Beckett’s Kimpton Down Stables, whose draft featured Group 1 winners Lezoo (Zoustar) and Prosperous Voyage. The former sold to Narvick International for 2,200,000gns (approx. AU$4,422,000), while Northern Farm struck at 2,400,000gns (approx. AU$4,820,000) for the latter.
The four-year-old Prosperous Voyage enjoyed her finest hour when she got the better of Inspiral (Frankel) and Sandrine (Bobby’s Kitten) to land the 2022 running of the Falmouth Stakes (Gr 1, 1m). She also proved herself a decidedly high-class talent by winning this year’s Princess Elizabeth Stakes (Gr 3, 1m 4f), as well as finishing runner-up to Cachet in 1,000 Guineas and her old adversary Inspiral (Frankel) in the Fillies’ Mile at two.
Bred by Lynch Bages and Camas Park Stud, Prosperous Voyage was purchased by Badgers Bloodstock at the Doncaster edition of the Goffs Orby Sale, where she fetched £65,000. She is out of Seatone, a Mizzen Mast (Cozzene) half-sister to the dual Grade 1 winner Senure (Nureyev), which makes her a sibling to the Australian Listed third Romanesque.
“We’re happy to be able to buy her at the end of the day,” said Hashimoto after signing for the daughter of Zoffany, who had initially been retained by her vendor at 2,600,000gns. “We’ll breed her next year but we’ll think about whether we bring her back to Japan or keep her in Europe as there are some good stallions here too.”
Lezoo became the first northern hemisphere Group 1 winner for Tweenhills’ Australian sire sensation Zoustar (Northern Meteor) when landing last year’s Cheveley Park Stakes (Gr 1, 6f). Her three-year-old campaign hasn’t proved quite so productive but she added to her four juvenile victories, a quartet that includes the Princess Margaret Stakes (Gr 3, 6f), when winning the Hopeful Stakes (Listed, 6f) on her penultimate outing.
Lezoo has been to the sales on two previous occasions, first fetching 77,000gns from Hamish Macauley at Book 3 in 2021 before being knocked down to Atlas Bloodstock at €110,000 at the following year’s Arqana Breeze-Up, where she was offered by Tally-Ho Stud.
Lezoo was bred by Chasemore Farm from the Red Clubs (Red Ransom) mare Roger Sez, winner of the Firth of Clyde Stakes (Gr 3, 6f) during her time on the track. The dam also bred this season’s Group 3-placed two-year-old Navassa Island (Territories).
Both fillies were owned by Marc Chan and Andrew Rosen, and their adviser Jamie McCalmont reflected on a “bittersweet” evening, saying: “I’m very fond of both of them, they’re lovely girls and they’ve given us some great days out. It’s more sad than happy as I liked them a lot. But it’s an expensive hobby, owning horses in Britain, so you have to do this unless you have stallion income coming in. We don’t have any of that but it would have been lovely to breed from both of them.”
Tally up
By the close of trade the session had become the third-highest grossing day in European auction history. The aggregate was 48,167,000gns (approx. AU$96,770,000), an 11 per cent dip on last year’s record-busting session. The average price was clipped in by two per cent at 275,240gns (approx. AU$553,000), while the median was down by 18 per cent at 92,000gns (approx. AU$184,900). The clearance rate was 79 per cent as 175 sold from 221 offered.
The highest-grossing session in European history is the corresponding day at this sale last year, when the 5,400,000gns Alcohol Free (No Nay Never) contributed to turnover of 54,005,000gns.