McEvoys take the plunge at Tattersalls
Tony and Calvin McEvoy made their first foray at the Tattersalls Autumn Horses In Training Sale yesterday when they joined up with agent Nick Bell to purchase four-time winner Concorde (Sixties Icon) for 150,000gns (approx. AU$302,000).
Offered by The Castlebridge Consignment, the George Boughey-trained gelding opened his account on his first start as a three-year-old when scoring over a mile at Redcar in April, before adding to his record two starts later over the same trip at Pontefract. He followed up that performance with another victory over a mile at Redcar.
He posted a fourth win over a mile and two furlongs at Newbury in September and was most recently seen finishing third at Newcastle earlier this month. He went under the hammer with an official BHA rating of 91.
Bell, son of trainer Michael, said the McEvoys had approached him to find a suitable prospect for Australia and he landed on the son of Sixties Icon (Galileo), believing he could make his mark in the future.
“He is going to ship to Australia for Tony and Calvin, they asked me to find a suitable prospect,” said Bell. “He has been bought for a loyal client of theirs who wants a horse for the staying races down there.
“He is versatile trip-wise, he goes with a bit of juice in the ground, which they will get in Melbourne. He is a very consistent horse and came highly recommended by the Boughey team. It is the first I have bought for them, let’s hope he is lucky.”
“We were under strict instructions not to leave without him”
After a somewhat muted start to proceedings, the Australians ramped up their spending late on Tuesday evening, headlined by Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott securing two geldings for an aggregate of 855,000gns (approx. AU$1,718,600).
Johnny McKeever and Claudia Miller, bloodstock manager for Waterhouse and Bott, were handling the bidding for the powerhouse training duo and had to beat off competition from Will Bourne, head of bloodstock for the equally powerful Ciaron Maher and David Eustace stable, for the progressive Balance Play (Lope De Vega), who was the most expensive of their two Tuesday purchases.
After a fierce bidding war, McKeever eventually won the battle, securing the son of Lope De Vega (Shamardal) for a sale-topping 575,000gns (approx. AU$1,100,800).
Balance Play was added to the portfolio of ownership entity Valmont for 280,000gns at Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale in 2021 and has gone on to land three races for trainer Ralph Beckett. He was sourced by agent Alex Elliott, who is also at the helm of his first consignment, Imperium Sales, who prepared the gelding for this sale.
The most recent of Balance Play’s wins came in a Class 2 Newbury handicap over a mile and two furlongs, after which he was allotted an official BHA rating of 101.
“He was our highest rated horse in the sale and we were under strict instruction not to leave without him,” said Miller. “He’s a lovely three-year-old, lightly raced, very consistent and effective on all going. He’s the exact profile that we look for at this sale.”
Miller continued: “We kicked the bidding off at 100,000 guineas, although we actually meant to go a bit higher as we knew there was always going to be strong competition for him. He could be anything for us though and he’s easily a stakes horse. I think there’s a lot of improvement in him in terms of form and physically. These European horses seem to explode when they get down into a bit of sunshine and the warmer weather. We’re expecting the same from him.”
McKeever also landed the next lot into the ring when he bid 280,000gns (approx. AU$562,830) for Bear On The Loose (Footstepsinthesand), another offering from the Imperium Sales consignment.
The three-year-old has won three times for Kevin Philippart De Foy having been signed for by Elliott at €100,000 at Goffs two years ago. The KB Thoroughbreds colour bearer has won his last two starts, with his last-start three-length success at Chester, earning him an official BHA rating of 93.
Miller explained Bear On The Loose had been sourced in partnership with microshare syndicator MyRacehorse, who are also involved in the stable’s recent Metropolitan Handicap (Gr 1, 1600m) winner Just Fine (Sea The Stars), who was bought at last year’s edition of the sale for 300,000gns.
“He’s a lovely horse,” said Miller. “He’s nice and lightly raced, there’s plenty of improvement to come and he’s a beautiful type. He came highly rated on form from Rob Waterhouse. Hopefully we can do the same as we have with Just Fine.
“There is so much interest in Australia for these types of horses. We’re racing for huge amounts of money in Australia and we’ve had so much success with European horses, particularly from this sale. It’s been a very happy hunting ground.”
McKeever added: “Sometimes it’s easier to sell a high-profile horse than a low-profile one. Luckily the prize-money is good enough to warrant blowing the budget every now and then. We knew there’d be massive interest in Balance Play though, so that was about where we expected his price to be.”
Yesterday, Waterhouse, Bott and McKeever continued to spend at the top end, parting with 300,000gns (approx. AU$604,000) for 2021 Royal Lodge Stakes (Gr 2, 1600m) winner Royal Patronage, who is by Coolmore Stud shuttler Wootton Bassett (Iffraaj).
Consigned by Violet Hesketh and Mimi Wadham’s WH Bloodstock, the Highclere Thoroughbred-raced four-year-old won his Group 2 as a juvenile for Mark Johnston. Royal Patronage was then sent to Graham Motion in America for whom he ran four times, winning once over a mile and a half at Keeneland in April and was most recently seen finishing fifth at Grade 3 level.
Miller told ANZ Bloodstock News they were pleased to secure the entire, believing he has the profile to make his presence felt in Australia.
“He has the form on the board and is clearly a very talented horse. He is a four-old year-old and has only had 14 starts, which is exactly how we bought Just Fine last year. We have been really keen to secure Wootton Bassetts as they are so successful up here, and he has his first southern hemisphere-bred yearlings this year,” said Miller.
“We loved this horse, he is a beautiful type and is a really nice mover, who will adapt really well in Australia. He has really nice bone and we have come to this sale trying to purchase more horses like Just Fine and I think he is a similar mould.”
Australian Bloodstock continues spending spree
Luke Murrell’s Australian Bloodstock and Ronald Rauscher have been active all week and early yesterday, they continued their frenetic spending spree, securing six lots, including five with Newcastle-based trainer Kris Lees, for an aggregate of 343,000gns (approx. AU$690,500).
The most expensive of those purchases was Fulfilled (Ulysses), the four-year-old gelding fetching 125,000gns (approx. AU$251,600).
Consigned by David Simcock’s Trillium Place Stables, Fulfilled won four times for the Newmarket-based trainer, with his most recent victory coming over a mile and four furlongs at Wolverhampton on October 9, and he leaves for Australia with an official BHA rating of 84.
Fulfilled is out of winner Zoella (Invincible Spirit), herself a half-sister to French Group 3 scorer Zibelina (Dansili) and Listed winner Floristry (Fasliyev).
The team also purchased Peony, a filly by Coolmore Stud shuttler Churchill (Galileo), who they secured from Ed Walker Racing for 70,000gns (approx. AU$140,900).
Bought in conjunction with Lees, she landed two of her eight career starts for Walker, breaking her maiden over six furlongs at Wolverhampton in May, before sealing her second victory when winning over the same distance at Haydock the following month. She has an official BHA racing for 79.
Peony is out Nancy Hart (Sepoy), who hails from the same family as the multiple Group 1-winning champion Sky Lantern (Red Clubs).
Australian Bloodstock and Rauscher combined with Lees for two more purchases, securing maiden Golden Smile (Sea The Stars) for 45,000gns (approx. AU$90,500), while they also purchased fellow maiden, Tajalat (Showcasing), for 35,000gns (approx. AU$70,460). Both horses were offered as part of the Godolphin draft.
Early on yesterday, Murrell and Rauscher teamed up with Newcastle-based trainer Nathan Doyle to buy Monty Be Quick, a gelding by New Bay (Dubawi) for 18,000gns (approx. AU$36,235)
Murrell and Rauscher had already added to the collection late on Tuesday night, snaring winner Barazin (Siyouni) for 42,000gns (approx. AU$84,400).
The pair also teamed up Mick Price Racing and Breeding for Lordship (Lord Of England), a gelding from William Haggas’s Somerville Lodge draft. Costing 160,000gns (approx. AU$321,600), Lordship has won four of his ten starts, returning an official BHA rating of 103.
Bourne digs deep for Amleto
Ciaron Maher and David Eustace were responsible for the third top-priced lot during Tuesday’s second session, with Bourne parting with 360,000gns (approx. AU$723,600) for the three-year-old gelding Amleto (Sea The Stars).
Trained by Haggas, the son of Sea The Stars (Cape Cross) broke his maiden at Chester in May, an effort that was allotted an official BHA rating of 89. He was last seen running second in a high-end Goodwood handicap over a mile and four furlongs.
Amleto is out of the blue hen Holy Moon (Hernando), meaning he is not only a brother to Irish Oaks (Gr 1, 1m 4f) and Yorkshire Oaks (Gr 1, 1m 3.5f) heroine Sea Of Class, but also a half-brother to elite-level winning pair Final Score (Dylan Thomas) and Charity Line (Manduro).
“He’s a lovely horse and his profile very much fits Australia,” said Bourne. “The sire line is proven down there with horses like Fifty Stars, an Australian Cup winner, and then Just Fine is this year’s Metropolitan winner. He’s the perfect fit for Down Under. He’s very lightly raced so there’s plenty of miles left on the clock and I just really can’t wait to see what he can do once he gets down there. You have to take it all into consideration but the fact that the sire line is proven in Australia is a big tick.”
On the price, Bourne added: “We had a bit more for him as he was the one we’d targeted and were really keen to pick up. It’s not easy though and it feels like a strong market.
“He’s been syndicated and there’s some really lucky owners in him, including a couple of Melbourne Cup-winning owners who’re in Gold Trip in Matt Belford and Jeff Garvey. They took 50 per cent. I spoke to Matt before he went to bed last night and he gave me the green light to go ahead, which gave me a lot of confidence to buy the horse.”
Amleto was one of three purchases for Maher at the sale on Tuesday, with Bourne also securing two-time winner Chartwell House (Churchill) for 60,000gns (approx. AU$120,600). Maher also teamed up with syndicators First Light Racing and Billy Jackson-Stops to buy four-time winner Cosmic Vega (Lope De Vega) for 100,000gns (approx. AU$201,00).
Waller and Mulcaster strike for three
Having secured Denmark (Camelot) for 240,000gns (approx. AU$461,112) earlier on Tuesday, Guy Mulcaster, bidding on behalf of Chris Waller, landed two more lots, paying 300,000gns (approx. AU$603,000) for dual winner Florida (No Nay Never), before parting with 230,000gns (approx. AU$462,324) for Unlimited (Saxon Warrior).
Both offered by Haggas’s Somerville Lodge, Florida went under the hammer with an official BHA rating of 89, while his stablemate Unlimited, also the winner of two races, was offered with an official rating of 81.
“Florida and Unlimited were both highly recommended by the Haggas stable and we were happy to go with their judgement. We liked their profiles and their [race] replays, so fingers crossed for both of them,” said Mulcaster.
Speaking about Florida, the agent said: “I had Chris [Waller] on the phone and he was pretty happy to keep going, so we were happy to get him for that sort of money.”
More southern hemisphere buyers active
The Everest (1200m)-winning syndicators Triple Crown combined with Blandford Bloodstock for Hiawatha (Camelot), paying Coolmore 160,000gns (approx. AU$321,616) for the colt, who has not made it to the racetrack this year.
Trained by Aidan O’Brien, the three-year-old ran five times at two, winning once and finishing runner-up on three occasions, including in last year’s Eyrefield Stakes (Gr 3, 1m 1f).
The colt, who has an official BHA rating of 100, is a brother to three-time Group 1 winner Luxembourg, while his half-brother is Group 2 scorer Leo De Fury (Australia).
Hubie De Burgh and Darby Racing added to their haul on Tuesday, purchasing winner Gulf Of Mexico (Galileo) for 50,000gns (approx. AU$100,500). Offered by Coolmore, three-year-old colt is out of 2014 Queen Mary Stakes (Gr 2, 5f) winner Anthem Alexander (Starspangledbanner) and was sent for sale with an official BHA rating of 89.
Meanwhile, another of the Somerville Lodge draft is set to continue his career in the southern hemisphere, with Albert Bosma’s Go Racing forking out 40,000gns (approx. AU$80,400) for Tajanis (Australia), who was last seen breaking his maiden on the fifth attempt, at Yarmouth in September, returning an official BHA rating of 81 for that effort.