There was a definite sense of déjà vu on the concluding session of a record-breaking renewal of the Tattersalls Autumn Horses in Coaching Sale Oct. 28, as main spenders Najd Stud wouldn’t be denied for the session’s most wanted providing.
The Saudi Arabian operation, which has been assisted in its expertise search by Peter and Ross Doyle Bloodstock, added the progressive Laatansa to its 14-lot haul at a price of 250,000 guineas (US$362,250).
Laatansa heads to the ring on the Tattersalls Autumn Horses in Coaching Sale
The two-year-old son of New Bay came on the market after three promising efforts for Shadwell and Ed Dunlop, the most recent of which came at Newmarket when third to New London.
“We liked him as a physical, he’s a very nice horse,” said Najd Stud’s representative Saud Al Qahtani. “He’s by a promising young stallion who is already producing group 1 winners, all his progeny are booming, and he’s from a good family. We hope he will be a very nice horse next year.”
Laatansa is out of the listed-placed Louve Uncommon, a Rock of Gibraltar half sister to the Wildensteins’ group/grade 2 winner Loup Breton, while Prix d’Ispahan (G1) hero Loup Sauvage appears beneath the third dam.
Laatansa was making his third appearance at public auction, having been pinhooked by Blandford Bloodstock at €38,000 ($42,027) before being picked up by Shadwell at 205,000 guineas ($297,045) at Book 2. Najd Stud’s man was standing in for Saad bin Mishraf, who has signed for the majority of the operation’s purchases this week.
“Saad is on his way to the airport but he called me and said, ‘Don’t let this horse go!'” said Al Qahtani. “In Saudi Arabia we already have the most valuable race in the world and all the good horses from around the world are coming now. It is the destination for the best horses in the world at the end of February.”
The six-figure acquisition of Laatansa took Najd Stud’s Autumn Horses in Training Sale spend to 2,791,000 guineas ($4,044,159), a haul that included the 700,000 guineas ($1,011,721) top lot Grocer Jack and the third-most expensive offering, the 400,000 guineas ($578,102) Boltaway.
Janoobi in the ring
Thursday’s Shadwell draft also included the 85,000 guineas ($123,165) Janoobi, a once-raced son of Night of Thunder knocked down to Gaelic Bloodstock, while Richard Ryan and Ian Williams went to 80,000 guineas ($115,920) for Kitaab, a Showcasing half brother to listed winner Bahrain Pride who was third at Kempton on the most recent of two outings for Marcus Tregoning.
Over the four days of the Autumn Horses in Training Sale Shadwell sold 118 lots for receipts totaling 5,238,500 guineas ($7,590,586). The operation’s Angus Gold reflected on the dispersal by saying: “It has been a very good week in terms of the market, I think the horses have sold very well.
“They were incredibly well presented by the team at Shadwell, so it’s a big credit to them and all the trainers who have sent them to us in good order. It’s obviously sad but it had to come and it’s on to the next chapter now. As we have said over the last couple of months we will be smaller in number, but there will be plenty of quality on offer.
Kitaab in the ring
“I’d like to thank all the purchasers and wish them all the best. There was a huge selection to choose from, obviously so many of our horses were untried and were in the catalog due to exceptional circumstances. A lot of people wanted to get stuck in and it was reflected in the figures.
“We’ve had a great year on the track this season, and, of course, we are not going to have the same sort of number of results, but if we can keep to quality, cutting down to the main quality mares and breeding them as well as we can, all being well, I’m sure we will have some decent horses.
“I’d like to thank everyone at Shadwell who has worked so hard, it’s the first time we have ever sold anything like this number of horses and they have really jumped to the fore and done incredibly well.”
Sangster Swaps Roles
Sam Sangster, who enjoyed a red-letter day on Tuesday when selling Hannibal Barca to BBA Ireland for 500,000 guineas ($722,658), resumed purchasing duties on Thursday when giving 80,000 guineas for Ebtihaaj, another to emerge from the Shadwell consignment.
The 2-year-old son of Night of Thunder was cataloged as unraced but had since shown ability when ninth of 12 over seven furlongs at Yarmouth earlier in the month. That debut effort came for Brian Meehan, and Sangster explained that Ebtihaaj would remain under the trainer’s care, albeit not necessarily at his familiar Manton base.
“He’s for existing owners of Brian’s,” said Sangster. “We’ve liked the horse all along, Brian suggested the horse to the owner and they were keen to buy.
Ebtihaaj in the ring
“We have a little bit of an interesting angle for next year—Brian is hopefully going to shuttle a few horses over to France, we’re going to take a yard over there.
“This horse has the premiums, we bought four yearlings in France last week and we have got another four in the yard already, so we are going to send 10 horses out there. We’re just trying to piece together how it’s all going to work.”
Bred by Rabbah Bloodstock from the listed-placed Cape Cross mare Gold Sands, Ebtihaaj shares his page with Prix de Diane (G1) heroine Le Cressonniere and joined the Shadwell fold at a cost of 200,000 guineas ($274,374) as a Book 2 yearling.
Figures Hit Record Levels
A remarkably strong renewal of the Autumn Horses in Training Sale concluded with monstrous gains across the spectrum of key market indices. Aggregate sales rose by 45% to 31,471,300 guineas ($45,601,913), while the average was also up by 40% to 31,377 guineas ($45,465).
The most punchy increase was in the median price of 16,000 guineas ($23,184), a 78% gain on the 9,000 guineas ($13,041) figure recorded 12 months earlier. Some 1,095 lots were offered and 1,003 of those found a buyer for a clearance rate of 92%.
At the close of trade, Tattersalls chairman Edmond Mahony said: “An extraordinary renewal of a unique sale. There is no sale in the world quite like the Tattersalls Autumn Horses in Training Sale and there has never been one quite like the sale that has just taken place.
“Records for turnover, average, and median are always notable landmarks for any sale, but when the record margins are so large it suggests that maybe new factors have come into play and to an extent that may have been the case this week. There is no doubt that the major consignment from the late Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum’s Shadwell Estates has introduced a new dynamic.
“A consignment of that size and quality does not go unnoticed and the buyers have seized the rare opportunity to source horses from one of the finest owner-breeder operations in the world. Additionally, the numerous racing carnivals that now take place during the autumn and winter months throughout the Gulf region have had a huge impact on the sale.
“Buyers from the Gulf have been major contributors to Tattersalls Autumn Horses in Training Sales for many years, but new racing opportunities have brought buyers from the region in even greater numbers than before and, crucially, they have been active at all levels of the market.
“Equally important has been the sustained success-driven demand throughout the sale from Australian connections and this has been despite continued difficulties surrounding travel. There will be around 40 horses heading to Australia from this week’s sale and that is in addition to the 30 or so yearlings which were purchased at the recent Tattersalls October Yearling Sale.
“The Australian buyers deserve huge praise for their collective commitment using every means possible to continue buying here despite being unable to travel, and we look forward to them being rewarded with more success along the lines of recent Tattersalls Australian superstars Zaaki and Russian Camelot.”
He added: “The strong domestic demand we saw at our yearling sales has also been replicated and we can not only look back on a successful month at Tattersalls, but also take encouragement as we look forward to the Tattersalls December Foal and Mare Sales which, similar to this week, features outstanding consignments from Godolphin, Juddmonte Farms, and Shadwell Estates.”
