Pinning victories don’t get much more impressive than those that took place at Tattersalls’ Craven Breeze-Up sale on April 17, when Glending Stables’ Galileo colt completed the course converting from a 125,000gns colt to a 1mgns ($1,310,000, 1gn=) $1.31) 2-year-old colt.
Once the bidding began, it wasn’t long before prices passed the half-million mark, with Chris Wall, race manager Vandeek KHK Racing owner, Amo Racing principal Kia Joorabchian and the Godolphin buying group appear to be still in full force. Wall was the first to check out, but Joorabchian appeared in no mood to back down.
When Godolphin representative Anthony Stroud indicated a price of 900,000gns, it appeared Joorabchian may have reached his limit.
Tattersalls chairman and auctioneer Edmond Mahony tried to entice the group’s eventual rise by saying: “You may never get a chance again.” The reminder clearly had the desired effect as they sensibly indicated an increase of 50,000gns.
However, Stroud quickly returned his own 50,000gns bid to move matters into seven-figure territory, at which point a disappointed-looking Joorabchian shook his head and left the ring.
Roderic Kavanagh is no stranger to success at the Craven Sale, having sold Vandeek for 625,000gns 12 months ago. However, the significance of this transaction was clearly not lost on the Glending Stables man.
“You start dreaming and the last month has been stressful because you know you have something special,” he said. “We’ve been disciplined all year and haven’t lost our ability to run, but when this horse comes along (as a colt) you can feel capable of achieving something unique.”
The Coolmore-bred colt is just one of a dozen foals from the 12-time champion sire’s final litter and is out of the mix. Manderley . This lineage makes the colt closely related to the listed winner Hidden dimples while the dam, who also finished fourth in the 2014 One Thousand Guineas (G1), is a full sister to Gregorian .
The colt’s upgraded value is, at least in part, underpinned by his remarkably fast timing in light winds, especially for a son of such renowned classical influence. When Stroud was asked if he expected the colt to develop as soon as the breeze suggested, he said: “Charlie Appleby and the boss will make those decisions.”
This colt became the third most expensive carriage sold in Europe and the second most expensive to change hands at the Craven Sale.
Selectivity when displayed as metrics delivers mixed messages
Day 2 proved significantly stronger than the opening session, although it was clearly a selective market, as evidenced by the wholesale sell-out rate of 72%.
During the two sessions, 147 lots were offered and 106 lots were sold, generating a total turnover of 14,584,500 gns ($19,105,695). That number is down 5% year-on-year from 20 fewer lots sold (16%). The average price increased 13% to 137,590gns ($180,243), while the average price remained at 80,000gns ($104,800), as it was 12 months ago.
“There is no shortage of competition, both domestically and internationally, in market leadership and record numbers of lots sold at prices of 500,000gns and above, but the lower levels of the market are not matched by demand.” strong in the higher-end segment,” Mahony said.
