Superpowers Set to Collide at Tattersalls Book 1

Every sport has its own season-defining fixture. The National Football League has the Super Bowl, golf has the Masters, and European football has the Champions League final. These are the games where the best of the best go head-to-head in full-blooded competition. The winner takes it all. Book 1 is where buyers leave everything out on the field, not least in financial terms. Intense trade at last year's renewal saw all previous spending records smashed as turnover hit an eye-popping 126,671,000gns (US$162,261,561). Sixteen lots sold for 1,000,000gns or more, and even the average price was just less than a minimum bid under 300,000gns. These are unprecedentedly punchy numbers. Book 1 has had a growing international resonance in recent times too, particularly in the United States, where Domestic Spending (GB), In Italian (GB), McKulick (GB), and Program Trading (GB) have all won grade 1s. Each of those names were sourced by agent Mike Ryan on behalf of clients of leading trainer Chad Brown, and the Ryan-Brown axis was also combing the grounds on Monday. Given how much is on the line, there was some understandably nervous anticipation from those selling this week. Among those hoping Monday was the calm before the storm was Tom Blain of Barton Stud, whose 14-strong draft features an array of blue-chip pedigrees by the likes of Dubawi (IRE), Frankel (GB), Sea The Stars (IRE), and Siyouni (FR). "It feels like all the right people are in town, and the weather has been good up until today," said Blain. "The first two days of showing especially can feel a bit quiet, but then the trainers come in today and you start to get some second looks and some vets, and that's when it starts to hot up. "I'm definitely feeling it hotting up today, so we're getting more excited about some of the horses we've got and the sale generally." On his own draft, Blain added: "This is the best group of horses we've ever brought here. We have some lovely physicals and the progeny of some great stallions. From our point of view, we're all about building, having yearlings by better stallions, and getting the progeny of better mares. Hopefully, this is another step on the ladder towards being at the top of the Book 1 consignors' chart because that's what it's all about." On the other side of the sales ring, Ted Voute was overseeing the four-strong offering from Imad Al Sagar's Blue Diamond Stud. "It's a playing field for the very top people in the business," Voute said on Book 1's position within the bloodstock landscape. "And it's two-fold because there are some very rich people selling here and some very rich people buying, so it's unique in that respect." Both Blain and Voute suggested it was the cocktail of time, investment, and, perhaps most importantly, the expectation that makes Book 1 such a pressure-cooker environment. Despite the pre-sale nerves, Voute said he remained optimistic heading into the opening session. "It's always the last bit, watching it all come together in the last strides that makes it nerve-racking," he said. "Everyone has different tastes and budgets from time to time, but I'm hopeful as I don't see any reason why (the market) should suddenly drop off a cliff. "There's a hunger for the best of the crop, and this is it. If you don't buy at this sale, you're not buying from the best the industry has to offer." On paper the best Blue Diamond has to offer is the Dubawi half brother to Nashwa (GB), who will be presented on Tuesday as Lot 35. "He's special and it's lovely to have a brother to a classic winner by such a prolific stallion," said Voute. "Dubawi is a sire of sires, the sire of the moment together with Frankel, and this is an outstanding individual. He's probably one of the best examples I've seen by the stallion."