Surely no one could have predicted the words that would follow when Alastair Pim dropped the gavel on Irish Oaks (G1) heroine You Got To Me Dec. 3 during the second installment of the Sceptre Session at the Tattersalls December Mare Sale.
The auctioneer looked in Kia Joorabchian's direction and said: "The bromance is still alive!" And that remark was not the only shock aspect of this transaction, as the Amo Racing man had been forced all the way to a staggering 4,800,000gns (US$6,384,000, 1 guinea=US$1.33) to seal the deal.
Pim had peppered Joorabchian with wisecracks throughout the seven-figure showdown, including when he turned his back to the rostrum when a rival bidder held the initiative.
"The merry-go-round has started again!" he said, much to the amusement of the packed Park Paddocks auditorium.
But having seen off all comers, including the classic-winning filly's part-owner, Graham Smith-Bernal, and Kentucky trainer Will Walden, sitting beside John Sykes, the Amo Racing principal suggested the feelings were not entirely reciprocated, as he responded to Pim's quip by saying: "I think he's having a bromance with himself!"
Once the frivolity was out of the way, Joorabchian expanded on the more serious thinking behind spending such a monumental sum. In explaining the strategy, Joorabchian reaffirmed his desire to reach the sport's upper echelons, as well as his intention to stand foursquare behind his growing band of stallions.
"I don't think it's about getting a buzz, we're trying to do the right thing," he said. "We've got to compete. We've been trying to compete for many, many years and we've burnt so much cash trying to do it by trying to pick the next 'one'. But why try to pick the next one when you have 'the one'?
"We have four stallions now that could easily fit her. We've got Bucanero Fuerte and Persian Force, who we really like and are very happy with, and then King Of Steel is the obvious one. I'm going to try to back King Of Steel as much as I can, and the people that back King Of Steel will get my backing back as well."
King Of Steel is due to begin stallion duty at Tally-Ho Stud at a fee of €20,000.
You Got To Me was presented by Newsells Park Stud, which bought into the filly after her winning debut towards the back end of her juvenile season. She made significant progress at 3, returning with victory in the Lingfield Oaks Trial before finishing fourth in the Oaks itself and the Ribblesdale.
Connections applied a tongue tie in a bid to curb her headstrong tendencies in the Irish Oaks, and the move had classic-winning consequences as she got the better of Content and Purple Lily. Caught U Looking, who sold to YuLong Investments, signing as Willingham, at 1,800,000gns on Monday, was back in fifth. You Got To Me was last seen finishing last in the St Leger (G1) won by Jan Brueghel.
Joorabchian initially said he was still to decide whether You Got To Me would continue her racing career, but later confirmed she would remain in training at 4 and would be returning to her current handler, Ralph Beckett.
He said: "If you buy a horse like that, you always let the trainer who's done an amazing job with her carry on."
Stewart makes resolute statement of intent
John Stewart may not have been physically present at the second of the Sceptre Sessions at Tattersalls on Tuesday evening, but the man behind Resolute Bloodstock made his presence felt, buying 33% of the nine fillies and mares who sold for seven-figure sums.
Stewart, who lept to prominence when publicly stating he was willing to bid Aus$9,000,000 for Winx's Pierro yearling filly last April, made more major international headlines when acquiring a majority share in Goliath after the gelding's victory in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes (G1) in July.
Kentucky-based Stewart is now a significant investor globally and spent 6,265,000gns (US$8,332,450) acquiring five fillies and mares, headed by the 3,200,000gns Vertical Blue.
Speaking by phone from America, Stewart said: "Vertical Blue was my number one pick, and I had targeted her. I know a lot about the filly as she is trained by Francis-Henri Graffard and he trains Goliath for me. She will be going back to France to be trained by him.
"I thought she would make that sort of money; premium horses generate that sort of price and there is a small group of people buying them."
The daughter of Mehmas was a wild-card entry in the sale and one of three individual juvenile group 1 winners for Tally Ho Stud's powerhouse stallion this year courtesy of a shock nose success over stable companion Zarigna in the Prix Marcel Boussac (G1) at Longchamp.
She was joined on the Resolute team by 1,300,000gns group 3 winner Village Voice, a daughter of Zarak, and the group 3 winner A Lilac Rolla, who was runner-up to Fallen Angel in the Irish One Thousand Guineas (G1) and third to Porta Fortuna in the Falmouth Stakes, her most recent run for Paddy Twomey.
Resolute got this evening's Sceptre Sessions off to a screaming start with the first of two Mehmas fillies Stewart bought. They are Tales Of The Heart, who is a full sister to the Flying Childers Stakes (G2) winner Caturra, who has his first crop of foals this year.
All four purchases are heading to the United States as Stewart revealed grand ambitions for his racing and breeding empire.
"The others will be coming to the U.S. and will be staying in training. I want to dominate turf racing at Keeneland," he said.
"I want to do an Aidan O'Brien there, and around 80% of my horses are turf horses. The Keeneland track there is quite an anomaly in the U.S. as most of the tracks are firm, but the turf at Keeneland is on the soft. The horses I have bought will act on a soft track."
Turnover of 55,168,500gns (US$73,374,105, 1 guinea=US$1.33) was up 14% from 2023, and exceeded the previous record for the highest-grossing day in European auction history, set at the 2022 Tattersalls December Mares Sale. Three lots sold for in excess of 3,000,000gns. The average stayed consistent at $275,843gns (US$366,871), with the median increasing 30% from 2023 to $120,000gns (US$159,600). Two hundred of the 235 mares on offer changed hands, for a clearance rate of 85%.
