Another day, another Tattersalls Craven Breeze-Up Sale record. A little over 24 hours after Godolphin paid 1.4 million guineas for a son of Acclamation, the operation came off second best to Amo Racing when Malcolm Bastard presented the Havana Grey colt out of the appropriately named Show Stealer.
Godolphin's buying team of David Loder and Anthony Stroud bid with all their usual impetus, but Amo principal Kia Joorabchian was in no mood to be denied April 16. He struck the winning bid of 1.75 million guineas (US$2,432,500, 1 guinea=US$1.39) from his usual position in the bidders' area opposite the rostrum.
The colt showed a jaw-dropping appreciation in value, having last changed hands publicly for just 55,000 guineas at the 2023 Tattersalls December Foal Sale, where Harlequin Direct signed the docket. That upgrade represents a 3,081% return on investment.
"What a phenomenal sale," said Amo talent scout Alex Elliott. "I've said it in recent years, it's becoming very much like the American breeze up market. Obviously, there's the clocks, there's all the hoops to jump through, and when you do it, there's just no limit to what these horses can make. We've been a bit slower on the uptake here but it's become like that. These men want to win the best races and a lot of the best breezers win the best races."
The colt clocked the fastest two-furlong workout according to times seen by the Racing Post. For Elliott it was not just the raw time that jumped out, but that Bastard's horses are not renowned for breaking the stopwatch.
"He's by Havana Grey, who's had a champion out of here in Vandeek," Elliott continued. "All these vendors are trying to do the same thing, but the one thing about Malcolm, and he'll tell you himself, that he's first and foremost a pre-trainer; the horse comes first. So when Malcolm's horse rocks up at the breeze and clocks the fastest time, there was a queue at his door and we had to get an appointment for when we could see the horse!
"He's been doing this a long time, he's brilliant at his job and he's pre-trained some of the best horses in Europe. The horse was produced beautifully and for it to do what it did, for Malcolm, when he doesn't particularly put the gun to their heads, it tells you you've got a good horse."
The seven-figure youngster is set to make the short journey from Tattersalls to Freemason Lodge, where he will be trained by Raphael Freire.
Dullingham at the Double
Owner Zhang Yuesheng enjoyed a particularly productive day in Newmarket, with Double Rush winning the opener on the Rowley Mile before a brace of eye-catching recruits were added to the string during the opening stages of Wednesday's session of selling.
The first signing was the Too Darn Hot colt from Johnny Collins' Brown Island Stables, who went from a 90,000-guinea Tattersalls October Yearling Sale Book 2 yearling to 550,000-guinea 2-year-old.
The youngster was bred by Blue Diamond Stud from Morningtide, a daughter of Shamardal from the family of Ballymacoll Stud celebrity Islington. The same breeder has already had success with the stallion having also produced uturity Trophy Stakes (G1) scorer Hotazhell.
Two lots later the Mehmas half brother to the listed-winning Lady Of Spain brought the hammer down at 500,000 guineas The youngster was pinhooked by Tally-Ho Stud at the Goffs November Foal Sale in 2023 at a cost of €50,000.
Ben Hyde was on bidding duty for the Yulong Investments principal, and signed the dockets with the name Dullingham. It was announced last month that Yulong had purchased 2023 Commonwealth Cup (G1) and July Cup Stakes (G1) winner Shaquille and third-season sire Soldier's Call to continue their stallion careers at Dullingham Park on the edge of Newmarket.
"We're very happy," said Yulong representative Paul Curran. "Mr. Zhang came here looking to pick up one or two and we've fulfilled that, which is great. They're two nice early, precocious types, which is what you're always looking for at this sort of sale. We're just in the middle of deciding training plans but the Too Darn Hot will go to Jessie Harrington. That makes sense, obviously given what she did last year with Hotazhell. We're going to wait and see what he wants to do with the Mehmas."
Sale Statistics
The two-day Craven sale finished with across-the-board gains over last year's edition. A total of 119 lots sold from the 143 offered for a turnover of 18,804,000 guineas (US$26,137,560), averaging 158,017 guineas (US$219,644) with a median of 100,000 guineas (US$139,000). Twenty-four lots went unsold for a clearance rate of 83%. Last year 106 lots sold for an average of 137,590 guineas and median of 80,000 guineas with a 72% clearance rate.
