Oh my God! No three words more neatly sum up the collective reaction to what went down at Book 1 of last year's Tattersalls October Yearling Sale. Simply put, the event was—to borrow another three-word descriptor—off the charts.
Should anyone need reminding, the history books were ripped up and rewritten as an unprecedented 127,823,000 guineas (about $181 million) changed hands. That is 1,152,000 guineas more than the previous benchmark, despite 79 fewer yearlings changing hands than on that occasion in 2023. The average price also was a clear sale record at 370,500 guineas, as was the median of 250,000 guineas.
But the bare financial details barely do justice to the drama that unfolded. It was not just the prices that made this event so memorable, but the personalities too.
Tattersalls October Yearling Sale Book 1 catalog
Book 1 has always catered for the elite of world racing—think Coolmore and Godolphin for starters—and the established superpowers would have been within their rights to expect a case of business as usual 12 months ago. Kia Joorabchian had other ideas.
Sales do not hand out most valuable player awards (or should that be most valuable bidder), but if they did, the Amo Racing principal would have been a shoo-in. Joorabchian, who was joined on Day 1 of the sale by Nottingham Forest's billionaire owner Evangelos Marinakis, walked away from Park Paddocks with Amo Racing's name on the docket of 25 lots, including several with partners Al Shaqab Racing and Valmont.
His unmatched spend totaled 22,940,000 guineas—18% of that record-breaking aggregate. Moreover, his haul took in four of the six most expensive lots, including the chart-topping Frankel filly out of Royal Ascot winner Aljazzi who brought 4.4 million guineas.
Joorabchian also bought the second-top lot, the son of Wootton Bassett and Park Bloom who became the most expensive colt in European yearling sales history at 4.3 million guineas. Subsequently named Poker and sent into training with Karl Burke, he debuted with a never-dangerous sixth at Haydock last month.
The Amo man was not alone in driving the Book 1 market, but his contribution is hard to overstate. Ever since last year's Book 1, one question has remained: Were those market conditions an anomaly or is that the new normal?
Only time will tell, although such is Book 1's lofty position, the received wisdom suggests that those events set the global bloodstock market on something of a bull run. Trade has remained notably buoyant throughout this year's sales, including when records were posted at the two European dates most directly comparable with Book 1, namely the Arqana August Sale and last week's Goffs Orby.
The same has been true on the other side of the Atlantic, where the blue-chip auctions at Fasig-Tipton and Keeneland reached hitherto uncharted heights. While trade in the United States has been underpinned by the permanent 100% tax depreciation that came into effect under President Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the driving forces in the European market remain much the same.
Nonetheless, evidence from the sales ground on a balmy final day of inspections suggests a repeat of 12 months ago remains a distinct possibility.
Joorabchian was back on deck and busy inspecting yearlings with a sizeable Amo delegation, including key lieutenant Robson Aguiar and the operation's in-house trainer Kevin Philippart de Foy.
There was a significant contingent from the Coolmore camp, with Aidan O'Brien at the center of the huddle alongside M.V. Magnier. While Godolphin's talent scouts were also busy conducting their due diligence, Sheikh Mohammed was not among those at Park Paddocks. The ruler of Dubai is expected to arrive at Tattersalls Oct. 7.
Other major operations with boots on the ground include Ace Stud, which stands the Yulong Investments stallions Shaquille and Soldier's Call, Al Shira'aa Racing, Juddmonte, and Sumbe. Sheikha Hissa, head of the Shadwell empire, was also present and was spotted casting her eye over the progeny of her operation's exciting first-crop sire Baaeed.
Andrew Balding, John and Thady Gosden, William Haggas, and newly minted group 1-winning handler George Scott were among the trainers doing the rounds. Leading U.S.-based agent Mike Ryan, purchaser of seven grade 1-winning Book 1 graduates in recent years, also was working his way through the barns alongside trainer Chad Brown.
Of course, elite buyers will only put their hand in their pocket for elite-level stock. There is no shortage on this front as the catalog contains siblings to the likes of Anthony Van Dyck, Battaash, Bayside Boy, Eldar Eldarov, Skitter Scatter, St Mark's Basilica, and Time For Sandals. And they are just a few of the notable pedigrees within the first 100 lots on Day 1.
"Today's been a lovely day to show horses but Friday and Saturday were particularly challenging because of the weather," said general manager Julian Dollar Oct. 6. "The flow of people has been strong, it's never been manic and out of control but good and steady. There have been plenty of the right sort of people looking too."
Asked whether he felt the sale could match the giddy highs of 12 months ago, Dollar said: "There were some huge prices last year, of which we were the beneficiaries on a couple of occasions. I think it was this sale last year that really set everything off. It's not like we're looking at Book 1 wondering if it'll follow the pattern from the sales this summer and autumn; this is what set the ball rolling. If it matches last year, it'll be doing well. I doubt the average and median will match with an extra 70 horses in the catalog, but at the end of the day the sales companies are only interested in the aggregate, so they should be alright there."
He added: "I don't see any reason why this won't be a strong sale. Every sale we've watched in Europe and North America has been exceedingly strong. There are plenty of Americans here, which is good to see because they obviously have a big tax incentive to buy horses. The normal domestic and Middle Eastern clients have been around. I see no reason not to be positive, but we shall see."
The sale begins at 11 a.m. local time Oct. 7 in the Park Paddocks sales complex in Newmarket.
For now, the racing and bloodstock industry holds its collective breath. We don't have long to wait to find out which three words best sums events over the coming three days.
