Frankel filly realises 4,400,000gns as Amo Racing spend big at Tattersalls

Cover image courtesy of Tattersalls

A phenomenal opening session

It is hard to recall a stronger start to a sale than that witnessed at Tattersalls on Tuesday. The signs were there over the weekend, with plenty of consignors reporting strong footfall during inspections, despite the clash with the Arc meeting in Paris. A huge crowd doesn't always translate to bumper returns, however, but there was no sign of first-day jitters here.

Those buying teams that have become the stalwarts of the scene: Godolphin, Juddmonte, Shadwell and Al Shaqab, have been joined in recent years by the dominant forces of Yulong and Amo Racing, who in turn have been met by emerging operations from Bahrain, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, such as Victorious Racing, Wathnan Racing and Salhia Stud. New money and old was in play at Book 1 – to an almost dizzying degree.

This diverse participation coupled with a tightening of numbers to around 450 yearlings has contrived to send the Book 1 statistics through the roof. As an elite event, it is routinely a strong sale but the day 1 figures were up across the board. A clearance rate of 90 per cent was derived from the sale of 117 yearlings for a total of 42,680,000gns (AU$87 million), which was up by 36 per cent on last year's opening day. The average rose by 48 per cent to a record 364,786gns (AU$744,100) and the median by 27 per cent to 260,000gns (AU$530,400).

Eight individual buyers made an outlay into seven figures on Tuesday. American expenditure was also notable, with 12 different entities from the US signing for 15 yearlings, including Klaravich Stables, Mike Repole, David Ingordo and WinStar Farm.

It would appear as though the tighter book really hit the mark on Tuesday. Despite offering 24 fewer horses compared to this day 12 months ago, the opening session concluded with a major rise in all of the key figures.

Of note to Australians readers

The Hong Kong Jockey Club made one purchase, Lot 79, a colt by Mehmas (Ire) from Arctic Ocean (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) who is a half-sister to Hong Kong galloper Beauty Amigo (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}). He was purchased for 380,000gns (AU$775,200).

Yulong made five purchases led by a 750,000gns (AU$1.5 million) Frankel (GB) filly out of dual Group 1 winner Wonderful Tonight (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}). They also bought a Frankel colt for 450,000gns (AU$918,000) out of Big Evs (Ire) (Blue Point {Ire})’s half-sister Canton Queen (Ire) (Shamardal {USA}).

Their other purchases were a Sea The Stars (Ire) colt for 500,000gns (AU$1.02 million), a Too Darn Hot (GB) filly for 480,000gns (AU$979,200) and a Havana Gray (GB) colt for 180,000gns (AU$367,200).

Amo Racing is leading buyer on Day 1

As a statement of intent, it was a pretty serious one. Ten yearlings bought and 11,045,000gns (AU$22.5 million) spent by Amo Racing while many at Park Paddocks were still finishing their lunch.

Amo principal Kia Joorabchian, amid an entourage which included Nottingham Forest FC owner Evangelos Marinakis and bloodstock agent Alex Elliott, would not be beaten on the day's leading lady, Newsells Park Stud's Frankel filly out of Aljazzi (GB) (Shamardal {USA}). The hammer eventually fell at 4,400,000gns (AU$8.9 million) – the second-highest price ever paid for a Book 1 yearling. Joorabchian faced determined opposition from Mitsu Nakauchida, but the Japanese trainer ultimately had to play the role of underbidder for Lot 68, the second foal of her Group 2-winning dam.

And Amo still had plenty of ammo in reserve, for just four lots later Joorabchian was back, this time taking aim at another prized daughter of Frankel: Staffordstown's full sister to the six-time Group 1 winner and Arc heroine Alpinista (GB). He made just one bid, at 2,500,000gns (AU$5.1 million), but that was enough to add the bay filly to an increasingly tantalising list of future broodmare prospects.

The football agent and prominent racehorse owner initially referred journalists' enquiries to Elliott, but he was eventually cajoled into a few words on his explosive spending spree at Tattersalls.

“I don't do interviews,” he said with a grin. “We need strong-pedigreed fillies. We have a lot of horses going to stud in the next year. Bucanero Fuerte will end up at stud, I don't know this year or next year, and King Of Steel will go to stud, I don't know this year or next year yet. Soon we will have to make a decision. We have Persian Force at stud and we just need to back them, otherwise we are just going to get left behind. The kind of investment we have made in the last few years, we are going to have to change a little bit and we have to back our stallions to have a chance at winning. It's very hard to buy those mares because the Juddmontes, Coolmores, Shadwells, all the big guys own all the big mares, so we have to come out here and hope that what we are buying in terms of pedigrees, like we did with the fillies in Keeneland. We went after fillies with strong pedigrees – and that's what we are trying to do.”

He continued, “It's very hard to buy them afterwards. Once they've won a Group 1 you're up in the eights, nines, tens of millions, so you've got to try to get them earlier and hope that in the next few years that these fillies will do well.”

Just for a little variety, the Amo team later added a colt by Frankel to the list of the day's purchases. Lot 85, a half-brother to the Group 3-placed Redressed (GB) (Le Havre {Ire}), whose dam Atone (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) is a sister to Juddmonte's multiple Group 1 winner Midday (GB), was bought from the draft of Baroda Stud for 1,100,000gns (AU$2.24 million).

“Frankel has had huge success and he just keeps on coming through,” Joorabchian added. “The Champion Stakes in Ireland was a real eye-opener when you looked at the card. There were five Frankels and one Too Darn Hot. You look at all the Frankels and what they're doing, and you just have to back him.”

Gallery: Images courtesy of Tattersalls

Recounting the bidding duel for the top lot, Elliott said, “Kia and partners wanted the filly very badly – a Frankel filly from that family and with that physique, she was always going to be a collectors' item.

“But she is part of Team Amo now – wow. She is a spectacular filly, it is a spectacular price, a spectacular bunch of horses here. I'd like to say I was a cool customer when all that was taking place, but that would be a fib. I have never been in that rarified atmosphere before.”

He added, “It is great that she is staying here, it is great for British racing. To have two men say they are going to keep her here, it is huge kudos to them. Kia knows you have got to buy them at the top level to compete at the top level. All the teams select the best horse and it is who blinks first, and Kia did not blink – I think I did.”

Marinakis, who had also attended the Goffs London Sale with Joorabchian back in June, when asked if he was one of the partners behind Amo Racing's major outlay, replied, “No, I'm just here to enjoy the day.”

Amo Racing, the outright leading buyer so far during Book 1, accounted for almost a quarter of the day's turnover, which was in excess of 42 million gns (AU$87 million). They also bought three yearlings in partnership with Al Shaqab Racing, while Kia's son Maxi Joorabchian co-signed with trainer George Scott for a colt by first-crop sire Lucky Vega (Ire) at 180,000gns (AU$367,200).

Godolphin lands No Nay Never colt

Godolphin picked up the top-priced colt on the day, a No Nay Never (USA) half-brother to G2 Champagne S. winner Iberian (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), who was described by Ballylinch Stud's John O'Connor as the nicest horses the operation has ever brought to the sales.

Gallery: Images courtesy of Tattersalls

That big opinion was backed up by the price tag, with Anthony Stroud holding off stiff opposition from the Coolmore team to secure the colt on behalf of Godolphin for 2,200,000gns (AU$4.48 million).

“He was the one horse we really wanted today,” Stroud said, before commenting on the market. “There are a lot of people from all around the world here. It's good. It (the market) needs it.”

The No Nay Never colt is very much a Ballylinch Stud-nurtured family through and through. The grandam, Uncharted Haven (GB) (Turtle Island {Ire}), was bought by O'Connor for 320,000gns (AU$652,800) at the December Mares Sale in 2001 while the colt's dam, Bella Estrella (Ire) (High Chaparral {Ire}), carried the green and orange silks to Listed success when trained by Dermot Weld.

O'Connor commented, “You never know quite what they will reach but I did expect that he would make a big price. I bought the grandam at the December Sale as a filly out of training. She comes from one of the original Ballylinch families from during the McCalmont times, so I was keen to get one back. It's been a very successful family for us and he (Lot 92) was very typical of that family. I don't think I've ever brought a nicer colt to the sales. That is confirmed by our yearling manager at home, Ronan Wade, who gave him the highest mark I have ever seen him give a horse. So we expected him to do really well and the top judges all had him on their lists.”