Written by TDN Europe
Cover image courtesy of Tattersalls
The opening session of the four-day July Sale at Tattersalls revolved around the well-bred mares on offer and Mick Donohoe of BBA Ireland was once again on hand to take home the top lot when going to 350,000gns (AU$708,800) to secure the Galileo (Ire) mare Sweet And Lovely (Ire) from WH Bloodstock.
In foal to Wootton Bassett (GB), one of the most exciting sires in Europe, Sweet And Lovely (Lot 212) is a full sister to Aidan O'Brien’s Irish and Lancashire Oaks winner Seventh Heaven (Ire).
Lot 212 - Sweet And Lovely (Ire) | Image courtesy of Tattersalls
The sale marked a memorable week for Violet Hesketh, who along with Mimi Wadham, runs WH Bloodstock, given she wedded Henry Lascelles recently.
Sweet And Lovely hails from the same family as Over The Rainbow (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) (Lot 143), who Coolmara Stables pushed the boat out to secure at 270,000gns (AU$547,000) earlier in the afternoon, and it was this pedigree that was described as one of the most attractive in the sale by Donohoe.
The leading buyer of the afternoon said, “To be fair to the lads in Coolmore, they are really banking on the Wootton Bassett cross and I wouldn’t bet against John Magnier in making a stallion. We'll see what the foal is like but Wootton Bassett could be on the cards next year.”
“To be fair to the lads in Coolmore, they are really banking on the Wootton Bassett cross and I wouldn’t bet against John Magnier in making a stallion.” - Mick Donohoe
Donohoe confirmed the top lot was purchased for an existing client, who operates in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, although couldn’t divulge the name. Donohoe, one of the most familiar judges in the business, has bought a series of fillies/mares for Yulong over recent years. He is the operation’s bloodstock advisor in Europe.
The leading agent was out on his own as the leading buyer on the afternoon with seven lots purchased for a total sum of 1,343,000gns (AU$2.72 million). That included Different Light (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) (Lot 192), offered by The Castlebridge Consignment at 330,000gns (AU$668,000) and fellow Galileo (Ire) mares Evening Hush (Ire) (Lot 264) and Divintus (Ire) (Lot 145) for 250,000gns (AU$506,000) and 235,000gns (AU$475,800), respectively.
Michael Donohoe | Image courtesy of Tattersalls
Of the 215 lots offered on Tuesday, 188 sold at a 87 per cent clearance rate. The aggregate stood at 7,179,300gns (AU$14.5 million) for an average of 38,188gns (AU$79,000) while the median was 16,000gns (AU$33,000).
Etienne Drion of Haras du Thenney made a flying visit to Newmarket for the July Sale with the aim of sourcing a classy broodmare prospect for the Deauville farm and left home for France a very happy man after buying Basil Martini (Ire) (Starspangledbanner) (Lot 191) for 190,000gns (AU$385,000).
A Group 3 winner for Joseph O’Brien as a juvenile last season, Basil Martini formed part of a small but select list for Drion, who made the visit a productive one.
Lot 191 - Basil Martini (Ire) | Image courtesy of Tattersalls
He said, “We came over this morning with 15 mares on our list. By the time we’d finished looking, we had five. All the other mares made too much money. She’s a Group 3 winner at two and, while it’s early days with regards to picking a stallion, she is an exciting mare for the farm. We’ll go to a proven sire, I’d say, and we’re happy with her.
“It’s a young farm and we are building our broodmare band. We’re slowly trying to get better quality mares. She’s the only thing we bought today – that and a sandwich!”
Luckily for Drion, the sandwich didn't cost as much as Basil Martini, but he revealed how he thinks the latter could prove to be good value at 190,000gns (AU$385,000).
“We said we’d give it a go and we’re happy to have gotten her. When we saw what the other mares were making, we didn't think we’d get her so, listen, you always want to pay less but there were so many people on the same mares, we knew we’d have to fork out a bit.”
Etienne Drion | Image courtesy of Tattersalls
Meanwhile, Johnny McKeever of McKeever Bloodstock signed for two mares for Western Australia owner-breeder Gary Johnson. McKeever paid 80,000gns (AU$162,000) for Cloud Angel (GB) (Frankel {GB}) - a winner at Catterick last month, and 150,000gns (AU$157,500) for Good Liza (Fr) (Kingman {GB}) - a winner on debut at Munich in November 2021.
And Paul Moroney of Paul Moroney Bloodstock signed for Lot 219 - the York winner Luna Dorado (Ire) (Golden Horn {GB}) - in partnership with Armando Duarte. The 4-year-old made 35,000gns (AU$71,000).
