By Brian Sheerin, TDN Europe
Cover image courtesy of Tattersalls
What's rare is wonderful. Royal Ascot winners coming on the market is certainly a rare thing and Quai De Bethune (Fr) (Persian King {Ire}), successful in the Golden Gates Stakes at the Royal meeting, was most certainly wonderful when selling to Blandford Bloodstock's Richard Brown for a record-high price of 775,000gns (AU$1.67 million) at the Tattersalls July Sale.
That sum eclipsed the previous best that was achieved just over 24 hours earlier for Calyx (GB)'s sister that went the way of Badgers Bloodstock at 550,000gns (AU$1.2 million). But Quai De Bethune was billed as the star attraction to this sale and he didn't disappoint.
Flanked by Wathnan Racing's Olly Tait and Case Clay at the top of the steps to the left of Matt Hall on the rostrum, Richard Brown saw off a persistent challenge from an online bidder as well as Dr Khaled Salami of KGS Bloodstock who stood at the exit of the sales ring.
Quai De Bethune has been expertly managed by Andrew Balding to win two of his six starts, with that career highlight at Royal Ascot earning the 3-year-old colt a rating of 100. While an international campaign may beckon, Brown revealed that the immediate plan would be for Quai De Bethune to stay with Balding.
“Obviously the horse won at Royal Ascot. (He) didn't have the smoothest passage but found a way to win. What can you say? It's not very often a Royal Ascot winner comes on the market,” said Brown. “He's still relatively lightly-raced and I think the plan looks like he will go back to Andrew with a Dubai campaign potentially. We'll give him a break and maybe he could have a Middle Eastern campaign. We'll see. We hope that he has a good future. We were impressed by him at Royal Ascot.”
Quai De Bethune | Image courtesy of Tattersalls
Busuttin Young Racing purchases Time Allowed
Andrew Balding's Time Allowed (GB) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) and Dream Out Loud (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}) also featured among the top 10 lots on the day when selling to Busuttin Young Racing for 160,000gns (AU$346,000) and Billy Jackson-Stops for 100,000gns (AU$216,000) respectively.
Busuttin Young Racing was the banner in which Australian-based buyer Trent Busuttin was signing under and he revealed his new recruit was likely to continue his career Down Under.
Time Allowed (GB) | Image courtesy of Tattersalls
“We have been active buyers over the last three or four years at Tattersalls and we have had great luck with similarly lightly-raced sorts of horses as this. He looks like an improving and progressive type and fits the criteria to go through the grades here in Australia. He will be syndicated,” Busuttin said.
Tattersalls thrilled with record proceedings
It was a July Sale to remember with turnover climbing 22 per cent to 16,928,700gns (AU$36.4 million) while the average was up 17 per cent to 30,015gns (AU$64,800) and the median by 36 per cent to 15,000gns (AU$32,300). The clearance rate settled at 88 per cent, which was down by 2 per cent on last year.
Tattersalls chairman Edmond Mahony commented, “Nothing drives demand like success, and the back cover of this year's Tattersalls July Sale catalogue illustrates that perfectly. It features Sprint Cup winner Regional, Champion Hurdle winner Golden Ace, and Entreat, the dam of Prix du Jockey Club winner Camille Pissarro. All were purchased at the July Sale, clearly demonstrating the adage of 'something for everyone.'
Edmond Mahony | Image courtesy of Tattersalls
“That success, along with many similar stories, has attracted a diverse and international crowd to a sun-drenched Park Paddocks, creating a genuine buzz around what is one of the most enjoyable weeks of sales and racing in the European calendar. Buyers from Australia, the Gulf, Europe, and Asia played major roles in a sale that recorded significant increases in turnover and average price, as well as a record median.
“The enduring appeal of this sale is underpinned by the continued support of leading global owner-breeders such as Coolmore, Godolphin, and Juddmonte. Their high-class consignments consistently draw strong international interest, so it was no surprise that the beautifully bred Juddmonte filly Orchid Bouquet set a new July Sale record at 550,000 guineas. That record lasted barely 24 hours before the Andrew Balding-trained Quai de Bethune surpassed it, selling for 775,000 guineas after intense bidding between Qatari and Libyan interests to secure the Royal Ascot winner.
“The enduring appeal of this sale is underpinned by the continued support of leading global owner-breeders such as Coolmore, Godolphin, and Juddmonte.” - Edmond Mahony
“We now look ahead to the Tattersalls Somerville Yearling Sale and the beginning of the yearling sales season, with optimism that the enduring appeal of British and Irish bloodstock will continue to resonate, despite the challenges currently facing the industry.”
