Sizzling Start to Tattersalls' Breeze-Up Sale
by Mark Popham
Date Posted: 4/19/2006 7:26:12 PM
Last Updated: 4/20/2006 8:57:55 AM

A fantastic trade at Tattersalls' Breeze-Up Sale's opening night in Newmarket Wednesday saw 18 six-figure lots (compared to 19 at the entire 2005 sale). The turnover soared by 65% to 5.65 million guineas, while the 75,413 guineas average and 55,000 guineas median were both up by 45%.

A Rock Of Gilbraltar (Ire) colt out of Sabreon (GB), a half-sister to dual group I winner Landseer (GB) (DanehillM), topped the night when – consigned by Willie Browne's Mocklershill Stables – he sold for 400,000gns to agent Peter Doyle with Shunsuke Yoshida of Northern Farm in Japan the underbidder.

The colt will go into training with Henry Cecil for Plantation Stud's new owner Dermot O'Rourke. "He was a lovely horse who Peter thought breezed well and looked like he ticked all the right boxes," said O'Rourke.

Noble Prince (Ger), a Montjeu half-brother to Canadian grade III winner Noble Stella, made 230,000gns in the Bansha House draft when Charlie Gordon-Watson prevailed against rival agents such as Doyle and Anthony Stroud.

"I can't say too much about who he is for but thought that he was a very active horse," said Gordon-Watson. Linda Tate had bought the German bred – sold by Con Marnane's bansha House Stables – for 90,000 euros at Baden Baden in September.

A Johannesburg colt bought for $75,000 by Marnane at Keeneland in September made 210,000gns after agent Tony Nerses came off best in bidding battle with James Delahooke.

The sale concludes Thursday with a session starting at 5p.m.

COMPARATIVE FIGURES
YR/CAT/OFF/SOLD/AGG/AVG/MED
2006/102/89/75/5,656,000/75,413/55,000
2005 /99/92/66/3,428,000/51,939/38,000

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