The third day of the Tattersalls December Foal Sale Nov. 30 set a record for one-day turnover at a European foal sale as buyers paid 13,181,800 guineas ($22,175,874) for 182 weanlings in Newmarket.
The aggregate was up 9% compared with last year’s session (guineas to guineas), while average was up 6% to 72,427 guineas ($121,845). The mean improved 4% to 49,500 guineas ($83,274).
Leading the way was a colt by Galileo who at 500,000 guineas ($841,155) surged to the top of the list for the four-day overall foal sale, which wraps Dec. 1. Out of the Bering mare Healing Music and a full brother to Epsom Derby (Eng-i) runner-up At First Sight, the colt was from The Castlebridge Consignment and knocked down to Sheikh Fahad.
"He is a lovely looking colt," said Sheikh Fahad after bidding for the colt himself and outplaying David Ryan of Aran Bloodstock. "He is real quality; he really caught my eye. I went to see him a few times and I liked him more every time I saw him.
"He has made half a million, but if he were to have come here as a yearling, he could have made a million, so it makes sense. This horse has been bought to race."
Sheikh Fahad also bought the Galileo yearling Hydrogen for 2.5 million guineas ($4.2 million) from The Castlebridge Consignment at this year's Oct. 1 sale.
One of the highlights on paper of the December Foal catalog was lot 945, an Oasis Dream filly out of triple-group I winner Albanova. Consigned by Kirsten Rausing’s St Simon Stud, the filly is from one of Rausing’s great families that includes five classic-placed horses in the first three dams including French Two Thousand Guineas (Fr-I) winner Aussie Rules.
Kentucky-based agent David Ingordo, bidding on behalf of Paul Fudge’s Waratah Thoroughbreds, secured the filly with his bid of 450,000 guineas ($757,040) after seeing off spirited opposition from Juddmonte Farms’ Philip Mitchell, John McCormack, and Gary Norton, stud manager for Sir Robert Ogden.
"She's a princess, let's hope she becomes a queen," smiled Ingordo after buying the filly.
"Fillies like her don't come onto the market very often; she is a gorgeous filly, exactly what you want for a long-term broodmare prospect. She came from a great farm.
The Tattersalls December Foal Sale continues Dec. 1 with the final session commencing at 10 a.m.