The Tattersalls July mixed sale ended in England with a gross that was up 5.2% from a year ago. But the average price fell 3% while the median price declined 7.7%.
“In the current economic climate any bloodstock sale that posts an increase has to be viewed in a positive light,” said Tattersalls chairman Edmond Mahony July 9 at the end of the auction’s third and final day. “With a larger catalog than last year, we would have hoped to improve on the 2009 July sale turnover, even allowing for a slight shortage of obvious quality, but it is a tribute to the enduring global appeal of the Tattersalls July sale that the clearance rate has yet again reached 80% and the key indicators of average and median have held up so well. The obvious highlight was the new (sale) record price of 460,000 guineas ($731,784 in U.S. funds) for Paul Makin’s Business as Usual (on the second day of the auction).”
The results included a gross of 5,835,000 guineas ($9,276,750) for the 475 horses that sold. The average was 12,284 guineas ($19,547), and the median was 6,000 guineas ($9,548).
The clearance rate was 79.8% for the 595 horses offered, compared to 87.1% in 2009 when 438 of the 503 horses offered found new homes.
The top-priced horse on the last day was Kentucky-bred Raqeeb, who sold for 35,000 guineas ($55,695). Yorkshire trainer Ruth Carr, on behalf of owner John Nixon, purchase the 3-year-old Seeking the Gold colt from Sheikh Hamdan’s Shadwell Estates.
Prior to the auction, while trained by Michael Stoute and running as a homebred for Sheikh Hamdan, Raqeeb raced five times, finishing second twice and third twice. The colt is out of the Darshaan mare Sayedah, who captured the 2000 Owen Brown Rockfel Stakes (Eng-II).
The July sale’s third day produced a gross of 280,200 guineas ($445,875) for the 40 horses that sold from the 59 offered. The average was 7,005 guineas ($11,147), and the median was 4,250 guineas ($6,763). The clearance rate was 67.8%.
