Business boomed on the third day of the Tattersalls December foal sale Nov. 27 in England. The gross revenue rose 55.1% from a year ago while the average price and median price increased 21.7% and 14.3%, respectively. Thirty weanlings sold for 100,000 guineas ($173,000 in U.S. funds) or more apiece, and seven each brought 200,000 guineas ($346,000) or more.
With one day remaining, the gross for the entire auction so far stood at 15,815,800 guineas ($27,363,000) and had already surpassed 2008’s total.
A Galileo colt was the top-priced horse, commanding 400,000 guineas ($690,000) from Coolmore Stud agent Demi O’Byrne, who fought off Kennycourt Stud’s Eugene McDermott. Jacqueline Norris’ Jockey Hall Stud consigned the bay weanling, whose dam is Ask for the Moon. An 8-year-old daughter of Dr Fong, Ask for the Moon captured the Prix Saint-Alary (Fr-I) and Prix Penelope (Fr-III) in 2004.
Alan Cooper, the racing manager for the Niarchos family, paid 320,000 guineas ($554,000) for a Medicean – Alakananda filly that was the second-highest-priced weanling sold. Kirsten Rausing’s St. Simon Stud was her consignor. Cooper, who bought the filly in the name of Course Investment Corp., outlasted Blandford Bloodstock’s Tom Goff and BBA Ireland’s Patrick Cooper, who had opened the bidding at 200,000 guineas.
The third day’s final results included a gross of 9,951,900 guineas ($17,222,000) for the 161 weanlings that sold. The average was 61,813 guineas ($107,000), and the median was 40,000 guineas ($69,200). In 2008, the 126 horses that sold grossed 6,414,600 guineas and averaged 50,910 guineas. The median was 35,000 guineas.
The clearance rate grew from 69.2% last year to 80.1% this year.