Yesterday's gross was up 5% to 8,929,700 guineas, the median was up 36% to 30,000 guineas although the average dropped by 12% to 45,328 guineas. However that fall is attributable to the sale of a 1.8 million guineas filly 12 months ago on the corresponding day.
A February-born Singspiel colt out of champion racemare Bosra Sham set the Tattersalls sale ring alight in Newmarket, England on Friday when selling for 525,000 guineas to Sheikh Mohammed at the December Foal Sale. Offered as part of Wafic Said's complete dispersal, and consigned by Watership Down Stud, the colt is a half-brther to two winners including the Sheikh's promising juvenile Rosberg , trained by Eoin Harty. A party from Japan, led by Hokkaido owner-breeder Isami Nakamura, were underbidders to Sheikh Mohammed's agent John Ferguson. "It's all there on the page," said Ferguson. "He was a nice individual and Rosberg is a most exciting prospect with unquestionable ability. This one is very like him." Wafic Said's draft yielded a total of 837,000 guineas with the other highlight provided by a sister to dual group III winner Generous Rosi, who was bought for 220,000 guineas by Andrew Christou's Winterbeck Manor Stud, owner of this year's Canadian International winner Phoenix Reach. The filly will eventually be trained by Andrew Balding. Another bought for racing was a Green Desert (Danzig) filly out of top Australian racemare Forest Express (Aus) (Kaaptive Edition {NZ}), offered by the Castlebridge Consignment. Charlie Gordon-Watson paid 340,000 guineas for the filly who will head to Watership Down Stud before going into training for an existing owner with Newmarket handler Jeremy Noseda. Angus Gold, Hamdan Al Maktoum‚' racing manager was underbidder. The dearest lot likely to be re-consigned as a yearling was a first-crop representative of Galileo, a colt out of Child Prodigy consigned from Paddy Kelly's Ballybin Stud for Laureldean Stud and bought for 280,000 guineas by Timmy Hyde.
