A Kingmambo colt out of the Lahib mare Irtifa became the first horse ever to break the 500,000-guinea barrier at Europe's largest yearling sale, bringing a final bid of 525,000 guineas. As the colt strode into the ring, auctioneer Philip Myerscough immediately asked for a bid of 250,000 guineas before receiving an opening bid of 100,000 guineas. The colt's price surged past the 250,000-guinea mark, with bidders including Northamptonshire based bloodstock agent Tim Corby, locally based agent John Warren, and Shadwell Estates' racing manager Angus Gold, who was accompanied by his boss Sheikh Hamdan al Maktoum. Gold won the battle while Warren was the immediate underbidder at 500,000 guineas. The colt was consigned by European Sales Management, comprised of French trio Marc de Chambure, Eric Puerari, and Michel Zerolo. It was the first time European Sales had ever consigned horses to the auction.
(Edited Tattersalls press release)Part 1 of the Tattersalls October yearling sale got off to a strong start Tuesday in England. A record high price was established and a record 54 horses sold for 100,000 guineas or more. The latter figure almost doubled the 29 six-figure lots on the opening day last year and was only 13 shy of the total number of six figure lots at the 2002 October yearling sale. In all, 186 lots were sold for 14,180,500 guineas, at an average of 76,239 guineas, and a median of 58,000 guineas. The gross, average, and median were all records for any session of the auction.