"In total, we have had 6 six-figure transactions, including the new European breeze-up record of 180,000 guineas for the Selkirk colt out of Flight Soundly."
Bathed in sunshine from start to finish, the 14th Tattersalls breeze-up sale ended Thursday in England on a high note. The 53 juveniles sold grossed 1,593,500 guineas and averaged 30,066 guineas, up 27% from the corresponding session last year. The final sale figures were 116 horses sold for 3,925,700 guineas, which represented a record gross and an increase of 52% from 2001. The average of 33,842 guineas was a record for the sale, representing an increase of 44% .The median rose 18% to record level of 20,000 guineas."There seems little point in understating the success of the last two days here at Park Paddocks," said Tattersalls chairman Edmond Mahony. "We have just had a remarkable sale. We were confident that we had a catalogue with real international appeal, but we could not have predicted the level of trade we have experienced."The obvious feature of the sale has been the huge impact of the strong Japanese contingent. Our Japanese representative, Naohiro Goda, has worked tirelessly to promote the breeze-up in Japan, and the steady flow of Japanese buyers at this sale in recent years have all bought well and returned in greater numbers than ever. The Japanese buyers have without doubt dominated the top end of the market, but equally encouraging for the long term has been the domestic and European demand as well as significant interest from the Gulf region and Southeast Asia.