
Tatts Book 3 off to Rough Start
The selling action during the first day of Book 3 of the Tattersalls October yearling sale Thursday moved sharply down a gear.
The selling action during the first day of Book 3 of the Tattersalls October yearling sale Thursday moved sharply down a gear.
Tattersalls' October yearling sale continued its strength in Book Two, with gains in totals, average, and median.
British bookmakers make two of champion Irish trainer Aidan O'Brien's Breeders' Cup entries favorite for their respective races. Dylan Thomas, recent winner of the Prix de L'Arc de Triomphe (Fr-I), varies between 6/4 and 4/5 for the John Deere Breeders' Cup Turf (gr. IT), while Excellent Art can be backed at 7/2 down to 5/2 for the Netjets Breeders' Cup Mile (gr. I).
Trainer Jeremy Noseda, responsible for 2004 Bessemer Trust Breeders' Cup Juvenile (gr. I) winner Wilko, will have two, maybe three, runners at this year's Breeders' Cup World Championships at Monmouth Park.
Part two of Tattersalls' October yearling sale began in Newmarket Oct. 16 with lively trade producing figures well up on the equivalent day in 2006.
There are 1,285 lots cataloged for parts two and three of the Tattersalls' October yearling sale, which starts Oct. 16 in Newmarket, England.
With a world-record yearling filly in the mix, business during the final session of Book One of Tattersalls' 2007 October sale is strong with an 18% upswing in gross over last year's total.
Coolmore's John Magnier bought the top lot in Newmarket on day three of part one of the marathon Tattersalls October yearling sale, spending 750,000 guineas on a son of Galileo (Ire) Oct. 11.
A Gone West colt topped the second session of the Tattersalls October yearling sale Oct. 10, selling for more than $2 million in England.
A lawyer for six-time British champion jockey Kieren Fallon told a London court Oct. 10 the suggestion Fallon deliberately tried to lose races was absurd. On the third day of trial, John Kelsey-Fry described his client as "a man driven by the desire to win." Prosecutors allege the jockey won five of the 17 races he was supposed to lose and cost the betting syndicate £338,000.
Great Britain's premier yearling auction, part one of Tattersalls' October sale, got off to a solid start in Newmarket Oct. 9 when Coolmore principal John Magnier paid the top price of 500,000 guineas (about $1,067,000) for the very last lot offered.
Six-time British champion jockey Kieren Fallon, 42, and two other riders were involved in plot to cheat in 27 races, a court in London, England, was told Oct. 8.
The European sales circus moves on to Newmarket, England, for the two-week October Sale organized by Tattersalls, with the select four-day part one due to start Oct. 9. Tattersalls also announced the creation of three new races with purses totalling £2.2 million. Only graduates of this year's Tattersalls October sale are eligible to start.
A Danetime yearling colt topped the second and final day of the Sportsman's Sale at Goffs in Ireland on Oct. 5. The day's trading failed to stem the fall in business seen during the Sportsman's Sale this year as against 2006. The aggregate, average, median and clearance rate were all significantly down.
London-based agent Charlie Gordon-Watson enjoyed a busy final day of the Goffs Million yearling sale in Ireland Oct. 3, spending 600,000 euros ($845,292) on an Indian Ridge half-brother to Goodwood Cup (gr. II) winner Allegretto.
The best was kept to last at the Oct. 2 second session of the Goffs Million sale in County Kildare, Ireland, when--close to the end of play--a daughter of Sadler's Wells became the dearest yearling filly ever to sell at auction in Ireland when she brought 2.4 million euros ($3.39 million).
The "Racing Post," Great Britain's daily racing paper, has been bought as expected by an Irish private equity investment firm, but the price of £170 million ($340 million) is less than owner Trinity Mirror had hoped for.
The three-day Goffs Million Sale opens Oct. 1 at Kildare Paddocks, Kill, Ireland, with a strong line-up of 609 yearlings cataloged.
The habits of gamblers in Great Britain are moving more toward betting online, a study carried out on behalf of the Gambling Commission has revealed.
Television coverage of racing in Great Britain seems safeguarded for at least the next two years following the announcement that Channel 4 is in exclusive negotiations about sponsorship with Dubai Holding, whose chairman is leading owner/breeder Sheikh Mohammed.
A Barathea filly fetched the top price of 250,000 euros ($352,264) on Sept. 21, the first day of SGA Selected Yearling Sale in Milan, Italy.
Doncaster's new St. Leger Festival Yearling Sale concluded Sept. 13. with a gross of 2,050,300 guineas for 143 head sold at a clearance rate of 75.6%.
Doncaster racecourse in the North of England, home to the world's oldest Classic, the St. Leger, was officially reopened Sept. 12 by the Princess Royal and received widespread acclaim from the racing community.
Another outbreak of foot and mouth disease in England has not disrupted the racing program, although the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) continues to closely monitor the situation.
The Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale failed for the third successive day to match up to the record figures achieved in 2006.
Trade dipped at the Tattersalls Ireland Yearling Sale for the second day, when the top lot made 65,000 euros ($88,429).
First day of the Tattersalls Ireland September sale declines. Top lot is Danehill Dancer filly bought for $204,506.
The four-day Arqana August yearling sale at Deauville ended on a strong note Aug. 20, with gross sales climbing 25.8% and the average increasing 20.5% above the equivalent 2006 statistics. Europe's top buyers were extremely active during the two select sessions, which sold a 1.4 million euros record-breaking Galileo colt, who is a half-brother to Turtle Bowl.
A daughter of Hawk Wing topped the third session of Arqana's Deauville Sale in France, the country's principal yearling sale, the evening of Aug. 19.
A Galileo colt brought 1.4 million euros ($1.88 million) Aug. 17 during the first day of Arqana's Deauville Sale, the initial European yearling auction of the year.
The movement of horses to and from the United Kingdom hasn't been affected by the recent small outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease at two farms in Surrey in southern England. Overseas-trained runners can continue to run in races in Great Britain providing the correct certification has been completed.
The children of the late Robert Sangster recently announced plans to sell the international bloodstock empire that he established.
Teofilo, last year's champion 2-year-old in Europe who has not raced this year, has been retired from racing. No stud plans have been announced but it is likely he will stand at Darley.
Three-year-old Irish-bred Topjeu, by Montjeu, topped day two of Tattersalls' July Sale in Newmarket July 11 when selling for 160,000 guineas as a potential jumper to Newmarket agent Stephen Hillen.
Jockey Tony Culhane was among four individuals banned from British racing at a Horseracing Regulatory Authority inquiry held in London, England on Monday, July 9.
An Irish consortium is on the verge of acquiring the Racing Post newspaper, Britain's only racing daily, from the current owners Trinity Mirror Group.
Two of Europe's major bloodstock auction companies, Doncaster Bloodstock Sales of the UK, and Goffs of Ireland, have merged.
Lisa Hancock, managing director of Newmarket Racecourses in England, unveiled a £10-million redevelopment of the historic July Course June 11, which involved extending the area for racegoers at the back of stands and improving facilities without hopefully changing the unique ambience.
British racing needs to make dramatic changes to the structure and timing of big races according to Channel 4, which broadcasts the majority of live horseracing seen on television in Britain.
The first "Global Bet" will be offered June 10 when wagering outlets in nine countries take trifecta bets on the Prix de Diane Hermes (Fr-I), the French Oaks, from Chantilly racecourse in France.
Irish jockey Kieran Fallon has served a six-month suspension for a cocaine positive but will only be allowed to ride outside of Great Britain until the case brought against him by London police goes to trial Sept. 24.
British jockey Suzzanne France, who suffered a dreadful fall at Redcar, England, on May 29, appears to be out of danger.
All 18 jockeys riding in the Vodafone Derby at Epsom Downs on Saturday will sport yellow ribbons on their silks to highlight the continued search for missing British child Madeleine McCann.
The Equine Fertility Unit near Newmarket, England, is set to close later this year following the Thoroughbred Breeders' Association's decision not apply for a continuation of core funding from the Horserace Betting Levy Board.
Tattersalls' inaugural Guineas Breeze-Up Sale in Newmarket, England, on Friday saw 76 lots sell for 2.129 million guineas.
Martin Collins, creator of the Polytrack artificial surface, said the surface has encountered some problems in North America, but it's still much better than American dirt tracks, which tend to be inconsistent.
Martin Collins, the creator of the Polytrack artificial surface, admitted to having faced problems in North America in an interview with a British monthly racing magazine.
Goffs, the Irish-based bloodstock auction company that is in talks to take over Britain's number two firm, Doncaster Bloodstock Sales, announced on April 30 an extra set of bonuses involving the Goffs Million yearling sale in October.
Two of Europe's premier bloodstock auction companies, Doncaster Bloodstock Sales of England and Goffs of Ireland, are involved in discussions which could lead to a merger.
Tattersalls' 2007 Craven Breeze-Up Sale failed to keep pace with the 2006 renewal, falling by 20% with its 8.636 million guineas turnover. The clearance rate of 63% was also off when compared with 84% 12 months ago.