'He was a very special horse' - Shadwell move for 110,000gns Mohaather colt

Shadwell have been a welcome presence at this year’s Tattersalls December Foal Sale, spending 1,312,000gns on seven lots across the four sessions. The outfit added to their haul on Saturday when securing one of the joint session-toppers, the Mohaather colt out of Time Of Change from Barton Stud, at 110,000gns.

Mohaather won five races in Shadwell’s famous blue and white silks, most notably the Sussex Stakes, in which he showed a sensational turn of foot to collar Circus Maximus. The son of Showcasing retired to Nunnery Stud in 2021 and covered a debut book of 146 at a fee of £20,000.

Shadwell purchased the two most expensive of Mohaather’s 21 sold lots at this year’s December Foal Sale, where his debut crop averaged 41,880gns.

“Obviously we’re a bit biased but Mohaather was a very special horse for us,” said Shadwell’s racing manager Angus Gold. “We thought he was slightly underrated if anything, for me what he did at Goodwood that day in the Sussex Stakes was out of the ordinary. I’ve not seen a horse quicken like that since Kingman in the same race.

Angus Gold: 'Mohaather was a very special horse for us'Credit: Laura Green

“We’re big fans and I have liked the stock I’ve seen. What I particularly like is that, leading into this week, lots of people have told me that they have a really nice Mohaather foal, which is great to hear. We bought one two days ago and the vendor told me they had an even better one at home. There are some really good vibes about him."

On the colt out of Time Of Change, who is his sire’s most expensive offering to date, Gold added: “I thought this was a really smart horse and a lot of people thought the same. I heard he had ten vets on him so he was always going to cost a bit. He’s out of a half-sister to a horse who ran second in the Gimcrack [Taajub] and was a handy horse, and this colt looks like a sprinter. If he’s any good he will be fast and hopefully will be one to get the stallion off to a good start.”

Lot 1,222: Shadwell spent 110,000gns on this Mohaather coltCredit: Laura Green

Reflecting on Shadwell’s activities during the four sessions, Gold said: “We’ve bought seven foals. Obviously we sold so many mares over the last couple of years that we ended up with around 50.

"With some barren or slipped, and the maidens, it meant that the stud's foal crop is only around 35, and by the time they go into training we will be down on numbers. I spoke with Sheikha Hissa and she was keen to get some foals to supplement the racing team, if we could buy at relatively sensible money.”

Overbury on the mark with Masar colt

The O’Callaghan family of Yeomanstown Stud finished the sale in second on the buyers’ chart by total spend with 13 sourced for a combined 1,320,000gns. Only Juddmonte, whose four-strong haul cost 2,425,000gns, invested more.

Yeomanstown’s biggest buy on day four was the Masar half-brother to Lingfield Oaks Trial winner Rogue Millennium, who was the second lot to fetch 110,000gns when offered by Overbury Stud.

The dam, the 2012 Cumberland Lodge Stakes winner Hawaafez, provided connections with a swift return as she only joined the Overbury broodmare band in February when she was sourced through Blandford Bloodstock for 14,000gns carrying the six-figure colt in-utero.

Lot 1,250: the Masar colt from Overbury Stud sells for 110,000gnsCredit: Laura Green

Plenty has happened since as Rogue Millennium became a Listed winner and the mare’s two-year-old, Naomi Lapaglia, made a successful debut earlier in the month.

“Richard Brown bought the mare for me here in February, I was not around and he did it himself,” explained Overbury’s Simon Sweeting. “It looked like a chancy buy to start with but the mare was an exceptional racehorse and Rogue Millennium has come along, and everything else has landed into place – the two-year-old is now one for one and her Kingman yearling has gone to trainer George Boughey.

“It’s definitely a progressive family but that sale did take me by surprise, but it’s a lovely surprise! He was a late foal but he has been very straightforward and everything has worked out well."

Sergei Prokofiev’s debut crop hitting the right notes

The Whitsbury Manor Stud team have enjoyed a memorable few days at Tattersalls, topping the sale with the 1,000,000gns Kingman half-sister to Chaldean, who sold to Juddmonte on Friday, as well as Thursday’s top lot, the 250,000gns Havana Grey half-brother to Dragon Symbol bought by Philipp Stauffenberg.

Those results helped Whitsbury Manor top the consignors’ charts with 19 sold for 2,201,500gns.

The Harper family’s operation also stands Sergei Prokofiev and the market has given the son of Scat Daddy’s progeny a warm reception with 45 of his foals selling for an average of 26,767gns across the four sessions. Among the lots who made a positive contribution to that average was Kirtlington Stud’s half-brother to Ropey Guest who brought 70,000gns from Camas Park Stud on Saturday.

“We bred four mares to Sergei in his first year and have had three very nice foals,” said Chris Budgett of Kirtlington Stud. “We sold one earlier this week for 82,000gns [Lot 513 to Tally-Ho Stud]. He’s stamping them and they look active, which is great. He looks like he’s another stallion that Ed Harper has hit the jackpot with.

“This foal is a baby, an April 30th foal, a real youngster and we thought he might be a little too immature to take this. He has been out 35 times this morning, ears pricked walking along, getting on with it and has been the same all the way through.

“We’ve had the family for a while and Good Old Boy Lukey [the dam’s Group 2 Superlative Stakes-winning half-brother] was raised at Kirtlington. The pedigree is owned in partnership with Sarah Hamilton and Sarah is great, we've owned horses together for many years, sometimes it goes well and sometimes it doesn't but we breed them to sell and today is a good day.”

Sergei Prokofiev’s debut book, which was covered at a fee of £6,500, yielded 121 foals, meaning 49 per cent of his first crop were offered at Tattersalls. The highest price was generated by the colt out of Avengers Queen who sold to Chasemore Farm for 95,000gns.

The other 70,000gns lot from the final session was the Havana Grey filly out of Highly Dancer who was signed for by Drummond Bloodstock when offered by Houghton Bloodstock.

An expanded catalogue saw 983 foals offered across the four days, an increase of 77 (eight per cent) compared to 2021, and 744 lots sold for a clearance rate of 76 per cent. Those transactions took turnover to 35,255,050gns, which is not only a 13 per cent year-on-year increase but a new sale record.

The strength of trade, particularly at the upper echelons, was reflected in an 11 per cent increase in average price at 47,386gns, while the median increased by four points to a record 26,000gns, having been 25,000gns 12 months ago.

More sales news:

Chaldean's half-sister creates a 1,000,000gns spectacle at Tattersalls

Dragon Symbol's Havana Grey half-brother fetches 250,000gns at December Foals

Foals by Mohaather and Bated Breath fetch 80,000gns at December Sale opener