Juddmonte jewel Sash shines at 320,000gns as global trade abounds

A broad cross-section of global bloodstock buyers assembled for day one of the Tattersalls Autumn Horses in Training Sale on Monday, and trade was duly headed by the three-time winner Sash, who will now head across the Atlantic having been signed for by Red Baron's Barn and Rancho Temescal at 320,000gns.

It seemed as though the Juddmonte Farms-consigned three-year-old would be staying closer to home when agent Alex Elliott struck a bid of 310,000gns. However, when auctioneer John O'Kelly turned to Tim Cohen, who was seated directly to the right of the rostrum, and said: "One more might just do it!" the California-based owner responded in kind and landed the prized offering.

Sash, a son of Oasis Dream from the family of Hasili, won three times for Amanda Perrett and Khalid Abdullah and was last seen finishing runner-up to Top Rank in a 0-95 handicap at Newmarket.

View full Autumn Horses in Training buyers and stats

"I didn't want to keep going but I didn't want to let the horse go either!" said Cohen having signed the six-figure docket. "The physical is great and he likes the firm ground and that's what we look for for California. Once I'm done with the sale I'll decide which trainer will get which horses."

Tim Cohen: signed for Sash at 320,000gnsCredit: Laura Green

The Red Baron's Barn team have been regulars at recent editions of the Autumn Horses in Training Sale, including when spending 521,000gns on six lots 12 months ago.

"My dad [Jed] has probably been buying out here for almost 30 years, initially with Darrell Vienna," added Cohen.

"We took a long break but we've been here for the last five years with Joe Miller, Ed Freeman and Alastair Donald - each one of them brings a uniqueness to the team so it works well."

Juddmonte sold 23 lots during the session, a draft that brought receipts totalling 1,577,000gns at an average of 68,565gns. The bunch featured five six-figure lots, including Britannia Stakes scorer Biometric, who will continue his career in Australia having gone the way of Lindsay Park Racing at 130,000gns.

AUTUMN HORSES IN TRAINING STATS: DAY ONE

Offered305 lots
Sold265 lots (87 per cent)
Aggregate7,696,700gns (up 37 per cent year-on-year)
Average29,045gns (up 33 per cent)
Median13,500gns (up 35 per cent)

Surrey Thunder rumbles for Waller

There was a notable Antipodean presence at Park Paddocks, and no southern hemisphere buyer made a bigger impact than Guy Mulcaster, who added Surrey Thunder to the all conquering string of Chris Waller at 280,000gns.

The three-year-old advertised his credentials with some smart performances for Joseph Tuite, most notably when he readily landed the Listed Grand Prix de Clairefontaine on his penultimate outing.

"We thought he was the right sort of horse for Australia," said Mulcaster from his position at the top of the stairs opposite the rostrum. "He hasn't been over raced, he looks in great condition and is just a nice style of horse. We're very happy to have secured him at that sort of money."

Having shown his best form over 1m4f Surrey Thunder looks to have the tools required to make up into a Cup race candidate, though Mulcaster said the son of Le Havre had not been bought with any specific targets in mind.

"We've got plenty of good races in Australia and I don't think he needs a mile and a half, we'll just get him into the system and see how he comes out at the other end," he said. "There aren't too many horses like him that've actually turned up for the sale so we're lucky to have struck early on."

Guy Mulcaster: 'it's always a pleasure to buy a horse from Mr Weld'Credit: Laura Green

The sale of Surrey Thunder gave the Surrey Racing team of Clive Hadingham and Steve Grubb plenty of reason to cheer, with the horse having been added to the syndicate's ranks at €67,000 at last year's Arqana Breeze-Up Sale.

"He's been good for us and given the syndicate a lot of good times," said Hadingham, an investment banker by trade. "Unfortunately running a syndicate is an expensive business so we've had to sell to balance the books.

"We're fans as much as anything else though and when we started the business we looked to buy mile and a half types as there is that resale option. We have National Hunt horses too, we've just bought a mare who's with Nicky Henderson. We're always looking at different angles."

Surrey Racing have also enjoyed success with the likes of four-time winner Surrey Hope, though Grubb added that this was by far the syndicate's biggest sales ring result, saying: "This is the first horse we've been able to sell at this level. Hopefully this will enable us to go and buy two or three others."

Despite the Surrey monicker, Hadingham said the syndicate is comprised of members from far and wide, including Hong Kong, Switzerland, Ireland and the US.

Mulcaster rejoined the fray later on when giving 260,000gns for Imaging, a smart son of Oasis Dream who won five races in the Juddmonte silks under the care of Dermot Weld.

"We thought he was a really nice type and it's always a pleasure to buy a horse from Mr Weld," said Mulcaster. "They're always so well cared for and Chris really respects Mr Weld's judgement."

No denying McStay

While many of the most sought-after offerings boasted strong recent form, the session's fourth-top lot had no form at all, with the unraced Lady Corsica going the way of Avenue Bloodstock's Mark McStay at 220,000gns after a protracted duel with Tony Nerses.

As a daughter of Galileo and a sister to Grade 1 scorer Deauville and the Group 3-winning The Corsican, McStay said he was not deterred by the fact the filly had failed to make the track for trainer David Simcock and owner Michael Tabor, with the three-year-old purchased as a broodmare prospect.

"She's a lovely filly and Galileo speaks for himself, he's the best stallion in the world and is proving so influential in the top and bottom lines of pedigrees," said McStay. "She's a full-sister to two very good horses, including Deauville.

"Opportunities to get fillies like her don't come up very often so I'm delighted to get her. I'm not 100 per cent sure why she didn't race, but unraced mares by that sire don't scare me, it's the blood you're after and her pedigree is top-class."

With a career at paddocks beckoning, McStay said Lady Corsica could be due to visit Coolmore's sire sensation No Nay Never for her maiden covering.

"She can be mated with any number of stallions and could go to a horse like No Nay Never," he said. "She's been bought for an existing client."

Stroud strikes

The first of the session's 15 six-figure transactions came when Anthony Stroud saw off Oliver St Lawrence at 190,000gns to secure the progressive Intuitive from James Tate's Jamesfield Stables draft.

The son of Haatef has won four of his nine starts, including his last two outings, with a comfortable last-time-out success at Kempton earning him a career-best Racing Post Rating (RPR) of 106.

"He'll be trained by Simon Crisford for an existing client," said Stroud. "He'll be aimed at the Dubai carnival. He's got the right sort of profile to do well out there."

The three-year-old's racetrack's efforts had done plenty for his sales ring popularity, as he'd been bought for Sheikh Hamed Dalmook Al Maktoum by Blandford Bloodstock for €44,000 at last year's Goresbridge Breeze-Up Sale.

Egan on the board

John Egan's Alliance Bloodstock was on the mark when the jockey turned bloodstock agent landed the five-time winner Coolagh Forest for 125,000gns.

"He's likely to head abroad, where he's got plenty of options," said Egan. "I liked the horse - he's very athletic - and he's got strong recent form, which is important."

The son of Elzaam was bought by Joey Logan Bloodstock for €26,000 at the Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale, and had developed into a decidedly useful performer for Richard Fahey having landed a pair of York handicaps that took his peak RPR to 107.

The Autumn Horses in Training Sale continues on Tuesday at 9.30am.

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