Lively start to Tattersalls July Sale as 220,000gns Aureum leads the way

Breeders were busy replenishing their broodmare bands on day one of the Tattersalls July Sale on Wednesday, where top-lot honours went the way of the Godolphin-consigned Aureum at 220,000gns.

Aureum was making her second appearance at public auction having joined the Godolphin fold at $800,000 when purchased as a yearling at Keeneland in 2018. She opened her account at the fifth time of asking when landing a Chelmsford novice stakes on her latest outing for John Gosden in March.

View full Tattersalls July Sale results and stats

However, it was her pedigree and covering that made most appeal to her purchaser Tom Goff of Blandford Bloodstock, as she is a Medaglia D'Oro half-sister to Nemoralia, winner of the City of York Stakes and placed in three top-level contests. She was offered in foal to Invincible Spirit.

"She's been bought for an old breeder client of ours," said Goff. "It's a fantastic page and obviously she made $800,000 as a yearling. She's a lovely filly and her sister, who we all know, was a top-class race filly over here.

Tom Goff: 'We knew she wasn't going to be given away'Credit: Laura Green

"She's in foal to a great stallion too so we knew she wasn't going to be given away as she was one of the standouts of the whole draft. Fingers crossed she's carrying a good foal and that she can go on to be a good broodmare."

Aureum was one of 30 lots offered by Godolphin during the opening session, with the draft generating receipts totalling 1,522,700gns at an average of 50,757 gns.

Those 30 names featured five six-figure lots, including Desert Star, a winning Dubawi sister to Listed scorer Duneflower who made 150,000gns to the online bid of John Dance's Manor House Stud.

Gordon-Watson gets three for the price of one

Plenty of the session's more eyecatching purchases will continue their breeding careers overseas, with a notable exception being Excellent View after the daughter of Shamardal was knocked down to Charlie Gordon-Watson, acting on behalf of an unnamed British owner-breeder, at 200,000gns.

The grey was offered by Barton Sales with her Mehmas filly foal at foot and is back in foal to Tally-Ho Stud's rising star stallion.

"I've been looking for a pretty Shamardal mare for this owner-breeder for a long time, but finding a nice quality mare like this is hard," said Gordon-Watson.

Excellent View and her Mehmas filly foal in the Park Paddocks ringCredit: Laura Green

"She's got a very nice foal at foot and I love Mehmas; he's a stallion who does it with fillies and colts, any distance, any ground, any trainer and in any country. He's a serious stallion.

"It's nice to see that she can produce a foal like that when she's back in foal to the same stallion. She ticks all the boxes."

The ten-year-old, who is out of the Listed-winning Gone West mare Pearl Grey, has produced one winner from as many runners, with her first foal being the smart four-time scorer Mutaraffa. The mare's price had appreciated markedly since her previous sales ring appearance, having been picked up by Marygate Bloodstock for just €11,000 at Goffs in 2018.

Houldsworth catches the bird

Matthew Houldsworth of Howson and Houldsworth was another buyer to dip into the Godolphin draft when going to 160,000gns for the well-related Birdwatcher.

The daughter of Uncle Mo - who is out of the Grade 3-winning Bizzy Caroline, an Afleet Alex half-sister to the remarkable Lady Eli - was offered in foal to Blue Point. The unraced Birdwatcher was another making her second appearance at public auction having been sourced in the US as she fetched $1.1 million at Keeneland in 2018.

"I thought she was a very good physical and obviously she cost a lot of money as a yearling," said Houldsworth. "She's got a good covering too - I'm a big fan of Blue Point - and it's a lovely, deep family as well. Hopefully she can be a nice mare going forward. She's heading to America."

Birdwatcher brings 160,000gns from Matthew HouldsworthCredit: Laura Green

The Godolphin draft also contained Subella, an unraced daughter of Teofilo carrying to Invincible Spirit who went the way of Highclere's Jake Warren at 150,000gns.

The four-year-old is a half-sister to Pivotique, dam of Listed winner and 1,000 Guineas runner-up Cloak Of Spirits, while the pair are out of Suba, a close relation to none other than Dubawi.

"She's been bought for an Australian client who we've bought for previously and we're thrilled to buy her," said Warren. "She's a beautiful-looking mare with a lovely cover and her pedigree needs no introduction.

Jake Warren: 'She's a beautiful-looking mare with a lovely cover'Credit: Laura Green

"She's going to come back to Highclere but we haven't made any firm decisions [as to whether she will head to Australia in the future]. We're excited about her and we'll make a plan once we've got her home and we've seen what the foal is like."

Cormac collects

Cormac McCormack was the busiest buyer at Park Paddocks yesterday, with seven lots secured for an outlay of 463,500gns. His haul included the first lot to break the six-figure barrier in Dubai Fashion, who fetched 140,000gns after Blandford Bloodstock's Richard Brown had been seen off.

Consigned by Shadwell, the eight-year-old daughter of Dubawi won two races during her time on the track with Saeed bin Suroor and gained black type when runner-up in a brace of Listed events. She was another offered in foal to Kildangan Stud resident Blue Point, who stood the 2021 season at a fee of €40,000.

Cormac McCormack was busy buying at Tattersalls on WednesdayCredit: Laura Green

There is plenty of back class in Dubai Fashion's pedigree as she descends from Hamdan Al Maktoum's blue hen Height Of Fashion, meaning the likes of Nayef, Nashwan and Unfuwain appear on the page.

"She's a nice quality mare with a good step to her, it's all there so we live in hope," said McCormack. "She's been bought for a long-standing client from Ireland."

Garswood on his travels again

Garswood, the Group 1-winning racehorse and Royal Ascot-winning stallion, was the final lot through the ring, and the Prix Maurice de Gheest hero was knocked down to Ted Durcan at 40,000gns when offered by Houghton Bloodstock.

"He's been bought by Ahmad Alabdullatif to go to Saudi Arabia," said Durcan. "He's going to a nice home there so he'll be well looked after."

Garswood, who began his stallion career at Cheveley Park Stud in 2015, has spent the last two breeding seasons at Haras de la Huderie in France.

As well as Royal Ascot scorer Significantly, who won the Palace Of Holyroodhouse Stakes, the son of Dutch Art has sired two Group 3 winners in Cala Tarida and Little Kim.

With 2020's July Sale reformatted to just two days there are no direct year-on-year comparisons, but Wednesday's session saw turnover of 5,952,100gns, an average price of 25,114gns and a median of 11,000gns.

The clearance rate was 93 per cent as 237 of 254 offered lots found a buyer.

The Tattersalls July Sale continues on Thursday at 9.30am.

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