Twilight Son colt survives lorry crash to top Somerville Sale at 120,000gns

There is a saying about getting only one chance to make a first impression, and the inaugural Tattersalls Somerville Sale made its mark in no uncertain terms in Newmarket on Tuesday.

The event had been on an upward curve while staged under the banner of the Ascot Yearling Sale but a particularly lively session of selling saw expectations exceeded and all previous records blown clear out of the water.

The leading light was the Twilight Son colt out of Baileys Jubilee from Petches Farm who brought 120,000gns after Adam Driver of Global Equine Group denied Oliver St Lawrence.

View full Tattersalls Somerville Yearling Sale results and stats

"We'll just get him back to Jo Fenton and she can work her magic breaking him in," said Driver. "He's a strong, solid horse so we'll see what he shapes up into. He's been bought for the same owner we bought some at the breeze-ups for [Raed El Youssef], including the Dark Angel colt out of Jet Setting [the £185,000 Al Barez].

"The owner has been really lucky at the breeze-ups so now we're trying to get a few yearlings. The horse will stay in Britain but we'll get him broken in before deciding on a trainer. He's the only one on my shortlist, although I didn't expect to have to go that far, I thought he might cost around 75,000gns but the owner really liked the horse."

Adam Driver: 'He's the only one on my shortlist'Credit: Laura Green

The colt is a sibling to two winners while the dam carried Paul Venner's familiar yellow and green silks to victory in the Listed Prix des Reves d'Or. The daughter of Bahamian Bounty was also placed in the Cheveley Park and Lowther Stakes.

Petches stud manager Ollie Costello revealed that the six-figure youngster came perilously close to missing the sale after the lorry bringing the farm's two yearlings was involved in a crash while en route.

"The lorry was run off the road, it's a write off," said Costello. "I rang Keith Harte, whose farm is only five minutes away, he jumped in his own lorry and came out to us. He was with us really quickly and both horses were hardly on the wrecked lorry. Both behaved impeccably and were swapped over on the road.

"Thank god everyone involved and the horses were all okay. Today's result is fantastic – I'm so pleased for all the team."

As well as being a talented runner on the track, Baileys Jubilee is developing into a promising producer, but Simon Venner, son of Paul Venner and sales director of the family's Baileys Horse Feeds, explained that her future has not always looked so rosy.

The top lot in the Tattersalls sales ringCredit: Laura Green

"The mare is in foal to Oasis Dream," he said. "She actually had laminitis three months after she came out of training so we started off thinking she was on slightly borrowed time.

"She seems in good form at the moment though so hopefully we'll be able to get a few more foals out of her. She's definitely a tough mare, so we'll just have to hope this lad can do it on the track now.

"We were obviously very hopeful bringing a nice individual here, but I didn't expect he'd quite go to that level. He's always been quite an eyecatcher, a real strong, straightforward individual and hasn't taken too much work.

"He's been flat out showing and really owned the runway during inspections. Twilight Son is ticking over nicely now and it proved a good decision to wait for this sale as the stallion has helped us out along the way."

An expanded catalogue and a vibrant session of selling saw turnover hit 4,952,000gns, a 101 per cent increase on last year's final Ascot Yearling Sale.

The average price was up by 76 per cent to 21,345gns while the median was up by 93 per cent from 8,400gns to 16,250gns. Some 270 lots came under the hammer, 20 more than last year, and 232 of those changed hands for a clearance rate of 86 per cent.

Aguiar in action

The Robson Aguiar and Amo Racing axis signed for the 85,000gns Ardad filly who led the way for much of the session, while Aguiar, who was among the crowd at Park Paddocks but lodged his bids online, also went to 75,000gns for the Tasleet filly out of Royal Blush.

"I like the Tasleet filly, she stood out for me," said Aguiar. "She has a good walk, is strong with scope and looks like a two-year-old. I bought her to breeze and she looks like a potential Royal Ascot filly.

"I bought a few by Ardad last year and I breezed Perfect Power and Ardad himself. This filly looks like the good Ardads. I think this sale is a good place to invest as I can pay the price I think they are worth, and if they are good you can make a few quid on them.

Robson Aguiar: 'I think this sale is a good place to invest'Credit: Laura Green

"I bought these horses for myself and a few people who are investing with me. I don't mind if I buy fillies or colts, I look at everything in the catalogue, I'm just trying to buy horses who I think will be good racehorses."

The Ardad filly, who was bred and consigned by Cobhall Court Stud, is a sibling to four winners including Wimpole Hall and Blurred Vision, who went on to race as Red Kylin in Hong Kong. The filly is out of Sparkling Eyes, a two-time winner by Lujain who was also fourth in the 2006 Queen Mary Stakes.

She joined the Cobhall Court broodmare band when bought by Geoffrey Howson Bloodstock at 16,500gns in 2008. The stud's Scarlett Knipe said: "I'm a bit gobsmacked! She's never been in her box since she got here and she's been as good as gold, an absolute joy to do anything with.

Lot 128: the Ardad filly out Sparkling Eyes fetches 85,000gnsCredit: Laura Green

"The mare is in foal to Havana Grey and she had a Tasleet colt foal at foot, but I sold him to Michael Fitzpatrick privately. I usually sell as foals but we've started keeping the fillies as you can't sell them, so I'm going home later to do 11 foals for the December Sale!"

The Tasleet filly, a particularly good advertisement for her young sire, was consigned by Trickledown Stud, although the operation's Paul Thorman was quick to deflect any praise towards her breeder and the filly herself.

"She was bred by Richard Tucker, we've only met her here but she just had everything you need," said Thorman. "She walked the walk but the best thing about her, I think, was her mind. She did over 100 shows and was still loving it, she obviously enjoyed being shown and walking up and down in a heatwave.

"She has a page and her half-brother is rated over 100 and physically she's hard to fault. Ollie Fowlston said she was a Queen Mary filly. We all think they might be at this stage, but she just might be."

Lot 100: the Tasleet filly bought by Robson Aguiar for 75,000gnsCredit: Laura Green

The filly is out of Royal Blush, a typically shrewd Geoffrey Howson Bloodstock purchase at just 7,000gns who has produced four winners, including the Group 2-placed eight-time winner A Momentofmadness.

The youngster, who was bred at a fee of just £6,000, becomes the most expensive offspring of Shadwell's Nunnery Stud resident Tasleet, although Thorman was not expecting the filly to hold that title for long.

"I've used Tasleet and love him," he said. "And I actually breezed his dam, Birdkey. They tell me that by the time the October Yearling Sale is over Tasleet is the one we'll all be talking about from the first-crop sires. They say there's some really nice yearlings by him coming up here in October."

Tylicki takes aim at Expert Eye

Freddy Tylicki got in on the action when he struck at 80,000gns for the Expert Eye colt out of White Cay consigned by Kilminfoyle House Stud.

The late April foal had one of the stronger pages in the sale being a half-brother to the Grade 3-winning Cay Dancer, now the dam of dual scorer Highland Rocker, and the Listed-winning Dynamic, while another sibling, the Nathaniel filly Suspicious, had made a winning debut since the catalogue's publication.

"He's a very nice horse, I loved him, and I thought he was the pick of the sale," said Tylicki.

Freddy Tylicki: 'I've been very taken by Expert Eye's stock'Credit: Laura Green

"I've been very taken by Expert Eye's stock. I saw a few at Doncaster and was underbidder on a couple there. There's some lovely updates on the page too so this horse had it all going for him.

"He has a lovely physique and a great walk and plenty of presence. He ticked a lot of the boxes, probably all of them in fact!"

The colt provided connections with a tidy bit of pinhooking profit having fetched 41,000gns from JC Bloodstock when offered by Dukes Stud at last year's December Foal Sale.

Ross leaves it late

One of the sale's talking horses lived up to the hype when Whatton Manor Stud's Night Of Thunder colt went the way of Kevin Ross at 78,000gns as evening descended on Newmarket.

The colt is out of Fleabiscuit, a daughter of High Chaparral who made a winning debut at two. The mare's first foal, the Dandy Man gelding Grifter, has been placed twice this season for Richard Fahey.

Kevin Ross on the Park Paddocks sales groundCredit: Laura Green

Ross said: "He's by a proper sire and looks a good, solid colt. The mare obviously had a lot of ability having won as a two-year-old and being by High Chaparral. We liked the individual and hopefully he'll be all right. He's been bought for the Rooneys but I don't know who'll train him yet."

A good start for Galloway

Galloway Stud enjoyed a fine result when the Zoustar filly out of Cordial went the way of Jim McCartan, who signed as MC Bloodstock, at 70,000gns.

The filly was subject to a flurry of last-minute pedigree updates as her half-sister Libertine Belle landed her third race at Brighton on Monday, while the dam's half-brother Monarchs Glen was third in a Kentucky Downs Grade 3 less than 24 hours before the Somerville Sale kicked off.

"She's a homebred so we've had her since she was a foal," said Galloway's Stuart Thom. "The dam went to Ireland and unfortunately she died last year. Libertine Belle won again yesterday and Monarchs Glen gave us another update yesterday so it was really good timing. The men at home have done a fantastic job with her, she looks great and never put a foot wrong.

"She had 150 shows, so I've done a few steps myself! It's been a really successful sale though, Tattersalls have done an amazing job because the quality of the catalogue is great and there's a huge number of people here.

"It's the start of a long sales season as we have around a dozen to sell, but it's definitely been a good start."

Kevin Ryan goes for Glory

Kevin Ryan, fresh from toasting the Haydock Sprint Cup success of Emaraaty Ana, joined forces with Roger Marley to secure two of the sale's more eyecatching offerings, headed by the 70,000gns Kodiac half-sister to Laraaib consigned by Knockatrina House.

"She's been bought for an existing client of Kevin's," said Marley. "Obviously Kodiac needs no introduction and she's got a nice pedigree so everybody seemed to like her."

The filly is out of Sahool, a Listed-winning daughter of Unfuwain who was picked up by Knockatrina's Canice Farrell for the bargain sum of 4,500gns in 2016.

Farrell said: "This is a phenomenal filly, she's got a great mind and she's a very athletic mover and I like her a lot. We've had a lot of good horses over the years, including a few Group 1 winners, and this is a Royal Ascot filly - I hope!"

He added: "She was accepted to Book 2 but I thought she'd get a bit lost in there. She's in the top ten per cent here whereas she might have been in the bottom half at Book 2, and that's not taking anything away from her, she's a racehorse. She had a hundred-plus shows, Brendan Cooney has done all the work with her."

Roger Marley: partnered with Kevin Ryan on two notable purchasesCredit: Laura Green

Earlier in the day Ryan and Marley went to 47,000gns for Llety Farms' Cotai Glory colt out of Miss Poppy. The Tally-Ho Stud stallion has enjoyed a strong start with his first crop containing 25 European winners, a list headed by Atomic Force, who Ryan saddled to victory in the Group 2 Prix Robert Papin.

"He's been bought for Kevin Ryan so he's going back to Yorkshire," confirmed Marley. "He's been bought on spec but he's a nice straightforward colt and Kevin's had Atomic Force this year so he likes the sire. There's a bit of speed in the pedigree and Kevin likes speed, although don't we all!"

The trainer's new recruit certainly possesses the pedigree to show precocious speed, as he is a half-brother to Weatherbys Super Sprint winner Bettys Hope, while the dam is a sibling to Nunthorpe hero Kyllachy, who developed into an important sire at Cheveley Park Stud.

Douglass aiming for repeat success

Will Douglass of Charlie Gordon-Watson Bloodstock is among the agents who have enjoyed success at the past editions of this sale, most notably with recent Group 3 Sirenia Stakes scorer Eve Lodge. Douglass will be hoping to further the rebranded event's reputation with the Acclamation colt he bought for 45,000gns from Clonmult Farm.

"Acclamation is a very, very good stallion and this is a good-moving, lovely horse," said Douglass. "He really stood out here. He'll go to Richard Hannon and he knows what to do with these Acclamations. He's been bought for the man who owns Gubbass, Jassim bin Ali Al Attiyah."

The filly is out of the winning New Approach mare Maiden Approach and was owned in partnership by breeder Rachel Robinson and Clonmult Farm's James Sheehan.

"He's a lovely horse, a really well balanced individual and highly likely to make a racehorse," said Sheehan. "He's been very busy up here, he had 100 shows, so he wasn't going to be missed.

"This sale has been a lucky place for us in the past as we sold the second-top lot at Ascot two years ago [the £45,000 Colombe] and she won at Windsor earlier in the year."

Marnane in the Ardad fanclub

Overbury Stud's breakthrough sire Ardad has created a deep impression with his debut crop, with the sire's first two-year-olds featuring 17 European winners and the Group 1 Prix Morny scorer Perfect Power.

Breeze-up maestro Con Marnane is a paid up member of the sire's fan club and went to 42,000gns to secure the Ardad colt out of Lady Vermeer consigned by Manor Farm Stud during the sale's opening exchanges.

"I'm a huge fan of the sire," said Marnane. "I have a share in him and a couple of mares in foal to him, including a half-sister to Dutch Art. I've been a huge fan all along, ever since he was sold at the breeze-up sales. We jointly topped the Doncaster Breeze-Up Sale with Prince Of Lir [at £170,000] when Tally-Ho sold Ardad."

Marnane's purchase is a sibling to two minor winners abroad, while the dam is out of a half-sister to hard-knocking sprinter Orientor.

When asked if he had purchased any Ardad yearlings last year Marnane said: "No, I couldn't afford them! They're more expensive this year but he's a proven horse now. I think Richard Fahey's horse Perfect Power is an absolute machine. This colt has a great back pedigree and will probably come back here for the Craven Sale."

Mahony hails Europe's 'most progressive sale'

At the close of trade, Tattersalls chairman Edmond Mahony said: "We are absolutely delighted with today’s inaugural Tattersalls Somerville Yearling Sale. We had no choice but to relocate last year’s Tattersalls Ascot Yearling Sale to Park Paddocks and it proved to be a great success which made the decision to rebrand and permanently relocate the fixture a relatively straightforward one.

"Sale turnover of double last year’s wide margin record level as well as huge rises in average and median fully vindicate the decision and suggest that the Somerville Yearling Sale can legitimately be regarded as Europe’s most progressive yearling sale.

"There has been a genuinely vibrant atmosphere around Park Paddocks for the past few days and just as with last week’s Tattersalls August Sale, it has been a pleasure to have been able to conduct the Somerville Yearling Sale without the need for any restrictions.

"We have welcomed buyers from throughout Europe and further afield, but perhaps the most encouraging feature of today’s sale has been the prolific number of British trainers who have been active.

"They have all contributed to a sale which has produced more lots sold for 50,000gns or above than the previous four Ascot Yearling Sales combined, a record top price of 120,000gns and a clearance rate well over 80 per cent.

"We should also pay tribute to the consignors, both British and Irish, who have allowed us to take this sale to a new level. They have supported the sale with quality stock and their confidence in the sale and the venue has been rewarded.

"The inaugural Tattersalls Somerville Yearling Sale has been energetically and widely promoted, not least with the introduction of the £100,000 Tattersalls Somerville Auction Stakes, and the enthusiastic response from buyers is a positive indicator as we look forward to the Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale and Books 1 to 4 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale."

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