Havana Grey holds sway but challenging conditions prevail on day one of December Foal Sale

The bloodstock market has always followed a trajectory of peaks and troughs, and even those with the most positive disposition couldn’t fail to notice the direction of travel during a challenging day one of the Tattersalls December Foal Sale on Tuesday.

Suggestions put forward by those on the ground identified the root cause as either overproduction, lack of demand linked inextricably to chronic levels of prize-money, or simply a surfeit of stock that the commercial market has turned its back on. 

While the room may have been divided over the source of the shift, there seemed to be a consensus that the wider European bloodstock market is undergoing a correction that one leading vendor described as “brutal”. 

The bare facts state that turnover was down by 51 per cent compared to the corresponding session last year, with aggregate sales of 1,517,450gns. The average dropped by 32 per cent to 11,240gns and the median was back by 38 per cent at 8,000gns, having been 13,000gns 12 months ago. Most sobering of all was the clearance rate of just 59 per cent, with 135 lots sold from 227 offered. 

Of course not all breeders were left downbeat by events in the ring, particularly those with the progeny of Havana Grey to sell. Paul Gardner of Springcombe Park Stud bred the colt out of Ebrah who topped the session when selling to Adrian O’Brien of Hazelwood Bloodstock at 65,000gns. 

The session-topping Havana Grey colt takes his turn around the sales ring at TattersallsCredit: Laura Green

“This particular horse is a May foal and I think he’s got an awful lot of improving to do,” said O’Brien. “I certainly hope that’ll be the way it works out. Even before he’d had a runner I’ve bought at least one foal by Havana Grey each year and I’ve had a bit of luck with him. I love his stock, obviously, and he’s proving to be an outstanding sire. Their athleticism is the key, I’d say. They come in different shapes and sizes but they all run.” 

The colt was consigned by Jamie Railton, who said: “It’s a really good result for an English owner-breeder, which are becoming rare beasts nowadays. It’s great for Paul to get a good result. He bred Quiet Reflection, so he can produce you a good horse, and it’s great for him to get a few quid back. He sent all his mares to Showcasing [sire of Quiet Reflection] in the early days and now he’s sent them all to Havana Grey, so he’s been lucky.” 

Railton also brought the reality facing those selling into this market into sharp relief, saying: “It’s very selective and we’re in a market correction, so this was inevitable. Sadly it’s quite brutal for breeders. We’d expected this though, and we’ve had to cut our cloth accordingly.” 

Looking ahead to the following three sessions of the December Foal Sale, Railton added: “It’ll be the same as [at Goffs] last week; good for the foals the market wants and nothing for the rest. We can all moan about it but we’ve all just got to adapt and move on.”

Hazelwood Bloodstock’s other purchase on the day was also by Havana Grey, with O’Brien giving 38,000gns for the colt out of Ventura Jazz from The Castlebridge Consignment. That transaction meant that Havana Grey accounted for four of the top six lots at the session.

The session finished with something of a late flourish as Railton went from seller to buyer, giving 55,000gns for the Nathaniel colt out of Chesapeake Shores offered by Mickley Stud on behalf of Wood Farm Stud. 

Mickley Stud's Nathaniel colt out of the winning Camelot mare Chesapeake Shores sells to Jamie Railton for 55,000gnsCredit: Laura Green

The youngster has a pedigree packed full of Classic potential as not only is he by the sire of Desert Crown, Enable and Channel, his dam is a winning daughter of Camelot closely related to Irish Derby hero Frozen Fire. 

After being congratulated by a host of well-wishers, including Anthony Bromley, Railton said: “He’s an awfully good-looking horse and the objective will be to bring him back for Book 2. Hopefully Anthony Bromley will be around then too! He’s a horse with a lot of potential and the second dam has produced a Derby winner. He’ll head to Ireland from here.” 

The first lot to fetch 55,000gns on the day was a colt from the first crop of A’Ali offered by Newsells Park Stud, the farm the four-time Group 2 winner calls home. The colt is out of Maureen, winner of the Princess Margaret and Fred Darling Stakes during her time on the track. 

The daughter of Holy Roman Emperor has bred two winners since retiring to the Newsells Park paddocks. Matt Coleman of Stroud Coleman Bloodstock signed the ticket on behalf of a pinhooking syndicate made up of the agency’s clients.

Stroud Coleman know plenty about A’Ali as Anthony Stroud signed for the Norfolk Stakes winner at the 2019 Doncaster Breeze-Up Sale at a price of £135,000. 

“He’s for a syndicate who’ll reoffer him as a yearling,” said Coleman. “We were looking for what we thought was the best A’Ali today. Obviously Anthony bought A’Ali with Simon Crisford for Shaikh Duaij, so he’s a stallion we’re keen to support. This colt is strong, very athletic and has plenty of scope for a sprinting horse.”

“He has a great attitude and looks like a horse who’ll run. Maureen was a top racehorse and she produced Whenthedealinsdone, who was 100 rated. There’s a couple of nice foals by A’Ali tomorrow and he seems to make a nice shape of horse. He isn’t the biggest himself but his foals here seem to have plenty of size, which is encouraging.” 

First-time breeder in clover

Breeder Tina Yarrow was among those leaving Park Paddocks with a smile on her face having seen the foal out of her first mare fetch 52,000gns from WH Bloodstock. 

The Havana Grey colt is out of My Law, a winning daughter of Mayson who was bought from WH Bloodstock at a cost of just 3,500gns at the 2021 July Sale. The relation to Australian Group 1 winners Serenade Rose and Trekking visited Havana Grey in 2022 when the debut crop of Whitsbury Manor Stud’s rising star were still to reveal the full extent of their sire’s prowess. 

Although Yarrow is a newcomer to thoroughbred breeding, she is a seasoned horsewoman with plenty of experience in the hunting field.

Explaining how she became involved in the thoroughbred side of breeding, she said: “I’m a neighbour of [Whitsbury Manor’s] Ed Harper’s and he told me I needed a thoroughbred mare, so I asked him to help me find one. He found me My Law, who had belonged to Harry Wigan, who’s a son of my other close neighbours, James and Anita Wigan. 

Anita Wigan: offered some moral support to breeder Tina Yarrow at Park PaddocksCredit: Laura Green

“Ed always said I’d have to go to Havana Grey, so I said ‘Okay, I’ll do whatever you tell me’ and that’s how I bred this colt on a foal share with Ed.” 

Yarrow, a first-time visitor to Tattersalls, described the transaction as a “one-time wonder”, continuing: “I’ve never been to Tattersalls before but it’s been a sensational experience, it’s the most wonderful place. I’ve loved it, and the colt has been bought by someone I know, which makes it even better! I always thought he was a nice foal and Selwood Bloodstock have prepared him beautifully. I can’t thank them enough.” 

Yarrow initially described herself as “just a hunting girl” until Anita Wigan interjected to explain that she is the master of the Portman hunt. “I’ve got a lot of horses, plenty of mares and foals, but they’re showjumpers and eventers, not thoroughbreds,” she said. “This result is probably never to be repeated. He’s been so cool and he’s always been a really nice foal. 

“He’s got a lovely temperament. Luckily I had Anita Wigan with me and she knows the form and offered some moral support when the colt was in the ring, which was lovely. I’m a hunting girl and I’m just a farmer really, but I’m very lucky and Ed has been a great support. The mare is in foal to Sergei Prokifiev.” 

Boumans cashes in with shrewdly bought mare

In Good Morning Bloodstock recently Martin Stevens revealed how Juddmonte employee Eric Boumans bought the well-connected Likelihood, dam of Australian Group 3 winner Future History, for only 1,000gns. 

On Tuesday Boumans received a handsome dividend from his shrewd purchase when the mare’s latest foal, a daughter of sire of the moment Havana Grey, sold to JC Bloodstock for 40,000gns. The filly was offered by Culworth Grounds. 

Eric Boumans: "I thought Havana Grey would be the best mating for her, which is why I went to him"

Reflecting on events since he purchased Likelihood back in February 2022, before both Future History and Havana Grey had emerged, Boumans said: “It’s quite amazing. Luckily I got her in foal to the right stallion, although I didn’t know that at the time. I know that normally she throws quite backwards foals so I wanted to breed her to something more compact and speedier. I thought Havana Grey would be the best mating for her, which is why I went to him. Of course he turned out to be really good, so I was really lucky.” 

When Boumans was asked about the rationale behind bringing the foal to market, his response reflected the reality facing a lot of small breeders. He said: “I need the money! You have to pay the bills and it’s pretty expensive. Now I’ll have to find another stallion, but it’s not cheap. If she hadn’t sold well I might’ve said I was going to quit because it’s very expensive.” 

He added: “Likelihood is very good though. She’s enjoying herself out in the paddock and she’s in foal to Tip Two Win. He might not be commercial but there’s the Dark Angel influence there again. I think the Dark Angel line works really well with the mare. Now that I’ve got 40,000gns I might go for more of an expensive Dark Angel line stallion. We’ll see.” 

The December Foal Sale continues on Wednesday at 10am.

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