'I might have to smooth talk him a bit!' - eyecatching mating in mind as Bridestones brings 280,000gns at December Mares Sale
A significant seller turned top lot buyer at Tattersalls on Wednesday as Bridestones led the way on day three of the December Mares Sale at 280,000gns.
Godolphin’s Listed-placed four-year-old was knocked down to agent Alex Elliott, who revealed the filly would join the broodmare band of Anthony Ramsden. The man behind the Valmont brand was among the owners of You Got To Me who sold to Amo Racing for 4,800,000gns on Tuesday.
“She’s been bought for Anthony Ramsden of Valmont,” said Elliott. “He’s looking to spend some of the pennies he got back last night, when instead of spending it we collected it for a change! Anthony’s taking a long-term view and it’s great when you’ve got people who want to play in all aspects of the game. She'll go to Whatton Manor Stud.”
Bridestones won one of her seven starts for John and Thady Gosden, and gained valuable black type when third in the Listed Coral Distaff. The daughter of Teofilo boasts pedigree as well as performance as she is out of Group 1 Fillies' Mile winner White Moonstone.
Expanding on the appeal of the Godolphin homebred, Elliott said: “Teofilo is a great broodmare sire and works with numerous crosses. I like the Dynaformer aspect as broodmare sire, and the fact she’s a two-year-old winner.
“She’s a black-type mare out of a Group 1 winner and I thought she was good-looking. I think we’ll probably breed her to Lope De Vega, he works very well with Teofilo mares. I might have to go buy John O’Connor [of Ballylinch Stud] a cup of tea and smooth talk him a bit!”
Tuesday’s Sceptre Session proved a particularly memorable evening for Elliott, as not only is he heavily involved with Amo Racing, but he also signed for You Got To Me when she was bought by Valmont for 200,000gns at Book 1 in 2022. The Classic winner was offered on Tuesday by Newsells Park Stud, who bought into the daughter of Nathaniel after her winning two-year-old debut.
“I just sat back and watched,” Elliott said of the 4,800,000gns spectacle. “Kia was driving it. Graham [Smith-Bernal, Newsells Park owner] was on the other side, and that’s what the market valued her at. It was very exciting to be involved.
“We sold half of her after her debut and we thought at the end of her three-year-old career, when the market is up, was the time to maximise her value. Anthony’s a very smart man and he saw that opportunity.”
On his twinned roles with Amo and Valmont, the agent added: “I’m in an amazing position where there’s two emerging powers playing the game in different ways to one another, and I’m just very lucky to be caught up in the middle of it.”
Elliott secured another of the five six-figure lots that sold on Wednesday when Instinction, a dual winning daughter Brazen Beau from Houghton Bloodstock, was knocked down at 120,000gns.
Although trade was nothing like the level of 24 hours earlier, there was still plenty of action in the market. Turnover for the session increased by 27 per cent year-on-year to 4,618,000gns, while the average price rose by 29 per cent to 24,960gns. The median also went up by 14 point to 16,000gns. The clearance rate was a robust 86 per cent as 185 fillies and mares sold from 214 offered.
Ellaria Sand keeps it Cool
The other lot to roll deeper into six-figure territory was Ellaria Sand, a two-year-old daughter of Sands Of Mali who was last seen landing her second race in the Listed Radley Stakes. The Cool Silk Partnership homebred was offered by The Castlebridge Consignment and signed for by Sam Haggas’s Hurworth Bloodstock at 200,000gns.
Cool Silk’s advisor Matt Coleman said: “When Sands Of Mali was going to stud I bought her dam, Ellaria, to join a band of broodmares to support the stallion. Ellaria Sands was born and reared at Culworth Grounds and went into training and, fair dues to Peter, Karin and Chris Swann of Cool Silk, they back their own homebreds and put them all in training. It’s great to see them get such a great price for her.
“Ellaria Sands has had a good year and topped it off with a brilliant performance at Newbury in the Listed Radley Stakes, which was a timely update before the sale today. I believe she’s been bought by a team of Sam Haggas’s clients to go back to Ollie Sangster. It’s great for Ollie to have her back in the yard.”
Ellaria Sand is one of 19 first-crop winners by Ballyhane Stud’s Sands Of Mali, who won the Group 1 Qipco British Champions Sprint Stakes in the Cool Silk colours.
“It’s a big feather in the cap of the Cool Silk team for a homebred to have won a Listed race and then sell for 200,000gns,” added Coleman. “They raced the stallion and bred this filly so it’s a great achievement. Hopefully she will go on too because Cool Silk has still got the mare and has a full-sister to race.”
Barry Lynch buys for Ballylinch
Bridestones was not the only six-figure mare bound for a covering at Ballylinch Stud, as agent Barry Lynch explained that is where Miss Marjurie would head after she fetched 140,000gns.
The 14-year-old daughter of Marju was offered by Baroda Stud in foal to Triple Time. She came to the ring armed with an eye-catching update, as not only had her two-year-old Smoken gone two from two since the catalogue was published, but the most recent of those successes came in the Listed Montrose Stakes.
“She’s been bought for Ballylinch Stud,” said Lynch. “She’s a lovely mare with a great profile and she’s going to go to their new stallion Look De Vega. He’s a beautiful horse; a wonderful shape with great movement and by great stallion. He won one of the great stallion-making races so he has to have a massive chance.”
Look De Vega, a strapping son of Ballylinch kingpin Lope De Vega, was a clear-cut winner of this year’s Prix du Jockey Club. He has been introduced to breeders at a fee of €20,000.
Lynch added: “Marju mares are very hard to come by and she’s in foal to an interesting stallion. He was a top-class racehorse and a Group 1 winner by Frankel. She’s a mare you can mate very easily so we’re delighted to get her. If she breeds a nice foal hopefully we’ll get a multiple of that price back.”
The record-breaking Tattersalls December Mares Sale concludes on Thursday with the fourth and final session starting at 9.30am.
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Bromance by the bucketload but going for broke proves no laughing matter at the Sceptre Sessions
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