'She's everything we want' - Juddmonte see off Coolmore and Godolphin to land 4,500,000gns Teona at Tattersalls

How much for a Group 1-winning filly? On day two of the Tattersalls December Mares Sale on Tuesday we got the answer. And not just once but six times. In the case of Teona, the answer was 4,500,000gns, but only after a protracted tussle that involved the buying teams from racing’s rival powerhouses Coolmore, Godolphin and Juddmonte.

MV Magnier and Paul Shanahan, both talking on their respective mobiles, lodged Coolmore’s bids from the middle of the packed gangway, while Godolphin representatives Anthony Stroud and David Loder were stationed on the opposite side of the bustling auditorium. However, the final play came from Juddmonte’s general manager Simon Mockridge, who admitted to being stretched further than intended to secure the daughter of Sea The Stars.

Teona was offered by Barton Sales on behalf of Rabbah Bloodstock, having visited Frankel for her first covering earlier this year.

“You’ve always got to stretch a little bit further than you really want to,” said Mockridge. “To buy the best, that’s how competitive it is. We’ll keep seeing that tonight.

"I thought about three and a half to four [million guineas] was her valuation, but you have to make that extra stretch. That’s something that we’ve learned. It’s all very well trying to value them but, when it comes to the moment, you’ve got to be that little bit stronger.”

Teona registered three victories during her time in training with Roger Varian, most notably the Group 1 Prix Vermeille, in which she got the better of Anglo-Irish and Yorkshire Oaks heroine Snowfall by a length and a half. She also won the Listed August Stakes and finished her racing days with a third-place finish behind Yibir in the Breeders' Cup Turf.

Not only did Ali Saeed’s colour bearer win a Group 1 herself but she is out of a Group 1 winner in Ambivalent, who carried the same owner’s silks to success in the Pretty Polly Stakes, beating Oaks heroine Was by half a length. The daughter of Authorized has bred three winners, with Teona a half-sister to Group 2 Prix Hocquart victor Al Hilalee.

“She’s the best mare in the sale,” said Mockridge. “A Group 1 winner out of a Group 1 winner, and that’s what it costs you. For us, she’s got a great pedigree and she’s by Sea The Stars, who’s made a fantastic start as a broodmare. He’s already the damsire of five Group 1 winners. She’s everything that we want and she’ll fit in very well.

“There were plenty [of elite mares] at Goffs that we tried hard on but we got beaten on most of the great individuals there, but mares like this are very difficult to find. She’s a little bit of an outcross for Frankel, which is ideal.”

Ambivalent has also come under the hammer in recent weeks as she sold to Avondale Bloodstock for €925,000 carrying a Sea The Stars sibling to Teona during the Goffs November Breeding Stock Sale.

Boughey brace bring 4,900,000gns

George Boughey’s Newmarket stable was represented by two of the market leaders, with Via Sistina selling to an online bid of 2,700,000gns to a buyer signing as Evergreen Equine, while Katsumi Yoshida‘s Northern Farm went to 2,200,000gns for the 1,000 Guineas heroine Cachet.

The Grove Stud-consigned Via Sistina was making her second appearance at Tattersalls and brought a staggering 5,400 times more than she did the first time around. She was first bought by bloodstock agent Stephen Hillen for the scarcely believable sum of 5,000gns when she was offered by Jamie Railton at the 2019 December Yearling Sale.

Via Sistina selling for a fair bit more than she did previouslyCredit: Laura Green

She quickly proved that valuation all wrong, winning twice at three for Joe Tuite before switching to Boughey during the autumn of her four-year-old season. She ended that campaign by adding the Group 3 Prix Fille de l'Air to her record.

Her progression went up a gear at five as she resumed with a six-length demolition in the Group 2 Dahlia Stakes, beatening subsequent Nassau scorer Al Husn, before claiming the Group 1 Pretty Polly Stakes by a bloodless two lengths.

Hillen described watching Tuesday night’s transaction as “surreal” before reflecting on the journey the daughter of Fastnet Rock had taken him and wife Rebecca on.

“It’s been tremendous,” he said. “She was broken in by Jamie Magee, who has a lot of good stock through his hands, and he rang me in about February of her two-year-old year and said, ‘This thing gets up the gallop better than anything else.’ He said we could breeze her but I said that racing her was the right thing to do. She didn’t go into training until August because her pedigree just said wait.”

He continued: “She’s such a strong traveller in her races but she walked around the ring like a sheep, she’s just the most amazing horse. It’s a dream. I thought she’d bring two [million guineas] plus. I thought that if we didn’t get what we wanted for her then we’d keep her, so it was going to be a celebration either way.”

Looking back to the day he bought Via Sistina in December 2019, Hillen said: “I’d have given a lot more for her at the time. She was a foal share but wasn’t protected by either side. She needed a fair bit of imagination. You buy those things sometimes and most of them turn out useless, but she just had something.”

Although Via Sistina was unable to add to her tally after the Pretty Polly Stakes she has run some fine races in defeat, not least when beaten a nose by Mqse De Sevigne in the Prix Jean Romanet and when filling the runner-up spot behind King Of Steel in the Champion Stakes on her latest outing. The latter performance was given a career-best Racing Post Rating of 120.

Bred by Melba and Colin Bryce of Laundry Cottage Stud Farm, Via Sistina is out of Nigh, a Galileo half-sister to dual Group 1-winning sprinter Kingsgate Native. Nigh also came under the hammer on Tuesday evening, selling to an online bid from Lucky Vega of 200,000gns. She was offered by Far Westfield Farm carrying to Too Darn Hot.

The rise and rise of Cachet rates a real Cinderella story given she hails from distinctly humble origins. Bred by John Bourke of Hyde Park Stud, the filly is out of Poyle Sophie, a placed daughter of Teofilo who was bought with the Classic winner in utero for a mere 3,000gns in 2018.

Cachet: 1,000 Guineas heroine sold for 2,200,000gnsCredit: Alisha Meeder

Cachet first appeared on the public market at the now defunct Tattersalls Ascot Yearling Sale but was retained by her vendor at 14,000gns. She then reappeared at the Craven Breeze-Up Sale the following spring, where she fetched a slightly more respectful 60,000gns from Highclere.

She proved high-class at two, winning on her debut and gaining a handful of black type, most notably when third in the Fillies’ Mile. She also finished fourth, beaten just a length by Pizza Bianca, in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf.

She took her form to new heights at three, however, as she kicked off her campaign by landing the Nell Gwyn Stakes by two and a half lengths before etching her name into the history books by winning the 1,000 Guineas. She defeated Prosperous Voyage by a neck, with Oaks and Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf heroine Tuesday two lengths away in third.

“Of course she’s the 1,000 Guineas winner and she looks gorgeous,” said Northern Farm's Shingo Hashimoto. “We felt something special from her and we’re excited to take her back to Japan. She’ll be covered, maybe in Europe first, we haven’t decided yet. The options her pedigree gives us is one of the good parts, and she definitely has the speed.

“We always try to diversify the blood that we have among our stock, we don’t want to put all the eggs into one basket, and that’s part of our plan. We’ll always come here to buy.”

Boughey was among the faces in the crowd watching on as the two fillies fetched seven-figure sums and the trainer shared his reflections on the pair bringing a combined 4,900,000gns.

“It was a very special evening and to have two Group 1 winners to sell on the same night within half an hour of each other, it’ll probably never happen again,” said Boughey, “It’s a huge credit to the team at home. Chas Robertson, Laura Toller and Antonia Peck all had an involvement riding these horses and both have been beautifully managed by my team. They came here in super condition.

"To have Highclere’s first Classic winner was amazing and for Steve and Becky Hillen to turn 5,000gns into 2,700,000gns, it won’t be repeated for a very long time. I’m very proud to have been a very small part of it. It’s nice when a plan comes off.”

A First for Get Ahead

High-class sprinter Get Ahead may not have won a Group 1 but she forced her way into the upper echelons of the market when William Haggas outbid Oliver St Lawrence at 2,500,000gns.

Get Ahead: was got away for 2,500,000gnsCredit: Laura Green

Haggas was unable to reveal the identity of those involved in owning the daughter of Showcasing, but said: “She’s for a new syndicate called First Bloodstock and she’s going to Hillwood Stud as soon as she can. She’s going to be bred rather than being a racehorse.”

Hillwood’s Charlie Vigors later confirmed that First Bloodstock was comprised of British investors.

Get Ahead hails from a family that has been in red-hot form in the racing and sales spheres lately. She is a sibling to five winners, most notably this year’s 2,000 Guineas hero Chaldean, the son of Frankel who has retired to Juddmonte’s Banstead Manor stallion roster for the 2024 breeding season.

She is also a sister to Mill Reef Stakes scorer Alkumait, the son of Showcasing whose first foals bred at Capital Stud have hit the market this winter, and a half-sister to the Listed-winning The Broghie Man and the Listed-place Gloves Lynch. Get Ahead has done her bit to uphold family honour, winning the Listed Cecil Frail Stakes and finishing second to Moss Tucker in the Group 1 Flying Five Stakes.

Get Ahead's dam, Whitsbury Manor Stud's budding blue hen Suelita, produced a Kingman filly in 2022 and that blue-blooded youngster was bought by Juddmonte for 1,000,000gns at last year’s December Foal Sale. Two years earlier Chaldean was added to the Juddmonte fold at 550,000gns. A Showcasing brother to Get Ahead and Alkumait sold to Alex Elliott for 260,000gns during last week’s December Foal Sale.

Beckett pair a source of bittersweet emotions

Another stable responsible for a seven-figure brace was Ralph Beckett’s Kimpton Down Stables, whose draft featured Group 1 winners Lezoo and Prosperous Voyage. The former sold to Narvick International for 2,200,000gns, while Northern Farm struck at 2,400,000gns for the latter.

The four-year-old Prosperous Voyage enjoyed her finest hour when she got the better of Inspiral and Sandrine to land the 2022 running of the Group 1 Falmouth Stakes. She also proved herself a decidedly high-class talent by winning this year’s Group 3 Princess Elizabeth Stakes, as well as finishing runner-up to Cachet in 1,000 Guineas and her old adversary Inspiral in the Fillies' Mile at two.

Lezoo and Josie Mansell (left) with Prosperous Voyage and Beth Potts at Park PaddocksCredit: Laura Green

Bred by Lynch Bages and Camas Park Stud, Prosperous Voyage was purchased by Badgers Bloodstock at the Doncaster edition of the Goffs Orby Sale, where she fetched £65,000. She is out of Seatone, a Mizzen Mast half-sister to the dual Grade 1 winner Senure, which makes her a sibling to the Australian Listed third Romanesque.

“We’re happy to be able to buy her at the end of the day,” said Hashimoto after signing for the daughter of Zoffany, who had initially been retained by her vendor at 2,600,000gns. “We’ll breed her next year but we’ll think about whether we bring her back to Japan or keep her in Europe as there are some good stallions here too.”

Lezoo became the first northern hemisphere Group 1 winner for Tweenhills’ Australian sire sensation Zoustar when landing last year’s Cheveley Park Stakes. Her three-year-old campaign hasn’t proved quite so productive but she added to her four juvenile victories, a quartet that includes the Group 3 Princess Margaret Stakes, when winning the Listed Hopeful Stakes on her penultimate outing.

Lezoo has been to the sales on two previous occasions, first fetching 77,000gns from Hamish Macauley at Book 3 in 2021 before being knocked down to Atlas Bloodstock at €110,000 at the following year’s Arqana Breeze-Up, where she was offered by Tally-Ho Stud.

Lezoo was bred by Chasemore Farm from the Red Clubs mare Roger Sez, winner of the Listed Firth of Clyde Stakes during her time on the track. The dam also bred this season’s Group 3-placed two-year-old Navassa Island.

Both fillies were owned by Marc Chan and Andrew Rosen, and their adviser Jamie McCalmont reflected on a “bittersweet” evening, saying: “I’m very fond of both of them, they’re lovely girls and they’ve given us some great days out. It’s more sad than happy as I liked them a lot. But it’s an expensive hobby, owning horses in Britain, so you have to do this unless you have stallion income coming in. We don’t have any of that but it would have been lovely to breed from both of them.”

Rogue team in clover with 1,650,000gns Millennium 

Another filly who showed a marked increase in value was the Barton Sales-consigned Royal Ascot winner Rogue Millennium. The Shadwell-bred daughter of Dubawi was bought as an unraced juvenile from the 2021 December Sale, where Billy Jackson Stops signed the docket at just 350,000gns. On Tuesday the four-year-old was knocked down to David Lanigan, acting on behalf of owner Scott Heider, at 1,650,000gns. 

The filly was trained by Tom Clover for The Rogues Gallery syndicate and won three of her 14 starts, most notably the Group 2 Duke of Cambridge Stakes. She proved herself at the highest level when second to Tahiyra in the Matron Stakes and her new connections will be hoping she can go one place better in elite company. 

“The plan is for her to go back into training with Joseph O’Brien,” said Lanigan. “We’ve had Agartha, Brostaigh and Twilight Spinner with Joseph before and Scott was looking for something to be a Saturday horse. She was an obvious one. The team have done a great job with her, she has a great temperament and we’ve had nothing but good reports. Tom said he thought she’d continue to improve.” 

This is not the first seven-figure horse Clover has sold for The Rogues Gallery having seen Rogue Lightning bring £1 million from Blandford Bloodstock, agent for Wathnan Racing, at the Goffs British Champions Day Sale. 

Reflecting on the sale of Rogue Millennium, Clover said: “She’s the most wonderful filly and it’s great to see her sell so well for such a terrific syndicate who have been fantastic supporters of mine. It’s also great to see syndicates winning races at Royal Ascot, it’s all thanks to the vision of Tony Elliott and The Rogues Gallery. We’ve sold two seven-figure horses for them this year that we bought for 80 grand between them. 

Rogue Millennium: "She’s the most wonderful filly and it’s great to see her sell so well"Credit: Laura Green

“She’s just kept improving and it’s nice for her that she gets the chance to win a Group 1 next year because I think she deserves one. Tom Blain and his team at Barton have done a wonderful job with her here, although she’s a lovely filly to do anything with to be honest.” 

He added: “She’s put us on the map and I just love her. I’m probably biassed but I think she’s the most beautiful filly. To have your first Royal Ascot winner with all your family there, it was a plan that came together and it was a day I’ll always remember. I loved watching her train day to day, Carrie Browning, who rode her every day, did a terrific job. 

"I think what I’ll miss most is seeing her in her box, training in the mornings and being able to give her a pat at night. Fingers crossed she goes on to do well.”

Millionaires row

Three other lots hit the million mark, led by Poptronic, who was offered by Karl Burke’s Spigot Lodge Stables on behalf of owner-breeders David and Yvonne Blunt. No lot boasted a bigger update than the daughter of Nathaniel, who was catalogued as the winner of four races but added a fifth when she landed the Group 1 British Champions Fillies and Mares Stakes on her latest outing. 

The four-year-old was sold to an online bid from an unidentified party signing as Sanctuary Lodge at 1,400,000gns. 

The hunger to secure mares in foal to Frankel was a running theme that began to emerge when Hillwood Stud’s Charlie Vigors outbid Charlie Gordon Watson at 1,100,000gns for Primo Bacio. 

Primo Bacio: sold in foal to FrankelCredit: Laura Green

The five-year-old daughter of Awtaad beat Creative Flair to win the Listed Michael Seely Memorial Stakes during her time in training with Ed Walker, who also prepared her to run third in the Group 2 Duke of Cambridge Stakes at Royal Ascot. The 100,000gns yearling purchase by Ed Sackville was offered by owner David Ward through The Castlebridge Consignment. 

“She’s a beautiful mare, she has lovely movement, and I just loved her when I first saw her,” said Vigors. “She’s been bought for an existing client. The Frankel covering was hugely attractive and she was a very good racemare herself rated 112. It’s a very active family and, and it’s a shame to use the old cliche, but she ticks a lot of boxes for us.

“She’ll come back to us and hopefully her progeny will be coming back here to sell as well as she’s a commercial purchase. She’s an exciting addition to the broodmare band at Hillwood, although we have not thought about [next year’s covering] stallions yet.” 

Gordon Watson enjoyed better fortune later on when he landed Geocentric, in foal to Frankel, at 1,200,000gns. The four-year-old daughter of Kodiac won a brace of Listed races during her time in training with Ger Lyons, namely the Legacy Stakes and the Midsummer Sprint Stakes. The 160,000gns Book 1 buy by SackvilleDonald was offered by The Castlebridge Consignment.

Tally up

By the close of trade the session had become the third-highest grossing day in European auction history. The aggregate was 48,167,000gns, an 11 per cent dip on last year’s record-busting session. The average price was clipped in by two per cent at 275,240gns, while the median was down by 18 per cent at 92,000gns. The clearance rate was 79 per cent as 175 sold from 221 offered.

The highest-grossing session in European history is the corresponding day at this sale last year, when the 5,400,000gns Alcohol Free contributed to turnover of 54,005,000gns. The second-highest grossing session was day two of last year’s renewal of Book 1, which was topped by the 2,800,000gns Kalidasa, who is set to make his highly anticipated debut for Godolphin at Kempton on Wednesday. 

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