Superpowers collide again as Havana Grey colt brings record 1,750,000gns at Tattersalls
Another day, another Tattersalls Craven Breeze-Up Sale record. A little over 24 hours after Godolphin paid 1,400,000gns (approx. AU$3.06 million) for a son of Acclamation (Royal Applause), the operation came off second best to Amo Racing when Malcolm Bastard presented the Havana Grey (Havana Gold) colt out of the appropriately named Show Stealer (Showcasing).
Godolphin’s buying team of David Loder and Anthony Stroud bid with all their usual impetus, but Amo principal Kia Joorabchian was in no mood to be denied. He struck the winning bid of 1,750,000gns (approx. AU$3.71 million) from his usual position in the bidders’ area opposite the rostrum.
The colt showed a jaw-dropping appreciation in value, having last changed hands publicly for just 55,000gns at the 2023 Tattersalls December Foal Sale, where Harlequin Direct signed the docket. That upgrade represents a 3,081 per cent return on investment.
“What a phenomenal sale,” said Amo talent scout Alex Elliott. “I’ve said it in recent years, it’s becoming very much like the American breeze-up market. Obviously there’s the clocks, there’s all the hoops to jump through, and when you do it, there’s just no limit to what these horses can make. We’ve been a bit slower on the uptake here but it’s become like that. These men want to win the best races and a lot of the best breezers win the best races.”
The colt clocked the fastest two-furlong workout according to times seen by the Racing Post. For Elliott it was not just the raw time that jumped out, but that Bastard’s horses are not renowned for breaking the stopwatch.
“He’s by Havana Grey, who’s had a champion out of here in Vandeek,” Elliott continued. “All these vendors are trying to do the same thing, but the one thing about Malcolm, and he’ll tell you himself, that he’s first and foremost a pre-trainer; the horse comes first. So when Malcolm’s horse rocks up at the breeze and clocks the fastest time, there was a queue at his door and we had to get an appointment for when we could see the horse!
“He’s been doing this a long time, he’s brilliant at his job and he’s pre-trained some of the best horses in Europe. The horse was produced beautifully and for it to do what it did, for Malcolm, when he doesn’t particularly put the gun to their heads, it tells you you’ve got a good horse.”
Elliott also shared the Amo camp’s perspective on the protracted bidding battle, saying: “I felt them [Godolphin] slow up at 1.5 [million]. I felt them think about it, and usually it’s bang, bang, bang. I said to Kia ‘they’ve thought about that’, and then they really did think about it. Listen, maybe it’s not the wisest thing to do to outbid them, but we’ve done it.”
The seven-figure youngster is set to make the short journey from Tattersalls to Freemason Lodge, where he will be trained by Amo’s head trainer Raphael Freire.
The successful vendor did not hang around to revel in the post-sale celebrations, but before he departed Park Paddocks he gave a typically understated debrief.
“He’s been pre-trained and has just done normal work,” Bastard said. “He’s been away twice, just to have a little spin away from the farm to see what he was like in a different environment, and he’s just a very nice, classy horse.”
Bastard also became the latest industry name to give Havana Grey a ringing endorsement. Asked if he had had many others by the stallion through his Marlborough operation, he said: “Not like him. He’s just very straightforward and easy to train – that’s Havana Greys. They’ve got quality and they’ve good minds. You can feed them and train them.”
Havana Grey’s current two-year-old crop was bred when the stallion stood for just £6,000 at Whitsbury Manor Stud.
Dullingham at the double
Owner Zhang Yuesheng enjoyed a particularly productive day in Newmarket, with Double Rush (Blue Point) winning the opener on the Rowley Mile before a brace of eye-catching recruits were added to the string during the opening stages of Wednesday’s session of selling.
The first signing was the Too Darn Hot (Dubawi) colt from Johnny Collins’ Brown Island Stables, who went from a 90,000gns Book 2 yearling to 550,000gns (approx. AU$1.2 million) two-year-old.
The youngster was bred by Blue Diamond Stud from Morningtide, a daughter of Shamardal (Giant’s Causeway) from the family of Ballymacoll Stud celebrity Islington. The same breeder has already had success with the stallion having also produced Futurity Trophy Stakes (Gr 1, 1m) scorer Hotazhell (Too Darn Hot).
“Absolutely delighted with that,” said Collins. “I thought coming here that he stacked up well and he didn’t let me down at the breeze. He’s obviously by an exceptional sire – I actually underbid Hotazhell as a yearling and so I was keen to get a Too Darn Hot last year if I could.
“This lad has a fair bit of Shamardal about him as well and he came well prepared from Blue Diamond Stud out of Book 2. He’s been straightforward all the way through; he’s very sound, hasn’t missed a day and has a great mind on him. I’m delighted he’s going to such a good home and I wish them all the best with him.”
Two lots later the Mehmas (Acclamation) half-brother to the Listed-winning Lady Of Spain (Phoenix Of Spain) brought the hammer down at 500,000gns (approx. AU$1.09 million). The youngster was pinhooked by Tally-Ho Stud at the Goffs November Foal Sale in 2023 at a cost of €50,000.
Ben Hyde was on bidding duty for the Yulong Investments principal, and signed the dockets with the name Dullingham. It was announced last month that Yulong had purchased Commonwealth Cup (Gr 1, 6f) and July Cup (Gr 1, 6f) winner Shaquille (Charm Spirit) and third-season sire Soldier’s Call (Showcasing) to continue their stallion careers at Dullingham Park on the edge of Newmarket.
“We’re very happy,” said Yulong representative Paul Curran. “Mr Zhang came here looking to pick up one or two and we’ve fulfilled that, which is great. They’re two nice early, precocious types, which is what you’re always looking for at this sort of sale. We’re just in the middle of deciding training plans but the Too Darn Hot will go to Jessie Harrington. That makes sense, obviously given what she did last year with Hotazhell. We’re going to wait and see what he wants to do with the Mehmas.”
Asked if the recruits could one day occupy a berth in the Dullingham Park stallion boxes, Curran said: “If they can end up there [Dullingham], fantastic. Our plan this year is to have a nice roster of two-year-olds, and the likes of these two fit that bill. We’ve got a lot of two-year-olds but not too many of them are precocious.”
On the state of trade, Curran added: “Yesterday [Tuesday] was strong and today seems even stronger. It’s been a fantastic sale so far, and if it continues on like this we’re in for a strong year at the breeze-ups.”
McCalmont runs hot
Dullingham’s purchase was not the only Too Darn Hot to figure in the sale’s top ten, as agent Jamie McCalmont went to 500,000gns (approx. AU$1.09 million) for a well-related colt offered by Anna Calder’s Leamore Horses.
The youngster was bred by Hascombe and Valiant Stud from the Grade 3-winning Lemon Drop Kid (Kingmambo) mare Valiant Girl, and was pinhooked through Blandford Bloodstock at 90,000gns at Book 2 last year.
“I’m a massive fan of the stallion,” said McCalmont. “The horse did a very nice breeze, and it was the last part that was really good; he galloped out very strongly. The first eighth wasn’t that strong but then the second eighth really was. I believe he was bred by the Oppenheimers, so he comes from a very good farm. It was [Anna Calder’s] only horse in the sale, so it’s a nice result for her.”
The agent was unable to reveal training plans or who his purchase was made on behalf of, but shared his reflections on the market dynamics witnessed over the last two days.
He said: “It seems to be quite clock driven. Horses that breezed in a fast time made a lot of money, and if they didn’t breeze fast then you’re in trouble. When the horse that did the fastest time makes a million seven, what does that tell you! Any horse that makes over a million at a breeze-up sale, that’s a lot of money, so I’d have to say it was very strong at the top end.”
Sale Round-Up
Tattersalls chairman Edmond Mahony hailed the contribution of two “pioneers of the European breeze-up scene” in summing up a remarkable renewal of the Craven Sale.
Trade over the two days bucked all expectations, not only in the heights scaled at the top of the market but the depth beneath the upper echelons as well.
All told 143 juveniles came under the hammer in Newmarket, and 119 found a buyer for a clearance rate of 83 per cent – up from 72 per cent 12 months ago.
And that was not the only metric to show significant year-on-year improvement. Turnover rose by 29 per cent to 18,804,000gns (approx. AU$41.13 million), and the average price was also up 15 per cent at 158,015gns (approx. AU$345,680). Both are new records for the Craven Sale.
But perhaps the most illustrative market indicator was the median, which rose by 25 per cent to 100,000gns (approx. AU$218,770), having been 80,000gns at the corresponding fixture in 2024.
Back-to-back sessions produced a new Craven Sale record, with Godolphin going to 1,400,000gns for Willie Browne’s Acclamation colt on day one before Amo Racing stretched to 1,750,000gns for a son of boom sire Havana Grey offered by Malcolm Bastard on day two.
Not only were there two seven-figure show-stoppers, but seven lots fetched 500,000gns or more, one more than in 2024. There were also 27 200,000gns (approx. AU$437,530)-plus two-year-olds, an increase of seven compared to last year.
The acquisition of the top lot helped Amo Racing claim the leading buyer title with seven purchases made for a combined 3,160,000gns (approx. AU$6.91 million). Godolphin’s two buys cost an aggregate of 2,050,000gns (approx. AU$4.48 million). This means the two operations account for eight per cent of sold lots and 28 per cent of turnover.
Four different vendors left Tattersalls with a seven-figure windfall, headed by Browne’s Mocklershill operation, which sold six lots for receipts worth 1,825,000gns (approx. AU$3.99 million). Bastard sold one for a record 1,750,000gns, Tally-Ho Stud sold eight for a combined 1,580,000gns (approx. AU$3.45 million) and Joey Logan’s Grangeclare, a new entrant into the breeze-up market this year, traded four lots worth a cumulative 1,450,000gns (approx. AU$3.17 million).
“The Tattersalls Craven Breeze-Up Sale has enjoyed a remarkable run of success over the last three years with five individual Group 1 winners including two Classic winners and this year’s Classic prospect Hotazhell,” said Mahony.
“They have provided the perfect advertisement for the Craven Breeze-Up Sale and this year’s renewal has attracted international buyers in abundance, all of whom have contributed to a record turnover and average along with the two highest prices in the sale’s history.
“Year after year, consignors continue to support the Tattersalls Craven Breeze-Up with many of the finest breeze-up two-year-olds in Europe, and it has been fantastic to see their professionalism and confidence in the sale rewarded over the past two days. Special mention must go to Willie Browne and Malcolm Bastard whose Acclamation and Havana Grey colts sold for 1,400,000gns and 1,750,000gns respectively. The pair are pioneers of the European breeze-up scene and it was wonderful to see them so well rewarded.”
Mahony continued: “As always, we’ve been delighted to welcome a wide-ranging and international group of buyers to Park Paddocks, including representation from Australia, China, Hong Kong, and the Gulf region. Their interest reflects the exceptional results achieved by graduates of the sale at the highest level of competition. We now turn our attention to the Tattersalls Guineas Breeze-Up and Horses in Training Sale, which has also delivered outstanding racecourse success in recent years with 42 individual Group/Listed winners since 2022.”