Average falls 26% as clearance rate hits only 53%

The third edition of the Tattersalls Guineas Breeze Up Sale on Friday saw a total of 74 lots sell for 2,819,200 guineas, at an average of 38,097 guineas - a 26% decline from 2008 - and a median of 25,000 guineas, down 17%. The clearance rate was a modest 53%.

A daughter of Danehill Dancer was the top lot of the day. Catalogued as lot 57, the grey filly out of the Be My Guest mare Moon Festival was knocked down to the London based agent Jamie McCalmont for 170,000 guineas after he saw off Irish based agent Hugo Merry. The filly was consigned to the sale by Willie Browne’s Mocklershill Stables in Ireland and provided a great return for her owners who had purchased her for €58,000 last year.

The second highest price for the day was 140,000 guineas paid for the Oasis Dream filly, catalogued as lot 27. Consigned from Jane Foley’s Ballyhane Sales, the daughter of the Group placed Barathea mare Molomo attracted plenty of attention following an impressive breeze. Irish bloodstock agent Luke Lillingston, stood alongside Newmarket based trainer Michael Bell made much of the running to secure the filly but the pair were beaten by locally based bloodstock agent Richard O’Gorman.

O’Gorman also signed for the next lot into the ring, the Langfuhr colt who had also impressed in the pre-sale ‘breeze’. Consigned from Tom Whitehead’s Powerstown Stud, the chesnut colt out of the Kingmambo mare Party Circuit was knocked down to O’Gorman for 130,000 guineas after he saw off the efforts of BBA Ireland’s Patrick Cooper and Whitsbury based trainer Ralph Beckett. The sale provided a pinhooking triumph for the Powerstown team who had purchased the colt as a yearling for $37,000.

It was certainly a notable day for the O’Gorman name with Richard’s niece Emma, who runs Seven Springs Stables with her partner Armando Duarte consigning the equal third highest priced two-year-old to the sale. The lot in question was the bay filly by Exceed And Excel out of the Pennekamp mare Amiata who was knocked down to local bloodstock agent Jill Lamb for 130,000 guineas after she withstood the efforts of another local agent, Richard Frisby. Lamb indicated that the filly was purchased on behalf on British based Irishman Liam Sheridan and would go into training locally. The sale represented a great return for O’Gorman and Duarte who had purchased the racy filly for €36,000 last year.

The Tattersalls Guineas Breeze Up Sale was followed by a partial dispersal of Martin Myers’ Mountgrange Stud and saw 21 of the 22 offered lots sold for a total of 669,900 guineas. The star attraction was the three-year-old colt Splendorinthegrass, fifth in last year’s Group Three Horris Hill Stakes, who was knocked down to Charlie Gordon-Watson for 160,000 guineas. Bullet, the unraced three-year-old colt by Galileo realised 105,000 guineas to the bid of BBA Ireland’s Patrick Cooper whilst the Group One-placed Blue Monday was knocked down to Amanda Skiffington for 72,000 guineas.

Selective trade - and the present government doesn't inspire confidence

At the conclusion of the Tattersalls Guineas Breeze Up, Tattersalls Chairman Edmond Mahony commented;

“After the 80% rise in turnover at this sale last year it was hard to predict quite how the current economic conditions would impact on today’s sale, but overall we can be satisfied with the returns which have included more six figure transactions than last year.

“The market has been selective and we would have liked a better clearance rate, but the trainers and agents have remarked throughout the day that it has been hard to buy a nice horse, which is how it should be. Two year olds that breezed well yesterday have attracted plenty of competition in the ring and the figures have comfortably bettered the levels of 2007, which must be regarded as perfectly respectable under the prevailing conditions. The domestic trade has held up well and we have welcomed new buyers from some emerging new markets including Morocco and Iran.

“The Mountgrange Stud dispersal was conducted under unfortunate circumstances but it also demonstrated the enduring demand for quality horses and provided further encouragement for the industry in these testing times.

“Looking ahead, however, it is hard to find positives following the Chancellor’s recent announcement of a significant increase in the highest rate of income tax. To date the bloodstock industry has demonstrated healthy resilience in the face of adversity and we will continue to explore as many ways as possible to attract buyers to Tattersalls, but realistically the present Government does not inspire confidence for the immediate future.”