TOMIKO broke her maiden in the most dramatic way possible, as she flew from last to first in Sunday’s Group 2 Oaks d’Italia in Milan.

The Paolo Aragoni-trained bay placed at Group 2 level over a mile as a juvenile and it wasn’t until the mile mark that she began to make headway on Sunday. She finished strongly to lead by a short-neck on the line, providing Silvestre de Souza with his third European classic success.

Former Joseph O’Brien inmate Sun Never Sets claimed runner-up honours for Stefano Botti, having been purchased for 16,000gns in December. Joint-favourite Isfand finished best of the German quartet in fourth.

Tattersalls vouchers

Tomiko was an appropriate winner for sponsor Tattersalls, having been purchased by Marco Bozzi from breeder Awbeg Stud at October Book 3 for 20,000gns.

The daughter of Footstepsinthesand earned owner Luigi Ginobbi a 15,000gns voucher from Tattersalls, who presented the second and third with vouchers worth 5,000gns and 2,500gns respectively. The first three home also received free entry for the sponsor’s Tattersalls December Mares Sale.

Irish-bred horses won three of the four stakes races on Sunday’s card, with the juvenile stakes going the way of the Alice Haynes-trained filly Naana’s Diamond. The British raider boasted smart form, having finished second to a subsequent stakes performer on debut and was last seen filling the same position at Ascot.

The Yeomanstown Stud-bred bay hails from the second crop of Invincible Army and was sold by her breeder to LNA Racing at the Tattersalls September Yearling Sale for €30,000.

Quality over quantity

Tattersalls Ireland’s Niamh Spiller was on hand to congratulate connections and spread the world of graduates’ success. “Over the last number of years, Tattersalls Ireland have been focusing on the Italian market,” Spiller explained.

“Our fantastic agent Eleonora Scudo has been emphasising to our clients that quality over quantity is more financially rewarding and we have witnessed this both in the ring and on the track. I myself make numerous trips to Italy annually and we already have a large number of clients booked in for this September, ” added Spiller.

Cristiana Brivio of Razza Latina was the second highest spender at the 2023 September Yearling Sale at €334,000, with her 11 purchases led by an Earthlight colt bought for €80,000. Scuderia Semeso also featured in the top ten buyers with a spend of €186,000.

Endo Botti was narrowly denied in the juvenile contest, but enjoyed a comfortable success in the Listed Premio Royal Mares with Estrosa. It marked a third listed win for the Charel Bloodstock-bred four-year-old, who has twice placed at Group level. The daughter of Sioux Nation was bought by Razza Latina at the Tattersalls December Yearling Sale for 18,000gns.