BUSINESS picked up on day two of the Tattersalls December Foal Sale, with 12 lots making in excess of 100,000gns.

The clearance rate rose to 81%, the same as on this day last year, and the average and median prices were only 3% down on the corresponding session.

Appetite for the progeny of Havana Grey showed no signs of abating on Wednesday. The session was headed by a colt consigned by Whitsbury Manor Stud, who stand the brilliant young stallion.

An opening bid of 100,000gns indicated a healthy level of interest in the well-related colt who was eventually secured for 250,000gns by Rumstar Bloodstock, bidding online, with bloodstock agent Alex Elliott the underbidder.

Bred by Whitsbury Manor Stud, the April-foaled colt is an own-brother to the Group 3 Cornwallis Stakes winner Rumstar out of the Sakhee's Secret mare Stellarta, a daughter of Group 2 Cherry Hinton Stakes winner and twice Group 1-placed Torgau.

The second highest priced lot of the day was the Kingman colt consigned by Newsells Park Stud who was knocked down for 200,000gns to Nick Bell, the director of Baron Edouard de Rothschild’s Haras de Meautry.

Bred by Gestut Hof Ittlingen, the January-foaled colt is the first foal out of dual Group 3 winner Liberty London, a daughter of Maxios from the deep German family of champions Lando, Laccario, Lovelyn and Love Academy and Group 1 Deutches Derby winner Laroche.

"He has been bought by Haras de Meautry for Edouard de Rothschild," reported Bell. "He will be kept to go into training and hopefully will go to Andre Fabre in two years' time, that's the plan.

"We always buy a couple of foals every year and there was not one for us this year in France. It is a thing we do every year so we can compare them to the foals we have at home, and we think we get a bit better value as a foal than buying as a yearling."

Of this colt he outlined: "He is a nice, good-looking, good-walking foal and out of a good racemare. She won from three to five and she ran in good company all the time, that was a big thing for us, she was obviously tough. As he was a first foal too it probably worked in our favour, as there is nothing for the pinhookers to come through. That was the sort of price we had in mind, I told Edouard he would cost from 150,000gns to 200,000gns."

Grangemore Stud

The dispersal of the late Sir Robert Ogden’s stock has been a poignant feature of several recent Tattersalls sales and a Too Darn Hot colt consigned by New England Stud on behalf of Lady Ogden proved one of the highlights of the second day when selling for 185,000gns to Grangemore Stud.

Bidding swiftly developed into an O’Callaghan duel with Tally Ho Stud’s Tony and Roger O’Callaghan making a determined effort to secure the January-born colt from their customary spot beneath the bidder’s rail, but it was Robert O’Callaghan who offered the successful bid on behalf of Grangemore Stud from high on the stairs.

The January-born colt is out of the Oasis Dream mare Canonbury, a winning daughter of Ballymacoll’s exceptional dual champion racemare Islington. Canonbury's two-year-old son Tchaikovsky posted a stylish maiden win since catalogue publication and her lightly raced daughter Kensington had also added a further win to the page.

New England’s Peter Stanley commented: "Obviously the Ogdens have enjoyed their racing for so many years and things are changing, so it was lovely to end up with a really nice one by Too Darn Hot and there has been a couple of updates recently.

"It is the most wonderful family with Islington, and with the class of Too Darn Hot who is looking very exciting, and I can only think he will be even better next year with his thee-year-olds. This colt was an obvious one to make good money, he spoke for himself - he has a great walk, a bit of size and some quality. We have a few mares to offer next week from the dispersal, including Canonbury so hopefully this is a good advertisement for her!"

Grangemore Stud struck again a few lots later at 170,000gns for a colt by Blue Point who, like his Darley studmate Too Darn Hot, has impressed with his first crop of runners this year. The February-foaled colt was consigned by Hawes Stud and was followed into the ring by the stud’s Space Blues half-sister to Group 3 winner Viareggio who sold for 75,000gns to Woodstock.

Hawes Stud’s Michael Gaffney, whose star alumnae as a breeder include the four-time Group 1 winner Alcohol Free, was a little emotional after the sale and declared he was going to have a very strong cup of tea to celebrate, commenting: "It is brilliant with the two horses, it is absolutely fantastic. We sold two more earlier today and that was a bit bumpier, but these two make up for that. Glowing Star is from a very, very fast family, we went to Blue Point whom we thought was a rocket and we loved him when we saw him. We put two rockets together and we got a superstar of a horse so we are thrilled!

"This is one of the better prices that my wife and I have sold under the Hawes Stud banner. We had been with my brother Tom of Churchtown House Stud and now we have sold for a couple of years under Hawes Stud, we are diverging but staying together."

The sale pauses on Thursday for a 'viewing day' ahead of Friday's sale of the best-bred foals in the catalogue.

DAY TWO STATISTICS

Current Year Previous Year Change %

Catalogued 301 331 -9%

Withdrawn 51 57 -11%

Offered 250 274 -9%

Unsold 48 51 -6%

Sold 202 223 -9%

Aggregate 8,307,450gns 9,449,000gns -12%

Median 31,000gns 32,000gns -3%

Average 41,126gns 42,372gns -3%

% sold 81% 81% 0%