SHEIKH Mohammed attended the first day of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale Book 1 on Tuesday and bought 11 horses for a total of 6.6 million guineas (£6.93 million).

The Sheikh's Godolphin operation bought the four top-priced horses on the day, all colts, which included the only two yearlings to fetch seven-figure sums. Two of the four are by the Sheikh's own stallions - Ghaiyyath and Dubawi. The other two are by Frankel and Kingman.

Topping the session was a Ghaiyyath half-brother to Grade 1 winner Victoria Road. M.V. Magnier of Coolmore Stud tried to buy the horse and bid one million guineas but turned away when Godolphin's agent Anthony Stroud went 50,000gns higher.

The colt was bred by Trevor Stewart and is from his family of Cassandra Go and Halfway To Heaven. He was consigned by James Hanly's Ballyhimikin Stud.

"I am so lucky, it is the fourth over a million that I have got from the family. I did not expect it, but he was a gorgeous horse and it is wonderful that he is going to Godolphin," smiled Stewart. "The family seems to go on. We were very lucky with Victoria Road and I could not be more thrilled."

Of the choice of the young stallion for the mare Stewart outlined: "Some of Tickled Pink's progeny have been a little on the neat side, so we thought we need to get a bit more height and length into the foals. Ghaiyyath was obviously a great racehorse and it is risky going to a first season sire, but time will tell. And then she produced this cracking colt..."

Stewart reflected: "It is a wonderful figure and I hate to say it, but after number four I am getting used to it, at least the bank manager will be happy again, for a little while! I have been so lucky - two of the daughters of Cassandra Go sold for over a million and I have two others - one has just gone to stud and there is another two-year-old, hopefully there are plenty more to come along."

Of this colt's dam Tickled Pink, he updated: "She has an outstanding Saxon Warrior colt foal, he is actually like a twin of Victoria Road, his markings are exactly the same. She is in foal to Saxon Warrior, hopefully carrying a filly but I don't know. We decided not to scan her - there is always a slight risk - it will be a surprise and I will pray!"

The successful purchaser Anthony Stroud said: "He is an extremely nice horse from Ballyhimikin Stud that has produced so many good horses, and this family is second to none. We also feel very strongly as to how good a stallion Ghaiyyath is."

Shastye's final foal

Earlier Godolphin paid one million guineas for the last foal out of Newsells Park Stud’s remarkable mare Shastye, by Dubawi. The dam of five previous millionaire lots sold at Tattersalls, three of whom fetched 3.4 million guineas or more, Shastye's yearling sales in the Tattersalls ring before today totalled 14.2 million guineas.

Shastye is the dam of the Group 1 winners Japan and Mogul and the Oaks runner-up Secret Gesture.

"He is by Dubawi whom we have huge regard for, and out of an incredible mare," said Stroud. "She has produced so many great horses, and although he is out of a mare who was a bit older he looks incredibly well. We all looked at him and the boss looked at him, and we felt we had to go for it. He is a very good-looking, very correct, good-walking horse and very athletic, he fitted our criteria."

Julian Dollar, General Manager of Newsells, had mixed emotions regarding the sale which brought an end to an era for the farm: "The money does not really matter, but the figure of a million is a nice bookend for the mare."

Comparing this yearling to the mare's previous progeny, Dollar said: "He was a bit stronger, a bit deeper, a bit thicker through his middle and shoulder and quarters, like the Dubawis can be. But he had the same great temperament, the same class when he came to the sale and that same aura. She was just such a remarkable mare and nice to see Dubawi have a recent Group 1 winner out of a Danehill mare – so we know the cross works."

Owner Graham Smith-Bernal purchased Newsells Park Stud in 2021, with Shastye part of that purchase, and she died as a 21-year-old after producing this foal just one year after Smith-Bernal's acquisition of the farm.

"This colt was born early in the morning and I saw her in the paddock with this foal that morning," recalled Smith-Bernal. "She looked absolutely 100% despite then not having foaled for two years. Unfortunately she subsequently haemorrhaged and died that night. Julian told me that evening and I went down and bottle-fed this colt.

"She means so much to the team who have done an amazing job rearing this colt. He has taken everything in his stride, and he is not an old mare's foal. He is an absolute champ and it has been a pleasure, even though I have come late to be associated with this family."

Frankel colt

Another lot to go the way of Anthony Stroud on behalf of Godolphin was the Frankel colt out of the listed placed Medicean mare Poplin. Consigned by the Chepstow-based Oakgrove Stud, the chesnut colt was knocked down to Stroud after he saw off Juddmonte Farms’ Simon Mockridge at 900,000gns.

David Hilton, stud manager at Oakgrove, said: “It means a lot as he’s the most expensive horse the stud has ever sold. Obviously John puts a lot of investment in, and this horse was bred in partnership with Juddmonte so we have to say a massive 'thank you' to them for doing that with us.

“I’ve always thought he’s a pretty special horse and he’s been very busy since we got here. He hasn’t missed a beat. You can never be confident when you come up to the ring, even with the horse having been popular. You can be hopeful, but never confident. Watching that was a bit mad really!

“It’s very rare to be in that position where people follow the horse through and you can just stand back and watch. It was amazing. John’s already been on the phone and he’s delighted. I’ve got to say well done to all our staff back at Oakgrove because they’ve done an amazing job.”

Kingman colt

The fourth highest price on the opening day was 750,000gns for Meon Valley Stud’s Kingman colt out of Shirocco Star, who was knocked down to Anthony Stroud on behalf of Godolphin.

Shirocco Star was a dual Group 1 runner up in the Epsom and Irish Oaks, and also finished third in the Group 1 Pretty Polly Stakes and fourth in the Group 1 Yorkshire Oaks.

The daughter of Shirocco is the dam of three group or listed winners including Al Suhail, winner of the Group 2 Challenge Stakes and Group 2 Al Fahidi Fort and twice Group 1 placed in the Al Quoz Sprint and Jebel Hatta Stakes.

She is also the dam of Telecaster who won the Group 2 Dante Stakes and the Group 2 Grand Prix de Deauville, and the Australian Listed winner Starcaster.

The average and median were both up on the corresponding session last year whilst the turnover was narrowly down.

The sale continues on Wednesday.