PASS the popcorn for bloodstock’s blockbuster, the Sceptre Sessions of the Tattersalls Breeding Stock Sale. The company created the concept two years ago, whereby the best lots in the hefty catalogue are reserved to two sections on the evenings of the first and second days.

While it might make for a stressful period for consignors and potential buyers, the concentration of elite mares makes for entertaining viewing, the sales ring packed in advance, as fans bag the best seats.

Onlookers were treated to 11 six-figure sales in the inaugural edition, plus one six-figure buyback. Leading roles in the thriller were filled by Alcohol Free, BBA Ireland’s Michael Donohoe and Coolmore’s MV Magnier, as Donohoe eventually outbid Magnier at 5.4 million guineas for Andrew Balding and Jeff Smith’s multiple Group 1 winner.

Saffron Beach played an Oscar-worthy supporting role, Jane Chapple-Hyam’s star bringing 3.6 million guineas from Najd Stud. The day on which the pair sold generated a turnover of 54,005,000gns, making it the highest-grossing session in bloodstock sales history.

Their equivalents in the 2023 sequel were Teona and Via Sistina, with Juddmonte securing the former for 4.5 million guineas, while Evergreen Equine signed for the latter for 2.7 million guineas. Since then, Teona’s own-brother topped the Goffs November Foal Sale at €1 million, while Via Sistina has rewarded Zhang Yuesheng with five Group 1 wins Down Under.

Destined overseas

Via Sistina, who was originally bought by Stephen Hillen as a yearling for just 5,000gns, has, incredibly, repaid her latest price, such is the value of prize money in Australia. Her Cox Plate victory came with a first prize equivalent of £1.6 million, while her most recent win bagged over £900,000.

It is therefore unsurprisingly that many of the sale’s biggest spenders hail from overseas. Katsumi Yoshida topped the purchasers table at 5.1 million guineas, but international buyers were also important at the lower end, with over 60 mares destined for India and Turkey.

2022 was always going to be difficult to match and, though last year’s turnover fell by 16% from the same number of lots offered, the average of 107,544gns was the second highest in the sale’s history, and the median of 30,000gns matched a historical second-best.

1,002 lots are catalogued for next week’s sale, which takes place from Monday, November 2nd to Thursday, November 5th, with proceedings getting underway from 9.30am each day. The prestigious Sceptre Sessions of 87 lots take place on Monday and Tuesday evening, with the majority of the elite mares selling on the second day.

Selling on Monday

Lot 1453: Jessica Harrington’s listed winner Raknah is now offered in training by Ballintry Stud. The Blue Point three-year-old is out of an own-sister to Stellar Mass

Lot 1456: Offered in foal to Chaldean, Pretty In Plum is a Justify half-sister to Requinto, as well as five dams of stakes horses. Alice Kavanagh’s AK Thoroughbreds offers the daughter of champion two-year-old filly Damson. She sold for $135,000 last November

Lot 1459: Gregarina added a Group 3 win to her record in May for Joseph O’Brien, having previously won two listed races in her native France. She sold for €210,000 12 months ago

Lot 1460: The unraced Australia mare Brisbane Road is a sister to triple Group 1 winner Hurricane Lane (Frankel) and dual group scorer Sweet William (Sea The Stars). She is in foal to Too Darn Hot

Lot 1462: Fozzy Stack’s Group 3 Ballyogan Stakes heroine Shandy is out of a half-sister to Zafisio and to two dams of Group 1 performers

Lot 1463: Approaching Autumn earned an upgrade in matings after her son Live In The Dream landed the Nunthorpe Stakes. The dam of two stakes horses is in foal to Blue Point

Lot 1464: Morning Mist carries a full sibling to German Oaks winner Muskoka (Sea The Moon). She is a half-sister to dual Group 1 winner Brametot, out of a half-sister to Monsun

Lot 1466: Noel Meade’s consistent mare Caught U Looking was last seen winning a listed race at Naas by four lengths, adding to a Group 3 success as a juvenile

Lot 1470: The Group 3 and listed-placed Showcasing mare Unbreak My Heart is a half-sister to dual Group 2 winner Heartache, herself the dam of listed winner Salt Lake City and this year’s multiple Group 1-placed juvenile Exactly

Lot 1473: Ger Lyons’ dual listed winner Cairde Go Deo finished third in the Irish Oaks. She is in foal to Night Of Thunder

Lot 1480: Rocana has enjoyed a host of updates since Ringfort Stud bought her for 60,000gns in 2017. Now the dam of Chester Vase victor Youth Spirit and listed winner Canberra Legend, she is offered in foal to Chaldean

Lot 1482: Dual stakes winner Isabel De Urbina is offered in foal to Baaed. The own-sister to two Group 2 winners is the dam of stakes performer Esquiline

Lot 1485: Kentucky Belle is offered carrying a full sibling to dual group winner Isaac Shelby (Night Of Thunder, who was narrowly denied in the French 2000 Guineas)

Lot 1485A: Wildcard entry Zero Gravity was bought at this sale three years ago for 35,000gns, but is expected to fetch much more this time round, following the Group 1 success of her daughter Kalpana. The own-sister to Zambezi Sun is in foal to Chaldean

Selling on Tuesday

Lot 1722: Oghill House Stud offer Group 3 winner Sweety Dream, carrying a full sibling to Group 3 and listed winner Romantic Style, who was beaten just half a length in the French 1000 Guineas. The mare’s only other foals of racing age are listed winner Are We Dreaming and the 86-rated juvenile Town And Country

Lot 1723: The multiple listed-placed Bighearted is offered by Lanwades Stud in foal to Dubawi’s five-time Group 1 winner Modern Games. Out of Moyglare Stud Stakes heroine Bianca Nera, she is a half-sister to the dam of Postponed. Her first foal, a Sea The Stars colt, sold for 875,000gns at Book 2

Lot 1724: Group 1-winning sprinter Mabs Cross was bought back at 1.1 million guineas at this sale five years ago. Offered in foal to Havana Grey, she has a Zoustar three-year-old filly and Wootton Bassett two-year-old colt yet to run

Lot 1731: The beautifully-bred Elizabethan, who achieved a rating of 92, is offered in foal to Wootton Bassett. Out of the top-class Misty For Me, she is an own-sister to multiple Group 1 winners Roly Poly and U S Navy Flag

Lot 1733: Azure Blue, successful in a Group 2 and three listed races, shares her page with Grade 1 winner Prince Arch

Lot 1735: A Lilac Rolla has won or placed on all her five career starts for Paddy Twomey, including winning the Group 3 Irish 1000 Guineas Trial, finishing second in the Irish 1000 Guineas and taking third in the Falmouth Stakes

Lot 1737: Deadly Nightshade is a Justify half-sister to Group 1 Prix Saint-Alary winner Above The Curve. She boasts one of the best pages in the book, as her dam is a half-sister to Giant’s Causeway and to the dams of Gleneagles, Happily and Decorated Knight

Lot 1740: Believing is the highest-rated sprint filly in Europe, following her win in the Group 2 Sapphire Stakes and placing in Group 1s on her last three starts

Lot 1743: Group 3 and dual listed winner Village Voice is a granddaughter of three-time group winner and multiple Group 1-placed Nasheej. Awtaad and Seattle Dancer feature further down the page

Lot 1747: Frangipani is offered carrying a full sibling to dual Group 1 winner Fantastic Moon (Sea The Moon)

Lot 1748: Joseph O’Brien’s dual group winner Lumiere Rock gained Group 1 blacktype when placing in the Prix de l’Opera

Lot 1752: Rogue Millenium makes her third appearance at this sale, having sold unraced for 35,000gns as a two-year-old and, after a Group 2 win and Group 1 second for Tom Clover, brought 1.65 million guineas last year. The Dubawi mare has since placed in a Group 2 and twice at Group 1 level for Joseph O’Brien

Lot 1753: Irish Oaks heroine You Got To Me was the headliner when Tattersalls unveiled this catalogue. By Nathaniel and out of a listed winner, she shares her page with top-flight winners Buffering and Relaxed Gesture

Lot 1757: Henry de Bromhead’s triple group winner Term Of Endearment is by Sea The Moon, out of a listed-winning and Group 1-placed mare. Designs On Rome and Grey Swallow feature further down the page

Lot 1759: Goldana cost €120,000 with a German listed win to her name, and the half-sister to Grade 1 winner Glorious Empire is now offered with a Group 3 and second listed win on her CV

Lot 1763: Boogie Woogie, a listed-winning and Group 3-placed daughter of Dubawi and Seventh Heaven, is offered in foal to Wootton Bassett

Lot 1770A: Francis Graffard’s Prix Marcel Boussac heroine Vertical Blue is the only Group 1-winning juvenile filly to be offered at auction this year. The daughter of Mehmas hails from the family of Vadamos, Val Royal and Voleuse De Coeurs