A PAIR of colts consigned by the locally-based National Stud were the highlight on the second day of Book 3 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale last Friday, selling for 65,000gns and 62,000gns.

Book 4 followed, and brought the two weeks of the October Yearling Sale to a close, with turnover topping 200,000,000gns for the first time, and records for average and median.

The top lot on the second and final day was a colt by Al Kazeem out of the Sea The Stars mare Dream Book who was knocked down to Oakgrove Stud. David Hilton, who manages John Deer’s Oakgrove Stud where the sire stands, said: “I think this colt is a direct mix of the stallion and broodmare sire Sea The Stars. He is a particularly good physical, so we had to have a go at buying him.

“Al Kazeem is in good form, he covers his small book, but his stats are very good. Al Kazeem is now 16 and he is a real owner-breeders’ stallion, and he is a lovely horse to have around. The team and vets look after him really well, and despite being sub-fertile we get the mares in foal - he will cover around 15 mares a year and his foal crop is around 10 each year.”

The National Stud also sold the second highest priced lot of the day when the Territories colt out of the Zoffany mare Pax Britannica was knocked down to agent Sean Grassick, buying for trainer Ollie Sangster.

Grassick said: “Ollie has done well with the stallion, this is a scopey sort and has some quality. We always work Book 3 hard and have had some nice winners from this sale, and it has been a happy hunting ground today!”

The colt was sold by the National Stud on behalf of breeder Chola Dynasty. Joe Bradley, the stud’s head of bloodstock, said: “He has been sensational and really stood out in this part of the sale. He is an athletic horse, and Territories has had a great year too.”

Chairman’s statement

At the conclusion of the sale, Tattersalls chairman Edmond Mahony commented: “I suspect that the 2024 Tattersalls October Yearling Sale will be remembered for a very long time. From the moment the buyers began to descend on Park Paddocks in advance of Book 1, it felt as if something out of the ordinary was beginning to unfold, but nevertheless, not even the most incurable optimist would have predicted that in a period of two weeks more than 200 million guineas would be spent on yearlings.

“The sustained demand has been breathtaking and the fact that records continued to fall throughout Books 1, 2 and 3 of the October Yearling Sale has, in the current climate, been a very welcome boost for the wider European bloodstock industry.

“Amongst the numerous extraordinary figures perhaps the most remarkable statistic is that after an unprecedented Book 1 clearance rate of 88%, Book 2 produced three consecutive sessions which achieved clearance rates of 90% or higher and day one of Book 3 had a clearance rate of 88%.

“Only yearling sales of the very highest quality produce such impressive returns and we must pay tribute to the breeders and consignors from Britain, Ireland and further afield whose consistent support of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale brings the buyers to Park Paddocks and Newmarket in such huge numbers year after year, and more than ever in 2024.

“Not every sector of the market has been as robust as we would all like, but the appetite for quality yearlings has been truly global and it has been particularly rewarding to have welcomed so many new buyers from all over the world, alongside those whose support has long been a feature of so many sales at Tattersalls.”