I HAVE rarely, if ever, written an editorial so late in the day.

Seated high above the sale ring in Tattersalls, I had a bird’s eye view of the sale of Chaldean’s half-sister, an 11-month daughter of Kingman. Alastair Pim’s gavel finally fell at a million guineas, the sixth highest price for a foal at Tattersalls. Moments such as there are rare, and are pure theatre.

Chaldean passed through the same ring two years ago and realised 550,000gns. In a few months’ time he could well be a classic winner, and there is no doubt that the Juddmonte team hold him in the highest esteem, and they have ‘put their money where their mouth is’, to use a hackneyed term.

Investment

The story of Chaldean’s dam, the Dutch Art mare Suelita, has been told many times in my columns. This 3,200gns yearling who raced in Italy, winning four times and being placed on 20 occasions, she came back to Ireland on her way to the Tattersalls December Sale in 2013. Suelita failed to sell in the ring, but Chris Harper negotiated a private sale for 21,500gns. What an investment that has been.

The seven offspring of Suelita, all of her offspring to date, have sold for prices ranging from £7,000 to yesterday’s one million guineas, and they have grossed some £2.5 million. These are the type of dream results we can only imagine, but they do happen. On a smaller scale, but a no less relevant one for the connections, John McEnery in Rossenarra Stud received 240,000gns on Thursday for a Mehmas foal out of a mare he acquired for just 5,000gns.

Fearless and optimistic

As the sales season heads towards a conclusion, there is no doubt that trade in bloodstock is not reflective of the general economic world, or of the many world challenges facing nations. The people who populate this sector are fearless and optimistic. Their behaviour is probably worthy of a serious anthropological study.

A short break from the sale on Thursday saw me attend the 25th Peter O’Sullevan Award lunch, at which John Magnier was honoured. He told the story of El Gran Senor, and how the colt’s defeat by Secreto cost the team eighty million; I assume that was dollars.

Taking such a setback “on the chin” is again the type of reaction that we take as the norm within bloodstock and racing circles.

Many of the best foals sold in recent times have been for end-users. For the brave pinhookers, I have nothing but respect. Best of luck to them all.