2006

“WHAT a way to round off a marvellous year. We know that we had a special catalogue for the mares’ sale, and the foal sale last week was spectacular, but we could never have predicated the extraordinary level of trade this week.

“The Tattersalls December Sale record books have been completely rewritten over the last four days, and the huge number of buyers from literally all corners of the globe reflects the massive international reputation of the sale.”

The words of Edmond Mahony succinctly sum up what was a spectacular trade at the December Sale which concluded on Thursday night. The final day’s trade pushed turnover through the 100 million guinea-threshold, a result that can hardly have been anticipated in advance.

Business on Tuesday was simply unbelievable, and had many scribes reaching for their thesaurus in search of new adjectives.

The two outstanding highlights of the sale this week were the new world record price for a broodmare and the European record for a filly.

Magical Romance had everything a discerning buyer could wish for in a mare. The daughter of Barathea was a top-class racemare, capturing the Group 1 Cheveley Park Stakes as a juvenile. Her three-parts sister Alexandrova emerged this year as one of the most outstanding racemares of this or any generation, winning three times at Group 1 level.

For good measure, Magical Romance is carrying her first foal, due in little over a month, to Pivotal, the most valuable sire standing in England.

When the hammer finally fell, a hushed auditorium was witnessing a piece of history in the making, James Wigan’s London Thoroughbred Services emerging as the successful purchaser at an amazing 4,600,000gns [€7,129,079 or $9,355,710]. The immediate underbidder was John Ferguson.

Magical Romance is bound for Lady Serena Rothschild’s Waddesdon Stud in Buckinghamshire. She was offered by Steve and Louise Kemble’s Elms Stud as agent for Con Wilson, who had purchased the mare for 125,000gns as a yearling. There, at Waddesdon, she will join the other record-maker of the week, Group 1 winner Spinning Queen.

A day earlier she also fell to a final bid by James Wigan. This time the amount was 3,000,000gns and, once again, the underbidder was John Ferguson. Barry Hills’ Faringdon Place Stables consigned the daughter of Spinning World on behalf of Marston Stud and Dick Bonnycastle.

Britton House

John Ferguson did not leave the sales empty-handed, and purchased two of the seven lots in the millionaire club. Mackie, a Grade 3 winner and dam of four blacktype horses, formed part of the dispersal from Britton House Stud, and she cost her new owner 1,600,000gns. A half-sister to Hero’s Honor and Sea Hero, she is in foal to Unbridled’s Song.

The other lot in the Britton House draft to make seven figures was the winning Dubai Millennium four-year-old, Carisolo. Richard Frisby signed for this half-sister to Prix Saint-Alary winner Cerulean Sky, and Irish Oaks runner-up L’Ancresse, at 1,000,000gns.

Short Skirt, by Diktat, won the Tattersalls Musidora Stakes this year and was placed in both the Oaks and the Yorkshire Oaks. Owned by John Greetham and trained by Sir Michael Stoute, Short Skirt sold for 1,400,000gns and will race again in 2007 under the Godolphin banner.

Irish farms

The two other lots in seven-figure territory came from Irish farms, and John Warren bought both on behalf of Newsells Park Stud. Lisieux Stud acted as agent for Specifically, the dam of this year’s 1000 Guineas winner Speciosa. The exploits of her daughter, and the fact that she was carrying to Danehill Dancer, meant that her value soared from €50,000 two years ago to a cool 1,850,000gns (approximately €2.9 million) this time around.

Helena Molony joins Specifically at Newsells Park Stud following her sale for 1,100,000gns. Winner of a maiden at Fairyhouse and stakes-placed when trained by John Oxx, she is a full-sister to dual Derby winner High Chaparral. Sean and Anne Coughlan sold her through Rory Mahon’s Mountain View Stud.

Mahony reflects

“Last year the December Sale turnover went up 40% to 74,000,000gns, which was unchartered territory for a European bloodstock sale, but this year’s sale has exploded. The turnover has exceeded 100,000,000gns, which is a jump of a further 35%, and almost double the turnover two years ago,” commented Mahony.

The confidence in the future of the bloodstock business, displayed in such certain fashion during recent sales, is heartening, and once again this sale showed that there is always a premium to be paid for quality.

MAGICAL ROMANCE foaled a filly by Pivotal before the end of the year, and she thus became a yearling when only days old. With the victory this year of the Siyouni three-year-old filly Elvic, Magical Romance is now the dam of nine winners from her first 11 foals. Her 14th offspring, born this spring, is a colt by Kingman. Her progeny include the Australian stakes winner Tall Ship (Sea The Stars) and she is grandam of the Group 1 Prix de Diane-French Oaks winner Channel (Nathaniel). Magical Romance sold in 2019 for 300,000gns.

SPINNING QUEEN is the dam of six winners from her first eight foals, and they include the Australian stakes winner Trade Commissioner (Montjeu) and the English stakes winner Gallipot (Galileo), her first two foals. This year she had a filly foal by Gleneagles, having been purchased last December for 27,000gns.

MACKIE added two more winners to her tally subsequently. The colt she was carrying did not win, and she had one more foal after that. She is the dam of six winners, two of them at group level.

CARISOLO bred five minor winners with her first five foals. Her current two-year-old Nicholas George (Reliable Man) was placed on his debut last month. Carisolo was sold for 65,000gns in 2015.

SHORT SKIRT also won the Group 3 St Simon Stakes and five of her first eight foals are winners. They include this year’s Group 3 Nad Al Sheba Trophy winner Volcanic Sky (Street Cry), and the stakes-placed Minidress who is the dam of this year’s Group 2 UAE Derby winner Rebel’s Romance (Dubawi). Short Skirt’s ninth foal is a filly by Masar, born this spring.

SPECIFICALLY had a total of 15 foals, the last of which was born in 2015. Ten of her offspring won, and they included Grade 3 winner Major Rhythm (Rhythm), classic winner Speciosa (Danehill Dancer), Grade 3-winning hurdler Pivot Bridge (Pivotal) and listed winner Special Meaning (Mount Nelson).

Two of Specifically’s daughters bred group winners in 2021, the unraced Gadfly (Galileo) responsible for Group 3 winner Mise En Scene (Siyouni), while her last-born, Sarai (Mount Nelson), is the dam of the Group 1 Prix Marcel Boussac winner Zellie (Wootton Bassett).

HELENA MOLONY is the dam of four minor winners and was sold for 50,000gns in 2016.