DON’T be surprised if Joseph O’Brien is among the leading buyers at Tattersalls next week.

His two Group 1 winners this year - Al Riffa and Scorthy Champ - are both graduates of the October Yearling Sale Book 1 catalogue and both were bought by the trainer himself.

Al Riffa cost 150,000gns at the 2021 sale and of course won the Group 1 Vincent O’Brien National Stakes as a juvenile before adding a German Group 1 to his record this season.

Scorthy Champ was a 155,000gns at Book 1 last year and he too won the Vincent O’Brien National Stakes last month.

This year’s Irish Oaks winner You Got To Me was a 200,000gns Book 1 buy.

Book 1 is widely acknowledged as the best European yearling sale in terms of pure quality. Last year seven lots made seven-figure sums but the median price was just 180,000gns and over 50 yearlings were sold for 50,000gns or less.

There are 448 lots in next week’s catalogue, significantly fewer than the 532 listed last year or the 550 catalogued in 2022. In fact this is the smallest Book 1 catalogue since its predecessor, the Houghton Sale, was discontinued in 2004.

As you would expect, the bluechip sires are well represented in next week’s catalogue. There are 21 yearlings by Dubawi, 25 by Frankel, 26 by Kingman, 29 by Lope De Vega, 26 by Night Of Thunder, 17 by No Nay Never, 22 by Sea The Stars, 10 by Siyouni and 23 by Wootton Bassett.

The catalogue features own or half-brothers and sisters to 45 classic and Group 1 winners and 219 group race or listed race winners.

Frankel progeny

Frankel’s progeny on offer is headed by the own-sister to the Arc and six-time Group 1 winner Alpinista. She will be joined by the own-brother to dual classic winner Hurricane Lane and colts out of classic and Group/Grade 1 winners Beauty Parlour, Blond Me, Pretty Pollyanna, Seal Of Approval and Urban Fox, as well as the filly first foal out of dual Group 1 winner Wonderful Tonight.

Other outstanding pedigrees among the Frankel-sired sired lots include the colt out of listed winner Onassis, the half-sister to Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf winner Line Of Duty out of 1000 Guineas runner-up Jacqueline Quest, the filly out of listed winner She’s Got You, a half-sister to Group/Grade 1 winning siblings Without Parole and Tamarkuz, and fillies out of Group 2 winners Aljazzi and Prize Exhibit.

Among the Dubawi yearlings for sale are colt first foals out of Group 1 winners Glass Slippers, Lady Bowthorpe, Loving Dream and Snow Lantern.

They will be joined by colts out of own-sisters to seven-time Group 1 winner Highland Reel and to three-time Group 1 winner Alice Springs, both bred on the famed Dubawi-Galileo cross.

Regally-bred fillies catalogued by Dubawi include half-sisters to the multiple Group/Grade 1 winners Rizeena and Uni, as well as daughters of the Group 2 winner Waldlied, the half-sister to Arc winner and European champion Waldgeist, the Group 2 winner Just Wonderful, a great granddaughter of the blue hen Urban Sea, and Feminism, the Shamardal half-sister to 1000 Guineas winner Mawj and French 2000 Guineas winner Modern Games.

There is a Palace Pier half-brother to four-time Group 1 winner Cracksman and a Mehmas half-brother to three-time Group 1-winning sprinter Perfect Power on offer.

The New Bay half-brother to eight-time Group 1 winner Romantic Warrior and the Too Darn Hot half-brother to three-time Grade 1 winner Program Trading are among other siblings to global stars catalogued, alongside half-brothers to winners of the English, Irish and French 2000 Guineas in Chaldean, Mac Swiney and Marhaba Ya Sanafi.

They will be joined by own-brothers to Group/Grade 1 winners Minzaal, Victoria Road and this year’s Tattersalls Gold Cup victor White Birch.

Top fillies

Beautifully bred fillies include the Pinatubo filly out of the emerging blue hen Reem Three, the dam of Group 1 winners Triple Time and Ajman Princess and the granddam of this season’s star Group 1-winning performers Rosallion and Inisherin.

Another outstanding broodmare with a daughter catalogued is Cabaret, whose Siyouni filly is the own-sister to dual European champion St Mark’s Basilica and the half-sister to 2000 Guineas winner Magna Grecia.

Siyouni is also represented by a half-sister to Group 1 winner Ylang Ylang, and they will be joined by the Dark Angel own-sister to this year’s dual Group 1 winner Charyn and half-sisters to classic and Group 1 winners including Al Husn, Barney Roy, Dalika, Dubai Honour, Emily Upjohn, Golden Horde, Lucky Vega, Onesto, Poptronic, Prosperous Voyage, Sea Silk Road and Subjectivist.

A total of 20 classic and Group/Grade 1-winning mares have yearlings catalogued including the Oaks winners Anapurna, who has a filly by Kingman. That sire will also be represented by a filly out of the Galileo own-sister to classic winners Empress Josephine, Tuesday and Minding, herself the dam of Group 1 winner Henry Longfellow, and a colt out of Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes winner Persuasive.

Multiple Group 1-winning racemares The Fugue and Speedy Boarding have colts catalogued by Too Darn Hot and Palace Pier respectively, and leading French sire Siyouni’s representatives include colts out of the classic winner Teppal and Group 1 winner Madame Chiang.

Wootton Bassett has colts catalogued out of sisters to the Arc-winning mares Found and Danedream, as well as a filly out of a half-sister to the Group 1-winnings siblings Nathaniel, Playful Act and Great Heavens.

First season sires with representatives include Group 1 winners Lucky Vega, Palace Pier, Space Blues, Starman, St Mark’s Basilica and Supremacy.

Leading young stallions Blue Point (16 lots), Too Darn Hot (17) and Havana Grey (eight) are also well represented.

The largest draft comes from last year’s leading consignor Newsells Park Stud who offer 27 yearlings, followed by the Castlebridge Consignment with 22 and Baroda Stud who have 19 lots catalogued.

Hascombe & Valiant Stud, consignor of the top lot in 2023, will consign a five-strong draft of colts including the Cracksman half-brother to last year’s top lot out of Bizzarria.

Tattersalls chairman Edmond Mahony said: “There is a simple reason that Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale holds its status as Europe’s premier yearling sale and that is because year after year it produces the highest percentage of superior racehorses of any European yearling sale. It is a sale that produces stallions and breed-shaping broodmares like no other and the 2024 catalogue has the abundance of Europe’s finest yearlings that the leading buyers from throughout the world have come to expect.”

All Book 1 lots are eligible for the £25,000 Tattersalls October Book 1 Bonus scheme which has paid out over £8.5 million in bonus prize money to date to 368 individual winners.

Participating owners will receive a £25,000 bonus if their 2024 October Book 1 purchase wins a Class 2, 3 or 4 two-year-old maiden or novice race in Britain run between March 29th 2025 and November 8th 2025, or any ‘open’ two-year-old maiden run in Ireland between March 16th and November 2nd.

The cost to enter the scheme will be a single payment of £2,000.

Catalogue highlights

Lot 25: Dubawi half-sister to Grade 1 winner Uni, from Glenvale Stud.

Lot 39: Dubawi three-parts sister to Arc winner Waldgeist, from Newsells Park.

Lot 49: Frankel filly out of Group 1 winner Wonderful Tonight, from Stratford Place Stud.

Lot 67: Kingman half-sister to Group 1 winner Barney Roy, from Hazelwood Bloodstock.

Lot 72: Frankel full-sister to Arc winner Alpinista, from Staffordstown Stud.

Lot 107: Siyouni sister to classic winner St Mark’s Basilica, from Norelands Stud.

Lot 139: Ulysses full-brother to Group 1 winner White Birch, from Cheveley Park Stud.

Lot 183: Dark Angel full-sister to multiple Group 1 winner Charyn, from Grangemore Stud.

Lot 184: Frankel full-brother to classic winner Hurricane Lane, from Watership Down Stud.

Lot 188: Dubawi colt out of multiple Group 1 winner Glass Slippers, from Bearstone Stud.

Lot 242: Dubawi colt out of Group 1 winner Lady Bowthorpe, from Fittocks Stud.

Lot 331: Mehmas full-brother to Group 1 winner Minzaal, from Ringfort Stud.

Lot 373: Palace Pier half-brother to Group 1 winner Cracksman, from Hascombe & Valiant Stud.

Lot 389: Mehmas half-brother to multiple Group 1 winner Perfect Power, Tally-Ho Stud.

Lot 441: Showcasing full-brother to Alkumait and half-brother to classic winner Chaldean, from Baroda Stud.

Sale info

Sale: Tattersalls October Yearling Sale Book 1

Date/time: Tuesday, October 8th to Thursday, October 10th (11am start each day)

Lots: 449

Web: tattersalls.com