HARD to believe the Guineas has rolled around again so soon.

Yes, the first classics of the year take place next weekend in Newmarket but before then there is the Tattersalls Guineas Breeze Up and Horses in Training Sale next Thursday. The catalogue encompasses just over 200 breeze-up two-year-olds and 155 horses in training, so it will be a long day at Park Paddocks. The juveniles will of course breeze a day earlier, on Wednesday, starting from 9am.

Group 1 Prix de l’Abbaye de Longchamp winner The Platinum Queen typifies the combination of quality and value for money to be found at this sale. Purchased for 57,000gns here by Richard Fahey and Middleham Park Racing from Tally-Ho Stud last year, she became the first two-year-old to win the all-age sprint since 1978 and subsequently sold for 1.2 million guineas to Katsumi Yoshida.

Group 2 Beresford Stakes winner and classic prospect Crypto Force topped the sale last year when bought by Michael O’Callaghan for 160,000gns. He was subsequently sold on to Amo Racing for £900,000 last summer and is now trained by John and Thady Gosden.

Future Group/Grade 1 winners Shantisara and Trueshan were purchased here for just 10,000gns and 31,000gns respectively in recent times.

The average price at last year’s breeze-up section was close to 36,000gns, which represented a return to the levels seen between 2014 and 2018.

Robson Aguiar is selling six lots, including a Profitable half-brother to six winners. John Bourke’s Hyde Park Stud consigns eight and Thomond O’Mara (Knockanglass) offers seven. The four from Mick Murphy and Sarah O’Connell’s Longways Stables include a No Nay Never filly out of a Group 3 winner, and among the many other Irish vendors are Mocklershill (three), Powerstown Stud (three), The Bloodstock Connection (four) and Yeomanstown Stud (three).

No breeze-up sale is complete without a draft from Tally-Ho Stud and their eight includes a Farhh colt out of the Grade 2 placed Indigo River, already dam of three winners, and a Calyx half-brother to multiple Italian listed race winner Brigante Sabino.

Craven Sale entries

This week two lots originally catalogued for the Craven Sale were added to the Guineas Breeze-Up Sale catalogue. They are a filly by Havana Grey from Yeomanstown Stud and a Ten Sovereigns half-brother to Grade 1 winner Obviously, from Diego Dias.

No less than 47 of the stallions with two-year-olds catalogued have already sired classic or Group/Grade 1 winners, including Acclamation, Australia, Camelot, Cotai Glory, Dark Angel, Exceed And Excel, Invincible Spirit, Kodiac, Mehmas, New Bay, No Nay Never, Oasis Dream, Saxon Warrior, Sea The Moon, Showcasing, Starspangledbanner, Teofilo, Zoffany and Zoustar.

There are also 19 first crop sires with two-year-olds catalogued including Advertise, Blue Point, Calyx, Eqtidaar, Inns Of Court, Invincible Army, Masar, Phoenix Of Spain, Soldier’s Call, Study Of Man, Ten Sovereigns, Too Darn Hot and Magna Grecia.

Owners and trainers looking to benefit from additional incentives will be well catered for with 16 fillies registered for the Great British Bonus Scheme and 19 two-year-olds qualified for French owners’ premiums.

A further 19 juveniles are entered in the 2024 Swedish Derby and Oaks Series and six are entered in the €300,000 Tattersalls Ireland Super Auction Sales Stakes, alongside two in the £150,000 Tattersalls October Auction Stakes. Three juveniles are eligible to win a £20,000 Tattersalls October Book 1 Bonus.

Promising

The horses in training section has been a consistent source of high-class performers and the 2023 renewal features several promising three-year-olds including impressive last time out winner Naaser, who boasts a Timeform rating of 83p following a three and three-quarter length win on his second start for George Boughey and will be offered by the Castlebridge Consignment.

Added to the sale this week was last Saturday’s Limerick maiden winner Empty Metaphor, trained by Claire O’Connell. The son of James Garfield is rated 87.

Jamie Railton will consign the progressive Maasai Mara, Timeform-rated 87 and a two-length winner at Kempton last month for John and Thady Gosden. The consistent Kevin Ryan-trained colt Dream for Gold is another highly rated three-year-old to feature with a Timeform rating of 89. They will be joined by the Grant Tuer-trained Fade To Gray who broke his maiden in promising fashion on his second start and is Timeform-rated 75p.

Several highly rated older performers with recent winning form are catalogued including the progressive four-year-old Kiwano, a two-time winner this year for trainer David Simcock-rated 100 by Timeform, and the Michael Appleby-trained Zealot, Timeform-rated 109 and the winner of seven of his last eight starts over eight and 10 furlongs.

The consignment of seven lots from Juddmonte Farms also looks certain to attract plenty of interest and features several finely-bred unraced three-year-olds from some of Juddmonte’s most prolific families led by the Galileo colt Caustic out of Grade 2 winner Starformer.

Vicarage Farm will consign the regally bred two-year-old Sea The Stars filly out of Pinkster, a Nathaniel half-sister to Group 2 Lancashire Oaks winner and multiple group race and listed producer Pongee, and to the outstanding broodmare Platonic, dam of group and listed race winners English King, Pacifique and Prudenzia, and granddam of Group 1 winners Chicquita and Magic Wand.

In addition to the Sea The Stars filly, whose half-sister Paz won both her starts as a juvenile last year, Vicarage Farm will also consign the two-year-old New Bay colt out of the Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes-placed Hairy Rocket, dam of Group 2-placed The Acropolis.

Catalogue highlights

Lot 8: Harry With Style: 3yo g by Dutch Art. Recent winner of Bath handicap off BHA mark of 52.

Lot 35: Ward Castle, 4yo g by Flintshire. Recent winner of Southwell handicap off BHA mark of 63.

Lot 38: Sexy Rexy, 3yo f by Saxon Warrior. Recent winner of Chelmsford handicap off BHA mark of 55.

Lot 94: Dream For Gold, 3yo c by U S Navy Flag. Timeform rating of 89.

Lot 99: Zealot, prolific all-weather winner, rated 109.

Lot 100: Maasai Mara, 3yo g by Roaring Lion. Winner and placed from five starts. Rated 83.

Lot 114: Kiwano, 3yo g by Dabirsim. Winner of two races this year at Kempton and Lingfield. Rated 94.

Lot 117: So Chic, 3yo f by Exceed And Excel. Recent winner of Wolverhampton handicap off BHA mark of 65.

Lot 120: Vasilissa, 3yo f by Kingman. Recent winner of Kempton handicap off BHA mark of 63.

Lot 124: New Bay 2yo colt out of Hairy Rocket. Half-brother to Group 2 placed The Acropolis.

Lot 128: Caustic, unraced 3yo colt by Galileo. Half-brother to multiple stakes winner Flavius.

Lot 152: Naaser, 3yo g by New Bay, winner and placed twice from three starts. Timeform rating 83p.

Lot 154: Sea The Stars 2yo filly out of Pinkster. Half-sister to Paz, a dual winner in France last season.

Lot 154A: Empty Metaphor, 3yo colt by James Garfield. Winner of Limerick maiden last weekend. Rated 87.

Lot 178: No Nay Never 2yo filly out of Group 3 winner Queen Of Bermuda.

Lot 210: Kodiac 2yo filly out of a winning half-sister to Group 2 winner and sire Supremacy.

Lot 247: Looking Bere, 2yo by Le Brivido. Half-brother to Behind Enemy Lines, winner at Dundalk in 2022 for Joseph O’Brien and recent winner of first start in US.

Lot 269: Zoffany 2yo colt from the family of Zee Zee Top, Izzi Top, Opera House and Kayf Tara.

Lot 277: Ten Sovereigns 2yo filly, half-sister to recent Italian listed race winner Estrosa.

Lot 284: Mehmas 2yo filly out of a half-sister to the dam of Group 1 winner Dubai Mile.

Lot 309: Farhh 2yo colt out of the Grade 2 placed Indigo River, already dam of three winners.

Lot 351: Calyx 2yo half-brother to prolific Italian listed race winner Brigante Sabino.

Lot 356: Havana Grey filly out of a winning half-sister to Group 3-placed Mr Wizard.

Lot 357: Ten Sovereigns half-brother to three-time Grade 1 winner Obviously.

Sale info

Sale: Tattersalls Guineas Horses In Training and Breeze Up Sale

Time/date: 9.30am, Thursday, May 4th (Horses In Training Sale). Breeze Up Sale starts at 1.46pm the same day.

Lots: 155 horses in training, 203 breeze up horses.

Info: Breeze up horses will work on Newmarket’s Rowley Mile Racecourse on Wednesday, May 3rd, starting at 9am.

Tel: 0044 1638 665931

Email: sales@tattersalls.com

Web: tattersalls.com