THE two-week Tattersalls December Sale starts on Monday with a day of yearlings, followed by four days of foals.

Monday week (November 29th) sees the start of the four-day Mares Sale.

It’s not unusual for the yearling sale to produce a few high prices, often with horses who missed their October engagement here. One of the early stars could be Lot 22, an own-sister to champion two-year-old Shalaa from Mark and Aisling Gittins’ Castlefarm Stud.

This year we have the added intrigue of the Shadwell consignment, as the wind-down of the late Sheikh Hamdan’s empire continues. There are 15 Shadwell yearlings in Monday’s sale and they include fillies by Frankel and Invincible Spirit (two), as well as colts by Shamardal (two), Lope De Vega and Pivotal.

One of the Shamardal colts is out of Group 3 winner and Group 1 runner-up Thawaany, a half-sister to St Leger winner Kew Gardens.

Lot 30 is a Sea The Stars own-brother to Irish and Yorkshire Oaks winner Sea Of Class, from Oak Lodge and Springfield House Stud.

Tally-Ho Stud is offering three Mehmas colts, while Baroda Stud sends five, including a No Nay Never colt out of Group 2 placed Mamba Noire. Croom House (sold Broome at this sale), Kildaragh and Mount Coote Studs are other Irish studs with interesting drafts, while The Castlebridge Consignment is again well represented. Lot 77, from Castlebridge, is an Invincible Spirit half-brother to Group 1 winner Zelzal.

Foal Sale

State Of Rest and Saffron Beach are two of the latest Group 1 winners to have emerged from the December Foal Sale. Cox Plate and Saratoga Derby winner State Of Rest was sold here by Tinnakill House for just 45,000gns, while Saffron Beach was sold by Ballylinch Stud for 55,000gns.

This is undoubtedly Europe’s premier foal sale, with no less than 138 foals by the current top 15 active British and Irish sires and 161 by the current top 20. The catalogue features own and half-brothers and -sisters to 128 group and listed winners.

In addition to the foals listed in the panel below, there is a Churchill colt out of the champion racemare Islington, a Waldgeist filly out of Grade 1 winner Dynaforce, and a Saxon Warrior colt out of dual Group 1 winner La Collina.

There are 21 first-crop sires represented, including Advertise, Blue Point, Crystal Ocean, Eqtidaar, Flag Of Honour, Magna Grecia, Masar, Phoenix Of Spain, Study Of Man, Ten Sovereigns, Too Darn Hot and the aforementioned Waldgeist.

The largest consignment is the team of 50 foals coming from Richard Kent’s Mickley Stud, followed by the 37 catalogued from Barton Stud and 33 from the Castlebridge Consignment. Norelands Stud, leading consignor at the 2020 December Foal Sale, has a team of 23 foals, and Newsells Park Stud will offer a high-quality consignment of 20 foals, including five from Al Shahania Stud’s French-based Haras des Cruchettes.

Two well-bred Dark Angel colts consigned by Barton Stud were added to the Foal Sale this week. Lot 999A is out of the winning Dubawi mare Nawassi, and Lot 999B is out of the Dubawi mare Shurooq.

Mares Sale

Significant top-quality consignments from Godolphin (101 lots), Juddmonte Farms (30) and Shadwell Estates (93) are among the premier attractions at the Mares Sale. The catalogue also includes the dispersal of Sir Robert Ogden’s 24 high-class mares and fillies.

The Godolphin consignment will feature mares in foal to Dark Angel, Dubawi, Frankel, Night Of Thunder and Siyouni, as well as as the listed and group-winning duo Sarinda and Under The Stars, who are both in foal to Frankel.

Also amongst the Godolphin mares are the group and listed winners Dancing Sands, Lady Liberty and Yellow Rosebud, in foal to their young sires Cracksman, Earthlight and Too Darn Hot respectively, as well as the stakes producer Zam Zoom in foal to world champion Ghaiyyath.

The Shadwell draft includes fillies and mares in foal to Blue Point, Masar, Mohaather, Persian King and Pinatubo, as well as Group 1 sires Dark Angel, Invincible Spirit, Kingman, Lope De Vega, Night Of Thunder, Oasis Dream and Siyouni.

Frankel and Kingman are among the covering sires of the Juddmonte mares on offer. This consignment includes half-sisters to Group 1 winners Epicuris, Quadrilateral and Winsili.

Another potential star is Sunday Times, the dam of champion Newspaperofrecord, in foal to Lope De Vega.

Mondelice is the dam of this year’s Group 2 winner Dubai Honour and she comes up in foal to New Bay, while Vadariya, dam of 2021 Group 3 winner Waliyak, is in foal to Pinatubo.

Sir Robert Ogden’s Group 1-winner Amazing Maria is in foal to Oasis Dream, and four other Group/Grade 1 winners being offered are Blond Me, Flotilla, Penelopa and Temida, in foal to Siyouni, Sea The Moon, Mehmas and Sea The Moon respectively.

Newsells Park is selling the six-year-old Group 2 winner Waldlied, the New Approach three-parts sister to Arc winner Waldgeist, in foal to Kingman.

Also guaranteed to be amongst the highlights of the Newsells Park consignment is the four-year-old Group 2 Blandford Stakes winner Cayenne Pepper. The classic-placed daughter of Australia hails from the direct family of Galileo and Sea The Stars.

This year’s Group 1 Cheveley Park Stakes runner-up Flotus is also in the catalogue, along with last year’s Group 1 Prix Marcel Boussac winner Tiger Tanaka.

Nick Bradley Racing will be offering a quintet of group and listed-winning fillies in training headed by the Group 2 winners Dandalla and Fev Rover, and Group 3 winner Oscula, all of whom also boast classic or Group 1 form.

Other stars from the flat season just ended who are being sold here include Group 3 winners Just Beautiful, Axana, Have A Good Day, Lullaby Moon, Santosha and Stela Star, plus three listed winners who have all been placed in Group 1 company, namely Que Amoro, Measure Of Magic and Es La Vida.

Sale info

Sale: Tattersalls December Yearling, Foal & Mares Sales at Newmarket

Dates: Monday, November 22nd to Saturday, November 27th

Lots: 200 yearlings on Monday, 1,072 foals from Tuesday to Saturday. 1,169 mares from Monday, November 29th to Thursday, December 2nd.

Tel: 0044 1638 665931

Email: sales@tattersalls.com

Web: tattersalls.com

Ten top foals on pedigree

Lot 863: Wootton Bassett half-brother to Group 3 winner Cormorant, from Langton Stud

Lot 893: No Nay Never filly out of US Grade 1 winner Sophie P, from Far Westfield Farm

Lot 934: Blue Point half-sister to Group 2 winner Indie Angel, from Ringfort Stud

Lot 974: Frankel colt out of German 1000 Guineas winner Nyaleti, from Chasemore Farm

Lot 943: Dubawi half-brother to Group 2 winner Tropbeau, from Norris Bloodstock

Lot 958: Sea The Stars half-brother to champion sprinter Limato, from Weylands Stud

Lot 969: Magna Grecia half-brother to Coventry Stakes winner Nando Parrado, from The Castlebridge Consignment

Lot 984: Kingman colt out of Group 3 winner and classic-placed Qabala, from Newsells Park Stud

Lot 985: Invincible Spirit colt out of Poule d’Essai des Pouliches winner Teppal, from Newsells Park Stud

Lot 1017: Lope De Vega own-brother to Group 2 winner Angel Power, from Selwood Bloodstock