Lot 867: the son of Cape Cross was snapped up by Richard O'Gorman

  PICTURE: Tattersalls  

Strong Maktoum support in October Book 2 opener

THREE days after a strong Book 1 of Tattersalls' October Yearling Sale finished, Book 2 of the marathon Newmarket auction got underway yesterday morning and - perhaps even more so than last week - it was Sheikh Mohammed who provided the market's backbone.

The session saw a 6,715,500gns turnover, up 11 per cent on last year, although the 25,000gns median and 33,410gns average, respectively fell by 17 per and 11 per cent. The clearance rate was 73 per cent, compared a disappointing 56 per cent in 2008.

The Dubai ruler and his brother Sheikh Hamdan were both at Park Paddocks and, as well as the youngsters knocked down to John Ferguson, several other choice lots from yesterday will race for a Darley entity.

Among them will be a Cape Cross colt consigned from County Limerick-based Round Hill Stud for whom agent Dick O'Gorman bid up to 160,000gns to fight off the interest of trainer Clive Cox, standing with owner Alan Spence.

The youngster is out of True Crystal, a daughter of Lancashire Oaks heroine State Crystal who was sold for 675,000gns at 2000 December Sale at Tattersalls.

"He was a very well presented colt and his sireis flying. He has been bought for Darley," said O'Gorman. "The market has been amazingly strong and I can't believe that it has held up so well. I thought it would drop off a bit after last week but this has been great for the industry and it seems very similar to last year, something few other businesses could achieve at the moment."

O'Gorman later successfully bid 100,000gns for a Dubawi colt out of a half-sister to Godolphin's Arc winner Marienbard.
It was a red-letter day for Darley's stallions and, early into the day, Ferguson saw off Ric Wylie and Hong Kong-based Jim Walker, an owner with William Jarvis, to get a 130,000gns Exceed And Excel colt out of a daughter of Torgau consigned from Hillwood Stud.

Jaber Abdullah, who raced Clodovil's Falmouth Stakes winning daughter Nahoodh, hid on a back staircase with Mick Channon as agent Gill Richardson tried to buy a half-sister to Lessons In Humility by the Rathasker stallion but they, too, could not match Ferguson's purchasing power and came off underbidders at 100,000gns.

Others on Sheikh Mohammed's shopping list included a 100,000gns son of Dubawi knocked down to Ferguson and consigned through Biddestone Stud.

Meanwhile, Mark Johnston, who trains for Sheikh Mohammed's son Hamdan, bid 95,000gns to get a Highclere Stud-bred Red Ransom colt.

Sheikh Mohammed: at Tattersalls

  PICTURE: Edward Whitaker  

"He was a lovely horse and has been bought for an existing owner in the yard," said Johnston. "There have been some very nice horses here but it's been a surprisingly strong sale. We all feared three weeks ago going into Goffs that the market would collapse but that was anything but the case.

"Then last week it was really strong consistently and I thought it would be easier to buy today but I've had lots of horses on my list and haven't managed to get in a bid for a lot of them."

A son of first-season Darley sire Shirocco out of a sister to Compton Admiral hadbeen bought for 38,000gns last year to keep another colt foal company at Dominic Burke's Whitley Stud in Gloucestershire but – having done that – he also proved to have been a shrewd purchase by agent James Delahooke.
Blandford Bloodstock's Tom Goff paid 125,000gns second time around for the handsome bay with Jim Walker again coming off second best.

"He's been bought for an overseas client and will be trained in Newmarket," said Goff. "He was a lovely horse by a sire that a lot of us are taking very seriously."

One who looks unlikely to end up in Maktoum ownership was a son of Coolmore's first-crop sire Hurricane Run out of the Listed-placed Triple Gold and consigned from her breeder Michael Wates's Dorset-based Langton Stud.

David Powell of Catridge Farm Stud tried hard for the rangy March-born youngster but it was left to Johnston and trainer Michael Jarvis to fight out the final exchanges with the Newmarket man having the successful bid of 110,000gns.

"He was a handsome big horse and moved very well. I've been quite taken with some of these Hurricane Runs, they are big scopey horses," said Jarvis.

"He's been bought for an existing owner, I used to buy a lot on spec but I don't tend to these days – I like to sleep at night! I've got seven coming to me from Book 1, either bought by agents or owners, and the economy has obviously affected some of my clients especially some of the people who would normally be buying in the 50-100,000gns range."