Boltaway brings 400,000gns on day three of Autumn Horses in Training Sale

Juddmonte offered a much smaller draft than at previous renewals of the Tattersalls Autumn Horses in Training Sale, but the reduced consignment still contained the leading light of Wednesday's session.

As has been the case so many times this week, it was the free-spending Saudi Arabian operation Najd Stud, aided by Peter and Ross Doyle, who landed the spoils with a successful bid of 400,000gns securing the classy Boltaway.

The three-year-old son of Dubawi and the four-time Grade 1 winner Proviso, a daughter of Dansili, landed four races for Roger Charlton, with the most recent of those victories coming by clear water in a Newmarket handicap. That effort earned him a career-high Racing Post Rating (RPR) of 96.

Saad Bin Mishraf, representing Prince Faisal Bin Khaled's Najd Stud, said: "We tried to buy this horse privately but that wasn't possible so we waited for this sale. It's proved to be one of the toughest markets I have ever seen for horses in training.

Boltaway sells for 400,000gnsCredit: Jason Bax / Equuis

"He's by Dubawi, whose offspring have succeeded in Saudi Arabia, and out of a Dansili mare, and Dansilis have done well in Saudi Arabia, so he had the right pedigree. He also had size and good feet for racing on dirt.

"He's not been over-raced and he vetted 100 per cent, which was one of the main reasons for trying to buy him. All the races in Saudi Arabia are on the up, with better prize money, sometimes increased by four or five times. There are races for locally-bred horses and imported horses, and while we don't have many imported horses, the ones we have are very good."

Najd Stud later added the Listed-placed Fundamental, a son of Dark Angel and Cheveley Park Stud's dual Group 1 winner Integral, to the haul at a cost of 240,000gns. The operation was clear at the head of the leading purchasers' table with 12 lots secured for an outlay of 2,491,000gns.

New home for Old Flame

Old Flame opened the Juddmonte draft and was knocked down to Tattersalls' Jason Singh, taking instructions on the phone, at 250,000gns. Singh revealed he had been acting on behalf of Australian trainers Peter and Paul Snowden and bloodstock agent Will Johnson.

Old Flame, a three-year-old son of Invincible Spirit, won twice from four starts for Ralph Beckett and reached a peak RPR of 92 for his eight-and-a-half length romp in a Catterick novice stakes.

Old Flame sells for 250,000gnsCredit: JASON BAX/EQUUIS Photography

"He'll be on the first shipment from Europe to Australia," said Colum McCullagh, Snowden Racing's racing and bloodstock manager. "He looks to have the right sort of profile for Australia and is by Invincible Spirit, who has such a huge influence here through his son I Am Invincible.

"He should suit a lot of races here over distances from six furlongs to a mile, he's a real sprinter-miler type. He has not been bought for a particular client and we will look to syndicate him."

Boman back in action

The combination of Blandford Bloodstock's Stuart Boman and Annabel Neasham, a rising star of the Australian training ranks, have signed for just two horses at the Tattersalls Autumn Horses in Training Sale.

The first was Zaaki, who fetched 150,000gns some 12 months ago before going on to land two Group 1s, namely the Doomben Cup and the Underwood Stakes. The second was secured on Wednesday when Boman struck a bid of 230,000gns for the smart four-year-old Matthew Flinders.

Stuart Stuckey's homebred son of Siyouni won twice while under the care of Ed Walker and featured prominently in a host of high-end handicaps. He reached a peak RPR of 107 for his third in the Spring Cup at Newbury and hit that mark again when runner-up in a Listed contest at Chester.

Matthew Flinders: son of Siyouni set for the Australian stable of Annabel NeashamCredit: Laura Green

"This is my second purchase for Annabel at this sale, and the first was obviously very successful," said Boman, who was accompanied by Neasham's mother Patricia, who lives in Northamptonshire. "Zaaki is going to be a hard act to follow, but we wanted to target what we felt could be one of the nicest horses for Australia.

"His ability is far better than what the form book shows. He's a horse who constantly travels best of all in any field he's in. I spoke with Ed Walker and I think he has probably felt he has had a Group horse on his hands for a long time – he wanted him to win his big handicap but he never had his day.

"The handicapper then forced his hands by raising the horse's mark so high. He ran so well at Chester leading into the Balmoral Handicap in October and put in another good run there. He's thoroughly consistent and should really suit Australia with the firm ground and there are a lot of races for him in his distance range."

McKeever plays the winning hand

Rival camps acting on behalf of Australian interests also clashed over the dual winner King Of Clubs, who was offered by Hughie Morrison's Summerdown Stables, with Johnny McKeever, representing the all conquering Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott axis, winning out at 230,000gns.

The three-year-old son of Intello, who was bred by Meon Valley Stud and raced for Castle Down Racing, landed races at Nottingham and Sandown and changed hands with a career-high RPR of 99.

"He's the first purchase this week for Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott," said McKeever. "There's no great mystery, he's just a lovely horse who came well recommended by Hughie Morrison. It's basically the same formula we always use; find a horse you love with good form and the right rating and hope for the best!"

Johnny McKeever: 'We want a horse rated between 95 and 110 ideally'Credit: Laura Green

McKeever continued: "We want a horse rated between 95 and 110 ideally, but they're hard to come by. There's only a few of them in the sale so we're slightly sharing them around at the moment. I've had lots of vet fails this week, and the ones who passed were making a lot more than we were prepared to spend so we've had two blank days."

McKeever also highlighted the part Rob Waterhouse, Gai's husband and a leading bookmaker in Australia, has to play in the process of securing international prospects.

Lot 952: King Of Clubs brings 230,000gns from Johnny McKeeverCredit: Laura Green

"Rob Waterhouse is a very clever man when it comes to form and spotting what will translate well in Australia, so he's been an integral part of all the good horses we've bought," said McKeever. "That takes a bit of the pressure off me as all I have to do is decide whether the horse is the right type physically."

King Of Clubs is out of Queen Arabella, dam of three winners from as many runners and a near relation to a host of notable Meon Valley-bred talents, including the likes of Hippy Hippy Shake, Twist 'N' Shake, Shirocco Star, Telecaster and Al Suhail.

The six-figure three-year-old was making his second appearance at public auction, having gone unsold at just 19,000gns at Book 1 in 2019.

McKeever hit the 230,000gns mark for a second time later in the session when signing for Chester Vase winner Youth Spirit, who was consigned by Andrew Balding's Park House Stables.

The three-year-old son of Camelot had last changed hands at Arqana in 2019, where Federico Barberini secured the youngster on behalf of owner Ahmad Al Shaikh for €48,000.

"I really believe that he's the best value horse in the sale," said McKeever. "And, on price, I think he's probably the best value horse I've bought for about ten years! I'm extremely excited about that as I've been trying to buy the horse all year.

"His level of form is outstanding, he's by Camelot, he's such a beautiful-looking horse, he has absolutely everything going for him."

The Queen's homebred heads hurdling

Andrew and Gemma Brown's string with Gordon Elliott grew on Wednesday when the trainer and Aidan O'Ryan snared Pied Piper on behalf of agent Joey Logan with a bid of 225,000gns.

The three-year-old son of New Approach was bred and raced by the Queen, for whom he won two races, including a Leicester handicap on his most recent outing. The 101-rated youngster was offered by John and Thady Gosden's Clarehaven Stables through The Castlebridge Consignment.

Speaking by telephone, Logan said: "The horse will go juvenile hurdling this winter and will run back on Flat next summer. I saw some videos of him, but Gordon saw him at Tattersalls and really loved him. He won well last time on softer ground and looks to have a good profile to go hurdling."

Chipotle's rollercoaster ride concludes

Eve Johnson Houghton's rollercoaster journey with Chipotle came to an emotional conclusion on Wednesday when the son of Havana Gold sold to Najd Stud and Peter and Ross Doyle for 210,000gns.

The two-year-old was making his third appearance at public auction, having joined the Johnson Houghton team through Highflyer Bloodstock at a mere 10,000gns at the relocated Tattersalls Ascot Yearling Sale. Prior to that he had been retained by Theakston Stud at just 4,500gns when offered as a foal.

Despite those humble origins, Chipotle went on to win four races, with victory in the Brocklesby followed by a memorable success in the Windsor Castle Stakes at Royal Ascot. He added a second Listed success to his race record when winning the Redcard Two-Year-Old Trophy on his most recent outing.

Chipotle: Royal Ascot winner enters the Park Paddocks ringCredit: Equuis Photography

"I'm a bit teary because it's been amazing," said Johnson Houghton. "For a ten grand purchase to win the Brocklesby, win at Royal Ascot, win at Redcar and then come here and make that sort of price, he's just been such a great horse for us.

"He'll do a job for someone as he's grown again, he's tough, he'll get seven furlongs and I hope he does really well in Saudi."

Explaining how she came to train Chipotle, Johnson Houghton said: "I was a bit concerned that I wasn't going to have any horses because of Covid so I bought three horses for The Woodway 20 syndicate.

Eve Johnson Houghton: 'I'm just so proud of the horse'Credit: Laura Green

"Anthony Bromley did a brilliant job, it's been an amazing journey, but the rules of the syndicate said that they had to be sold at the end of their two-year-old career. It was a helluva result and I'm just so proud of the horse.

"Of course I would've liked to keep him but it's so hard for that sort of horse in Britain. If he's not Group class, and I'm not saying he wouldn't be, but if he isn't then you'd be hammered by the handicapper."

The Tattersalls Autumn Horses in Training Sale concludes on Thursday, with the final session starting at 9.30am.

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