Ted Durcan works his magic to secure February sale-topper Illusion

Mixed auctions are always liable to produce mixed year-on-year results, as the Tattersalls February Sale, which concluded in Newmarket on Friday, proved.

In 2018 the two-day sale was topped by Willie John, then a live Classic prospect, who fetched a record-breaking 1,900,000gns when bought by Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum through Roger Varian.

But, 12 months on, the sale's figures told the tale of a catalogue that lacked such star appeal. By the close of trade at the two-day auction, turnover stood at 3,139,100gns - down 61 per cent from the 8,037,150gns traded in 2018.

The average also dropped by 60 per cent, finishing on 10,675gns, while the median was down 29 per cent from 7,000gns to 5,000gns.

Despite the paucity of standout lots, the two days of selling still saw plenty of trade at a lower level, as 294 of 346 offered lots changed hands for a clearance rate of 85 per cent, up from 83 per cent last year.

View full Tattersalls February Sale results

In a pragmatic end-of-sale statement, Tattersalls chairman Edmond Mahony said: "Last year's outstanding February Sale catalogue produced an extraordinary set of results which completely rewrote the record books for Europe's premier midwinter sale. This year's returns reflect a significantly less distinguished catalogue further undermined by the withdrawal of so many of the better quality lots.

"Nevertheless, the all important clearance rate has bettered last year's record-breaking sale and the feature of the two days has been consistent demand from a large and diverse contingent of overseas buyers."

Durcan dominates day two

A total of 11 lots fetched 100,000gns or more at last year's February Sale, but just one reached six-figure territory this time around, and it was Ted Durcan, stationed at the top of the bidders' area, who went to 105,000gns for the lightly-raced Magic Illusion.

"He's been bought to race on in Dubai and he'll go into training with Satish Seemar," Durcan said of the Godolphin-consigned lot. "He's been bought with next year in mind really, we know that he won't make this season so he's a bit of a long-term project. Hopefully he'll be ready to rock and roll by October, and giving him a bit of time will help."

The three-year-old son of Dubawi is a half-brother to last year's wide-margin UAE 2,000 Guineas victor Gold Town, and is the third foal out of the Listed-winning Invincible Spirit mare Pimpernel. Further back it is the family of top-flight scorers Dank, Eagle Mountain and Sulk.

Ted Durcan reflects on his transition from top jockey to talent scout

Magic Illusion ran three times for Charlie Appleby, and was last seen finishing third behind Shir Khan in a Wolverhampton novice stakes.

"He's a lovely, scopey horse and the Dubawis have such an excellent record over there, he was the one we really wanted," said Durcan, who went on to expand on his transition from leading jockey to bloodstock agent.

"I still work for Sir Michael Stoute but I'm doing more and more at the sales, which I love," he said. "It's always been of major interest to me and it's great now that I'm not riding I'm able to put more energy into it. I actually used to work for Satish years ago and was his stable jockey, so I know what he likes."

Durcan also dipped into the market later on when going to 65,000gns in conjunction with Seemar to secure another son of Dubawi, the winning Recordman.

German impact

The second-top lot is also heading overseas to continue his racing career, after Harald Schneider, racing manager to German outfit Stall Salzburg, went to 75,000gns for Runnymede, a son of Dansili who had run out a nine-length winner at Pornichet since the publication of the catalogue.

The Juddmonte Farms-consigned three-year-old colt is a brother to the Listed winner Stipulate, who also finished runner-up in the Group 2 Celebration Mile, and is closely related to Supreme Stakes winner Stronghold.

"He was very impressive in France and is well-bred," said Schneider. "He's a weaver but that doesn't bother me as he can clearly run. He'll be trained by Sarah Steinberg, who's one of the up-and-coming trainers in Germany. He's been bought for Stall Salzburg, the owner of Night Music and top two-year-old Quest The Moon."

Dual Group 2 winner Night Music and the Group 3-winning juvenile Quest The Moon are among the 35 horses at Steinberg's stable near Munich.

"This horse will get a break now to help him settle in and then he'll probably start back in work around May time," added Schneider. "He might run in France or Italy, there should be plenty of races for him in those countries. The first thing is to get to know the horse."

Schneider will be hoping for more luck with his new acquisition, having enjoyed a nice touch with one of his previous purchases from the Park Paddocks ring.

"I've had luck here before," he said. "I bought myself a little filly called Shaqira from Shadwell in 2012. She cost 5,000gns and went on to win six times, including a Listed race, in the same season, and I sold her to Australia for €160,000."

Lloyd California dreaming

Jamie Lloyd made his presence felt when going to 70,000gns for the progressive Originaire, offered by William Haggas's Somerville Lodge on behalf of the China Horse Club.

"I bought him in partnership with David Meah and has been sourced for a new client," explained Lloyd, who had hidden away down the back stairs during the bidding process. "A trainer is yet to be decided upon but he'll head to the west coast in California."

Originaire, a son of Zoffany and a half-brother to the Group 3-winning Final Frontier, got off the mark at Chelmsford earlier in the month, and was last seen recording a Racing Post Rating (RPR) of 80 when finishing second by a nose in a Class 3 handicap at Lingfield.

"He looked like the pick of the sale to me, he ticked a lot of boxes and he'll get his conditions in California so I thought he made a lot of sense," added Lloyd. "He looks progressive and vetted very cleanly"

Originaire was bred by Vimal And Gillian Khosla, whose famed producer Green Room, the dam of Oaks heroine Forever Together, was honoured with the broodmare of the year accolade at the Irish Thoroughbred Breeders' Association's awards night last Saturday.

Spence goes to War

The first significant strike of the day was landed by Mike Spence, who stretched to 60,000gns to secure War No More from the draft of Ed Walker Racing. The four-year-old daughter of War Front is the first foal out of Moth, a daughter of Galileo who finished third behind Sky Lantern in the 2013 1,000 Guineas.

Spence is the son of leading owner Alan Spence, whose silks were carried to Group 1 success in the King's Stand Stakes by Profitable. Friday's purchase will head back into training before embarking on her broodmare career, and could well be in line for a date with Profitable at his Kildangan Stud home.

"She'll go straight back into training, she's only four so she has time on her side," said Spence. "She'll go to Roger Varian and we'll try and win a race as quickly as we can, I think she's off a fair mark on 63. Then we'll look to put her in foal, hopefully she'll go to Profitable who my dad used to own."

Moth is a sibling to six stakes performers, most notably the Group 3-winning Hearthstead Maison. Further back this is the family of Groom Dancer and Left Hand.

"It's quite hard to buy into those good families," continued Spence. "The dam was third in the 1,000 Guineas and there's quite a few bullets coming from behind; there's a three-year-old in Japan, a two-year-old and a yearling as well by War Front. Hopefully she'll make a nice broodmare prospect and then the family will continue to grow below her.

"We haven't got any Profitable foals at the moment but we'll have three or four broodmares this year, and hopefully they'll all go to Profitable."

Friday saw War No More, who was bred by Orpendale, Chelston and Wynatt, make her second visit to the sales, having fetched $510,000 from Al Shahania Stud at the 2016 Keeneland September Sale.

George goes Flat out

Tom George was among the jumps trainers to add to his string during the sale, as his son Noel was on hand to sign for the Godolphin-consigned Glockenspiel at 42,000gns. The four-year-old son of Teofilo won one of his six starts for Andre Fabre, and changed hands with a peak RPR of 83.

"He's a nice big, strong horse and he's gone on soft ground so hopefully he'll be a nice one to go hurdling with next season," said Noel George. "He looks like he'll probably get further than two miles as well."

Tom George has excelled with the likes of Black Op, Double Shuffle and God's Own, all of whom were sourced from the point-to-point field, but his son explained that the premium attached to horses from that sphere meant options needed to be kept open when sourcing new talent.

"You've got to have a bit of everything," Noel George said when asked about the stable's modus operandi when it came to buying jumping prospects. "Some of the prices the Irish pointers are costing now are getting a little bit ridiculous, so you can sometimes find a bit of value elsewhere."

More from the February Sale:

Frosty start to February Sale as All I Need leads the way at 55,000gns