Fireworks expected at a Tattersalls December Mare Sale for the ages

The four-day Tattersalls December Mare Sale begins on Monday and with a catalogue brimming with elite breeding prospects there is plenty of blockbuster action to look forward to. Sales correspondent James Thomas runs the rule over the key storylines that will shape the unmissable event.

1. Group 1 winners up for grabs

Group 1-winning fillies and mares very rarely appear at public auction, and when they do they tend to be in extremely high demand. However, buyers will face the unusual prospect of being absolutely spoiled for choice at this year’s December Mare Sale as the Sceptre Sessions that take place during Monday and Tuesday boast a frankly outrageous line-up of talent.

With an exceptional race record Alcohol Free (lot 1,904) rates the standout among the catalogue having won four Group 1s, namely the Cheveley Park Stakes at two, the Coronation and Sussex Stakes at three, and the July Cup at four.

She is such a unique offering that the sky's the limit when it comes to assessing her market value, although it is perhaps worth noting that she has an official rating of 119, which is identical to Marsha, who became the highest priced thoroughbred ever sold in Europe when bought by Coolmore for 6,000,000gns at this sale in 2017.

Saffron Beach is another of the leading names engaged in the saleCredit: Edward Whitaker

Moreover, Alcohol Free possesses an outcross pedigree as she is by No Nay Never and out of a Hard Spun mare. While this makes her a perfect fit for the likes of Dubawi and Frankel, it also heightens her international appeal, meaning prospective purchasers based in Britain and Ireland will likely face competition from all corners of the globe, with the filly certain to be on the radar of major breeders from the likes of Japan and the United States.

There are plenty of other fillies and mares with recent Group 1 wins besides their name, each of whom would be a headline act in any normal year. The likes of Sun Chariot Stakes and Prix Rothschild winner Saffron Beach (1,878), the Pretty Polly Stakes-winning La Petite Coco (1,887), Matron Stakes victress Pearls Galore (1,920), popular Prix du Cadran winner Princess Zoe (1,924A) and two-year-old Prix de l’Abbaye scorer The Platinum Queen (1,924B) will all attract huge interest too.

2. Proven producers catch the eye

While a flashy race record and recent top-level form are extremely saleable qualities, the nature of racing and breeding means that not every Group 1-winning filly and mare will prove up to producing Group 1-winning offspring. Those looking for a more proven option are also well catered for among the catalogue’s 1,061 lots, not least with Strawberry Fields Stud’s Desert Berry (1,891).

The 13-year-old daughter of Green Desert shot to prominence in June this year when her fifth foal, a certain Desert Crown, stormed to a famous victory in the Derby. The unbeaten colt is set to remain in training with Sir Michael Stoute in 2023, which make further pedigree updates look a distinct possibility.

Not that Desert Berry’s record really needs any enhancements as she had already shown herself to be above average even before Desert Crown’s emergence. She has a 100 per cent strike rate as the dam of five winners from five runners, while her second foal, Flying Thunder (formerly Archie McKellar), was her first black-type winner when landing the Group 3 Premier Cup at Sha Tin. As if all that wasn’t enough, she is being offered in foal to Nathaniel, meaning she is carrying a full-sibling to Desert Crown.

There are other proven producers due to come under the hammer too, such as Luzia (1,973), dam of this year’s Sun Chariot Stakes winner Fonteyn, Lights On Me (1,623), who bred Horris Hill Stakes winner Light Infantry, and Luna Mare (1,871), dam of Beresford Stakes winner and Derby hope Crypto Force, while Pure Fantasy (1,450) is a slightly more left field option as the mare responsible for exciting hurdler Pied Piper.

3. Opportunities abound with owner-breeder dispersals

Pedigrees that have been carefully nurtured by the same breeder through the generations are prized commodities in the bloodstock world, partly because of the innate quality they possess but also because the chance to buy into such families are few and far between. When a significant owner-breeder holds a dispersal of their stock it usually pays to take notice.

Recent examples that highlight the opportunity that these events present include Phoenix Stakes winner Little Big Bear, whose dam, Adventure Seeker, was bought from the Wildenstein Stables dispersal at Goffs in 2016, while Coventry Stakes winner Berkshire Shadow and Prix de la Nonette scorer Trevaunance are out of Angel Vision and Liber Nauticus respectively, both of whom came from the Ballymacoll Stud dispersal at Tattersalls in 2017.

This year’s December Mare Sale features a partial dispersal of the stock from Southcourt Stud, from where the late Sir Evelyn de Rothschild bred the likes of Crystal Ocean, Hillstar and Notnowcato.

Among the eyecatching lots from the draft are Crystal Zvezda (1,618), a Listed-winning half-sister to Crystal Ocean whose second foal is the Listed-placed Crystal Caprice, and the once-raced Infinite Cosmos (1,954), who hails from the same 24-carat family but offers untapped racing potential too having been beaten just a rapidly diminishing short head on her debut.

Philippa Cooper is also dispersing the stock from her Normandie Stud, which means breeders will have the chance to tap into the blue-chip families that have produced the likes of Love Is You (1,900), a Listed-winning daughter of Coronation Stakes winner Fallen For You in foal to St Mark’s Basilica, Park Hill Stakes scorer Gretchen (1,903), a half-sister to Irish St Leger hero Duncan carrying a Pinatubo close relation to the Listed-winning Lionel, and French Dressing (1,902), who is carrying a Frankel sibling to the high-class Mohaafeth.

4. A catalogue of record-breaking potential

With so many high-quality lots, there is a distinct possibility trade will reach record-breaking levels. Marsha, who was offered as a horse in training, holds the title for the most expensive thoroughbred sold in Europe, while the most expensive broodmare to change hands at the December Sale is Immortal Verse, who was knocked down to BBA Ireland for 4,700,000gns when carrying to Dansili in 2013.

The 2017 December Sale holds the record for the highest turnover in the auction’s history, when the likes of Marsha and the Ballymacoll dispersal contributed to aggregate sales of 68,315,300gns. That same renewal also set a new high mark for the average price at 101,208gns and holds the record for the most seven-figure lots with 11. All three records could well be under threat this week.

The title of the year’s most expensive public auction horse currently belongs to five-time Grade 1 winner Gamine, who was bought by Coolmore’s MV Magnier for a cool $7 million at the recent Fasig-Tipton November Sale. That price means that at least one of the December Mare Sale lots will have to fetch 5,750,000gns or more if 2022’s priciest thoroughbred is to change hands at Tattersalls.

5. Buying on a budget no barrier to success

Although the headlines will belong to the likes of Alcohol Free, Desert Berry and Saffron Beach, one of the beauties of the bloodstock game is that a humble purchase price is no barrier to racing brilliance.

A case in point being Poyle Sophie, for whom the hammer fell at just 3,000gns when she was offered in foal to Aclaim at the December Sale of 2018. John Bourke of Hyde Park Stud struck that winning bid and can lay claim to being a Classic-winning breeder because of it as the filly that Poyle Sophie was carrying turned out to be 1,000 Guineas heroine Cachet.

Those studying past sales results could be forgiven for thinking the figure 18,000gns possesses some sort of magical qualities as that is the price James Wigan’s London Thoroughbred Services paid for Hayyona in 2013, and likewise Trainers House Enterprises when John Fairley's outfit secured Pure Illusion three years later.

The dam of the brilliant Highfield Princess was secured for a reasonable fee at this auctionCredit: John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)

The former turned out to be the dam of Champion Stakes winner Bay Bridge, while the latter was carrying a Night Of Thunder filly who is now better known as champion sprinter Highfield Princess.

These rags-to-riches tales sometimes take a little longer to play out than those associated with the Hollywood prices at the top of the market, but the fact a few emerge each year should keep the dream alive for those buying on a budget this time around.

More sales news:

Shadwell in for Mohaather colt as foal sale curtain falls

Chaldean's half-sister creates a 1,000,000gns spectacle at Tattersalls

Dragon Symbol's Havana Grey half-brother fetches 250,000gns at December Foals

Foals by Mohaather and Bated Breath fetch 80,000gns at December Sale opener