Miska and Angel's Point prove pick of the Godolphin draft at Tattersalls

Tuesday’s session of the Tattersalls December Mares Sale was always going to be a hard act to follow, with 11 millionaire lots contributing to the highest-grossing day in European auction history. The 5,400,000gns sale of Alcohol Free to BBA Ireland helped the day finish with turnover of 54,005,000gns.

As it was, Wednesday's session proved much more prosaic as the market was led by a solitary six-figure purchase.

Day three turnover was down three per cent year on year at 4,226,000gns, albeit from 28 fewer sold lots, while the average and median figures went in the opposite direction, with the former up ten per cent at 21,236gns and the latter at 15,000gns, up 36 per cent compared to 2021. The clearance rate was 88 per cent of 199 sold.

The O’Callaghan family have been busy restocking the Tally-Ho Stud broodmare band throughout the first three sessions, with 17 purchases made for a combined spend of 1,526,000gns. The bunch included the Godolphin-consigned Miska, who drew a bid of 125,000gns midway through the afternoon.

The O’Callaghans know all about the filly having bred the daughter of Kodiac from the unraced Shamardal mare Shobobb before selling her to Simon and Ed Crisford’s Gainsborough Thoroughbreds for 210,000gns at Book 2 of last year’s October Yearling Sale.

Miska: the third winner out of the unraced Shamardal mare ShobobbCredit: Laura Green

The Crisfords saddled the two-year-old to win a Nottingham maiden on her second outing, having finished second to subsequent Sweet Solera Stakes scorer Lakota Sioux on debut. That success made her the third winner out of Shobobb, who joined Tally-Ho at a cost of €13,000 in 2010.

The mare’s progeny record is headed by Miska’s full-brother Gifted Master, an 11-time winner who landed the Stewards' Cup and a brace of Group 3 contests. The filly’s yearling full-sister sold to Godolphin for 475,000gns during Book 1 of this year’s October Yearling Sale.

Tally-Ho’s representative indicated that Miska would likely be retired from racing and covered by one of the operation’s eight stallions, a roster that’s headed by the €60,000 Mehmas and includes his July Stakes-winning son Persian Force.

Godolphin sold 32 lots on Wednesday for an aggregate of 1,068,000gns.

Swinburn steps in for I Can Fly sibling

The twice-raced Angel's Point failed to cut much ice on her two starts for Andrew Balding but she boasts plenty of appeal on pedigree being by Dark Angel and out of Madonna Dell'Orto, which makes her a sibling to the Group 2 Boomerang Stakes scorer I Can Fly and the Listed-winning Viscount Barfield.

That lineage was central to her purchase as Genesis Green Stud went to 90,000gns to secure the lightly raced three-year-old. It was Genesis Green who offered the filly as a yearling when the youngster made 260,000gns to Balding at Book 1 in 2020, and the operation’s Michael Swinburn explained the farm had a good reason for wanting to buy into the family again.

Michael Swinburn: 'We'd love to keep her and race her but with prize-money the way it is, we may end up selling her.'Credit: Laura Green

“Andrew thought a lot of Angel's Point but she had a few training issues,” he said. “We do have a filly foal by Fastnet Rock out of the mare, a full-sister to I Can Fly, and we’ve had enquiries about her. We'd love to keep her and race her but with prize-money the way it is, we may end up selling her. If so, we have no other daughters out of Madonna Dell'orto so it made sense to buy Angel's Point back. We have no plans as yet regarding stallions [for next year’s covering]."

Madonna Dell'Orto, a Montjeu half-sister to the Group 1-winning Landseer and to the granddam of Japanese Grade 1 hero Mikki Rocket, has been a fine servant to the Genesis Green camp, not only breeding five winners but also the Dubawi colt who topped last year’s December Foal Sale when bought by Godolphin for 1,800,000gns.

Elliott at the double

Bloodstock agent Alex Elliott landed a couple of the session’s more noteworthy lots with a haul headed by the 80,000gns Qatar Queen, a placed Kodiac half-sister to Barney Roy. The six-year-old, who has two Zoustar colts on the ground, was offered by Tweenhills Farm and Stud in foal to 2,000 Guineas hero Kameko.

Qatar Queen was making her second appearance at public auction having joined the Qatar Racing fold at a cost of 400,000gns at the 2017 December Yearling Sale.

“She’s been bought for Laundry Cottage Stud,” said Elliott. “She’s a very attractive mare, she cost 400,000gns as a yearling, and she’s carrying what’s believed to be a Kameko colt. We’re big fans of Kameko and luckily enough I got a client to buy a share in him. I was looking forward to seeing his foals and I was very happy with what I saw.

“The mare is a sister to Barney Roy and her Dubawi colt made 750,000gns [bought by Godolphin] this year so there’s lots happening in the pedigree. She should be quite easy to mate but we haven’t really thought that far ahead yet.”

Tweenhills sold 14 lots for 279,500gns on Wednesday.

Qatar Queen: Kodiac half-sister to Barney Roy sold to Alex Elliott for 80,000gnsCredit: Laura Green

Earlier in the session Elliott dipped into the The Royal Studs draft when he gave 75,000gns for Stimulate, a winning daughter of Motivator carrying to Kildangan Stud resident Space Blues. The four-year-old looked promising when winning a Salisbury maiden by four lengths on debut but made the racecourse just once more when well beaten in a Fontainebleau Listed race.

“I’m a big fan of Motivator as a broodmare sire,” said Elliott. “Obviously the dam of Ottoman Fleet [Innevera] made 750,000gns [to Jill Lamb Bloodstock] during the Sceptre Session on Monday. She’s a young mare who Michael Bell said had a lot of talent.

"She won on debut for him but then had a few things go wrong. She’s on an early cover to Space Blues and is another carrying a colt, and it’s a good Aga Khan family. I really wanted her too so hopefully we’ve done some good shopping.”

Stimulate is out of the Aga Khan-bred Shama, a Danehill Dancer sister to the Listed-winning Shamanova and a half-sister to the Italian Group 1 scorer Shamdala.

The Tattersalls December Mares Sale concludes on Thursday, with the fourth and final session starting at 9.30am.