'There's a hunger for the best of the crop, and this is it' - superpowers set to collide at Book 1

Every sport has its own season-defining fixture. The NFL has the Super Bowl, golf has the Masters and European football has the Champions League final. These are the games where the best of the best go head to head in full-blooded competition. The winner takes it all. 

Book 1 at Tattersalls October is the yearling sale equivalent. Every sale matters, but this matters just that bit more. Fortunes can be made and futures can be shaped, for better or for worse. This is the bloodstock industry’s big dance. 

Book 1 is where buyers leave everything out on the field, not least in financial terms. Intense trade at last year’s renewal saw all previous spending records smashed as turnover hit an eye-popping 126,671,000gns. Sixteen lots sold for 1,000,000gns or more and even the average price was less than a minimum bid under 300,000gns. These are unprecedentedly punchy numbers. 

While competitors in other sporting arenas have their eyes on just one prize, those hunting at Book 1 this year have a catalogue containing 532 targets. It boasts a frankly outrageous concentration of quality as 11 per cent (59 lots) of those 532 yearlings are siblings to top-flight winners, and five per cent (29 lots) are out of a Group/Grade 1-winning dam. 

The three-parts brother to Waldgeist is one of 21 yearlings by Frankel set to go under the hammer at Book 1 Credit: Laura Green

The sire profile is virtually off the charts too, with the top five names from the European table all heavily represented. Following withdrawals, Frankel is set to have 21 progeny come under the hammer, Siyouni has 11, Kingman has 24, Dubawi has 19 and Sea The Stars 28. Other heavy-hitting names have strong drafts as well; think Lope De Vega (32 lots), Night Of Thunder (23), No Nay Never (28) and Wootton Bassett (39), while the game-changing Galileo has his final Book 1 lot in a half-sister to Method (Lot 310). 

Sales houses often claim their auctions contain something for everyone, but this is rarefied air. Sure, one or two will fall through the cracks, but for the most part Book 1 is the preserve of those with grand designs and deep pockets. The elite nature of the sale means the ground wasn’t quite packed to the rafters on Monday, but there was a distinct buzz generated by those present.

The sky darkened and there was the odd rumble of thunder just after 3pm, by which point rival superpowers were busy zigzagging around the grounds conducting inspections in some fairly inclement conditions. Shadwell’s Sheikha Hissa just shaded honours for the biggest entourage, although the Coolmore buying team’s number was bolstered by the presence of Aidan O’Brien and stable jockey Ryan Moore. 

Sheikh Mohammed himself headed up the Godolphin camp’s afternoon talent search. Given the ruler of Dubai’s appearance in Deauville helped spur the Arqana August Sale market to giddy new heights, his attendance at Tattersalls will have brightened a damp afternoon for many vendors. 

Sheikha Hissa was present at Park Paddocks in search of continuing Shadwell's excellent runCredit: Laura Green

The established names were joined by some of those on the rise at a rate of knots, including the teams driving the upward trajectories of Al Shira’aa Farms and Yulong Investments. 

Book 1 has had a growing international resonance in recent times too, particularly in the US, where Domestic Spending, In Italian, McKulick and Program Trading have all won Grade 1s. Each of those names were sourced by agent Mike Ryan on behalf of clients of leading trainer Chad Brown, and the Ryan-Brown axis was also combing the grounds on Monday. 

Given how much is on the line, there was some understandably nervous anticipation from those selling this week. Among those hoping Monday was the calm before the storm was Tom Blain of Barton Stud, whose 14-strong draft features an array of blue-chip pedigrees by the likes of Dubawi, Frankel, Sea The Stars and Siyouni.

“It feels like all the right people are in town, and the weather has been good up until today,” said Blain. “The first two days of showing especially can feel a bit quiet, but then the trainers come in today and you start to get some second looks and some vets, and that’s when it starts to hot up. 

"I’m definitely feeling it hotting up today, so we’re getting more excited about some of the horses we’ve got and the sale generally.” 

American agent Mike Ryan was looking for more future stateside stars at TattersallsCredit: Alisha Meeder

On his own draft, Blain added: “This is the best group of horses we’ve ever brought here. We have some lovely physicals and the progeny of some great stallions. From our point of view, we’re all about building; having yearlings by better stallions, getting the progeny of better mares. Hopefully this is another step on the ladder towards being at the top of the Book 1 consignors’ chart, because that’s what it’s all about.” 

On the other side of the sales ring, Ted Voute was overseeing the four-strong offering from Imad Al Sagar’s Blue Diamond Stud. 

“It’s a playing field for the very top people in the business,” Voute said on Book 1’s position within the bloodstock landscape. “And it’s two-fold because there are some very rich people selling here and some very rich people buying, so it’s unique in that respect.” 

Both Blain and Voute suggested it was the cocktail of time, investment and, perhaps most importantly, expectation that makes Book 1 such a pressure-cooker environment. 

Despite the pre-sale nerves, Voute said he remained optimistic heading into the opening session. 

“It’s always the last bit, watching it all come together in the last strides that makes it nerve-racking,” he said. “Everyone has different tastes and budgets from time to time, but I’m hopeful as I don’t see any reason why [the market] should suddenly drop off a cliff.

"There’s a hunger for the best of the crop, and this is it. If you don’t buy at this sale, you’re not buying from the best the industry has to offer.” 

All eyes on him: Blue Diamond Stud's Dubawi half-brother to Nashwa is ready for his Book 1 date with destinyCredit: Laura Green

On paper the best Blue Diamond has to offer is the Dubawi half-brother to Nashwa, who will be presented on Tuesday as Lot 35. 

“He’s special and it’s lovely to have a brother to a Classic winner by such a prolific stallion,” said Voute. “Dubawi is a sire of sires, the sire of the moment together with Frankel, and this is an outstanding individual. He’s probably one of the best examples I’ve seen by the stallion.” 

This may be the top of the bloodstock tree but, as in all fields of competition, there will be winners and losers. Some horses will fetch sums that exceed their breeder’s wildest dreams, while others will fall by the wayside. Some buyers will unearth a yearling who proves far more talented than its price tag suggests, while others will spend big and have little to show for it. 

Over the coming three days we will start to see who succeeds and who comes up short. Let the games begin. 

Tattersalls October Yearling Sale Book 1 factfile

Where Park Paddocks, Newmarket

When Three-day sale begins on Tuesday, with sessions starting at 11am

Last year’s stats From 489 lots offered, 424 sold (87 per cent) for an aggregate of 126,671,000gns (up 47 per cent year on year), an average of 298,750gns (up 30 per cent) and median of 200,000gns (up 25 per cent)

Notable graduates Luxembourg (sold by The Castlebridge Consignment, bought by MV Magnier for 150,000gns); Native Trail (sold by Kildaragh Stud, bought by Mags O'Toole and Oak Tree Farm for 67,000gns); Palace Pier (sold by Highclere Stud, bought by John Gosden for 600,000gns); Sea Silk Road (sold by Kildaragh Stud, bought by Sunderland Holding for 190,000gns); St Mark's Basilica (sold by Norelands Stud, bought by MV Magnier for 1,300,000gns) 

Read more:

An in-depth look at the amazing history of Galileo at Book 1 

'They're the nicest overall bunch we've had' - Newsells Park Stud's Book 1 draft ready for Park Paddocks action