West End Girl headlines five Royal Ascot entries in Tattersalls' online sale

Classy three-year-old filly West End Girl is set to be the headline attraction of Tattersalls' inaugural online sale, which will offer five lots on the eve of Royal Ascot.

The auction, the first of its kind in Britain or Ireland, will begin at midday on Saturday and closes at midday on Monday.

The well-bred West End Girl won last year's Group 3 Sweet Solera Stakes and made an encouraging reappearance when a staying-on third behind Miss Yoda in the Lingfield Oaks Trial. She will be offered with an entry in the Group 2 Ribblesdale Stakes at Royal Ascot.

Allied to her promising race record, the filly has an eyecatching pedigree, being by Golden Horn out of a half-sister to two-year-old Group 1 winner Reckless Abandon, with other top-level winners Ticker Tape and Brando further back on the page.

West End Girl's owner, Alan Spence, said: "West End Girl is a very smart and very well-bred filly who has a big future. It was always the intention to sell her at the end of the year, but when we heard about the Tattersalls Online sale we felt it was the perfect platform for a filly with her credentials.

"She is not just a Ribblesdale prospect, she could also head for the Oaks, and being a proven Group winner on good to firm ground makes her very attractive to buyers from throughout the world, all of whom I am sure will be impressed by the Tattersalls Online platform."

The other lots on offer are all two-year-olds with Royal Ascot entries, including debut winners Igotatext, trained by Archie Watson, and Newcastle scorer Muker, who is from the stable of Phillip Makin. The two colts are being aimed at the Group 2 Coventry Stakes and Listed Windsor Castle Stakes respectively.

Completing the catalogue are the Kevin Ryan-trained filly Star Of Emaraaty, who is being aimed at the Group 3 Albany Stakes, and Brian Ellison's Tantastic, whose target is the Windsor Castle Stakes.

The Tattersallsonline.com platform will feature photos and videos of each lot, details of where the horses can be inspected, as well as links to veterinary information, including x-rays and endoscopes. Tattersalls Online will serve as a portal into online sales held on any of the Tattersalls Group websites, namely Tattersalls, Tattersalls Ascot, Tattersalls Cheltenham and Tattersalls Ireland.

Tattersalls chairman Edmond Mahony said: "Tattersallsonline.com is an exciting new chapter for Tattersalls and it is fitting that we have a filly as exciting as West End Girl to headline the first sale on the eve of Royal Ascot.

"We have been quietly working on an online platform for a couple of years but have accelerated the development and launch in response to the new challenges we all face as a result of the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic.

"We are confident that buyers and vendors will find Tattersallsonline.com easy and convenient to use and we are looking forward to showcasing a small but select group of horses in training on the eve of the world’s most prestigious race meeting."

Prospective purchasers should register to bid by going to Tattersallsonline.com, clicking on the Tattersalls Ascot June Sale banner and then either registering or, for those with an existing account, logging in.

Anyone wishing to bid will need to click 'Join Sale' and fill out the resulting form, which will be submitted to the Tattersalls accounts team, who will be in contact soon after to confirm bidding arrangements.

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