‘Horses like this don’t often turn up at the February Sale’ - progressive Space Invasion tops Tattersalls trade at 230,000gns

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A protracted three-way tussle helped the progressive Space Invasion top this year’s Tattersalls February Sale at 230,000gns. 

The closing stages involved two online bidders, while a client of agent Alessandro Marconi’s also reached a podium position from inside the ring. 

After the hammer fell it was SackvilleDonald’s brand that appeared on the docket, and agent Alastair Donald revealed the two-time winner had been purchased on behalf of familiar connections to continue his career in Bahrain. 

He will sport the colours of Shaikh Isa bin Salman and will be handled by the owner’s in-house trainers Daniel and Claire Kubler. 

Space Invasion made four starts for Richard Hannon and Clipper Logistics. The penny seemed to have dropped after his first two outings as his latest starts have resulted in back-to-back victories over a mile at Lingfield. 

His maiden win was followed by a successful handicap debut, in which he defied an official opening mark of 80 to score by a length and three quarters from Luminare. 

• Read the report from day one of the Tattersalls February Sale

Sovereign Wealth, who topped day one of the February Sale at 100,000gns, was another half a length away back in third. The session-topper was allotted a Racing Post Rating (RPR) of 81 for his most recent effort. 

“Shaikh Isa is very keen to support Daniel and Claire Kubler, who’ve had a very good start out there,” said Donald. “A couple of the horses we bought at the sale in October have looked pretty exciting for them in Lord Montague and Up The Pace. Bahrain is a very progressive racing jurisdiction and has an exciting future, and Sheikh Isa has been very pleased with the start Daniel and Claire have made there. 

“There’s a flight at the end of February so this horse can get straight over there. The advantage with the Kublers is that they still have their horses in Lambourn, so they can keep him going there and then he can run in Bahrain in March, when there’s still a couple more series races that he’d qualify for.” 

The three-year-old colt was bred by Steve Parkin under the banner of Rathbride Farm. He is the third foal out of the Listed-placed Peticoatgovernment, a Holy Roman Emperor half-sister to the Group 2 scorer Larchmont Lad.

Alastair Donald: 'He’s shown a good turn of foot, and the horse he stuffed last time made 100,000gns yesterday'Credit: Alisha Meeder

“He’s a good-looking horse with ideal fast ground conformation,” Donald continued. “He’s shown a good turn of foot, and the horse he stuffed last time made 100,000gns yesterday. He’s progressive, well rated and if he wins his next race he becomes a very valuable horse. The trainer was underbidder, and it’s always encouraging when they want to keep them. Hopefully he’s got a bright future. He looks ideal for Bahrain.” 

Space Invasion became the second-most expensive colt to change hands at the February Sale, albeit at a respectful distance behind the record holder. That title belongs to Willie John, a 1,900,000gns signing by Roger Varian on behalf of Sheikh Mohammed Obaid in 2018. 

“That price was at the higher end of our valuation, but when there’s a standout horse like this, they can sell well,” said Donald. “Horses like this don’t often turn up at the February Sale.” 

As well as scoring with Lord Montague and Up The Pace, the Kublers came within a short head of landing a Group 3 prize last month when Cracksking, another Sackville Donald recruit, was beaten just a short head in The Crown Prince's Cup. 

They also saddled redoubtable veteran Byline to finish second in the Bahrain Mile, a local Group 1.

"Byline has won 18 races out there and has been a bit of a star,” said Donald. “The Kublers have revitalised him and he’s as well as ever at the age of nine. Cracksking was unlucky not to win The Crown Prince’s Cup last week. It’s been a happy hunting ground for the owner and they have some nice prospects from the sale in October, certainly with Lord Montague and Up The Pace looking very useful.” 

Emotional addition for Apedroc Stud

Space Invasion might have brought the session’s largest price, but the biggest reaction of the day came when Clare Salmon and Neil Goldie-Scot of Apedroc Stud landed the well-related Wilhelmina at 125,000gns. 

“We saw her yesterday morning and when she came out of the box I thought ‘Oh no, I can’t keep a straight face, I really want to buy that filly!” said Salmon, who gave a celebratory punch of the air when the hammer fell. “Apart from the fact that she’s absolutely beautiful, she’s a very sweet filly, we love her breeding. It’s a beautiful page and she’s going to fit in brilliantly.” 

The Jamie Railton-consigned four-year-old won two of her ten starts for trainer Kevin Philippart de Foy and owners Ballylinch Stud and partners. That brace includes a victory on her most recent start at Wolverhampton in late December. She hit a career-best RPR of 83 on her racecourse swansong. 

“This is very sweet for us because we lost a Baaeed foal last week, so this is really a reward,” said Salmon. “That’s why I was so emotional.” 

Arthur Dobell, Neil and Claire Goldie-Scot pictured after purchasing WilhelminaCredit: Tattersalls/Laura Green

The six-figure filly was bred by David and Yvonne Blunt and is a New Bay half-sister to their Group 1 winner Poptronic. The British Champions Fillies and Mares Stakes heroine is by Nathaniel, who would look an obvious first mating for Wilhelmina. 

The couple were unable to confirm plans for their new purchase, but when asked where they hoped to send Wilhelmina, Salmon said: “You don’t have to guess too hard!” 

The purchase was made in conjunction with Arthur Dobell, a member of the Oliver St Lawrence Bloodstock team. 

Salmon explained the link up came following the Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association’s Building Bloodlines; Broodmare Evaluation and Purchase forum at Tattersalls last November. 

“We saw Arthur speak at the seminar here and really liked what he had to say,” she said. “He spoke to the small breeder audience brilliantly. We’re not into spending telephone numbers, we’re into value, and Arthur has been brilliant. We went to Arqana with him and weren’t lucky there, but we’re so thrilled with today.” 

Best of the rest

The third and final six-figure transaction of the day came when the Shadwell-consigned Enfjaar was knocked down to Alex Elliott at 120,000gns. The five-year-old son of Lope De Vega was the highest-rated name among the 308-lot catalogue with an RPR of 114. 

His four career victories are supplemented by black type gained when second in the Doonside Cup Stakes and third in the Steventon Stakes. He is set to return to his current trainer Roger Varian, albeit for new connections. 

“He’s been bought by Roger Varian and goes back to him,” said Elliott. “He only rang me ten minutes ago and asked me to bid, he’s bought him for a new client.” 

Enfjaar will remain with trainer Roger Varian after being bought by Alex Elliott for 120,000gnsCredit: Tattersalls/Laura Green

Ted Durcan landed the 100,000gns top lot on day one, and the agent was once again involved at the head of the market on Friday when bidding 82,000gns for the Jane Chapple-Hyam Racing-consigned Hinchinbrooke. 

The four-year-old son of Cracksman shed his maiden on the most recent of his 11 starts, with victory coming in a mile and quarter handicap at Chelmsford. That effort was given an RPR of 86. 

“He’s been bought as a fun dual-purpose sort, and he won last time out," said Durcan. “Ongoing training plans haven’t been made yet but he goes to Ireland.” 

Prior hails positive start

While day one’s results lagged behind the corresponding session 12 months ago, day two showed some chunky year-on-year increases. 

Despite a smaller offering, turnover increased by 23 per cent to 1,776,000gns; the average price increased by 31 per cent to 17,940gns; and the median rose from 8,000gns to 10,000gns, an upgrade of 25 per cent. 

The clearance rate was 88 per cent as 99 lots sold from 113 offered. 

All told, the two-day sale saw aggregate receipts of 3,639,000gns, which was down eight per cent against 2025’s total, albeit from 15 fewer sold lots. 

The average price was 17,840gns and the median 11,000gns, both of which were virtually identical to 2025’s figures. The combined clearance rate was 83 per cent as 204 lots found a new home from 246 presented. 

At the conclusion of trade, Tattersalls managing director Matthew Prior said: “The Tattersalls February Sale is undisputedly Europe’s premier midwinter sale, and once again we welcomed a typically diverse domestic and international group of buyers to Park Paddocks in Newmarket. 

“While the key metrics fell narrowly short of last year’s figures, buyers from more than 20 countries and a turnover in excess of 3,500,000gns represents a positive start to 2026. We saw the second-highest-priced colt ever sold at this fixture, with Space Invasion realising 230,000gns following an intercontinental bidding duel, while consignments from leading Newmarket-based operations Godolphin and Juddmonte again featured among the highlights of the Tattersalls February Sale.

“The sale also featured the Retraining of Racehorses Showcase for the second time, alongside the ever-popular British EBF Stallion Parade, and it was great to welcome such a large crowd to Tattersalls to see former stars of the turf thriving in their second careers.

“We now look forward to the Tattersalls Craven Breeze-Up Sale, which has an outstanding record in recent years, with graduates including Classic and Group 1 winners Native Trail, Cachet, Hotazhell, Vandeek and Believing, as well as exciting Classic prospects Six Speed and Title Role.”

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