‘If he can run to the same level as he has for a master trainer, we’ll be lucky with him’ - Sea Force tops July Sale day three at 170,000gns

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The highest price on the third and final day of the Tattersalls July Sale was achieved shortly before 8pm. The well-related Sea Force had compiled some smart form for William Haggas and owner Sheikh Rashid Dalmook Al Maktoum, winning twice and reaching a peak Racing Post Rating of 102. 

Bahrain-based trainer Jaber Ramadhan and owner Hassan Mufarrah were so taken with the son of Sea The Stars that they engaged in a spot of late night shopping, going to 170,000gns to secure the talented four-year-old. 

“We’ve been following him for the past two or three months,” said Ramadhan. “He’s a good horse, so if he can run to the same level as he has for a master trainer like William Haggas, we’ll be lucky with him. Hopefully we can run him in the Bahrain Turf Series, as they’ve introduced a mile race this year.”

The trainer, who finished runner-up in the latest Bahraini standings, added: “We thought we were going to get him for 120,000gns or 130,000gns but, when the owner was in the ring and bidding, it went a bit further. 

Jaber Ramadhan: "Hopefully we can run him in the Bahrain Turf Series"Credit: Tattersalls/Laura Green

“I think it’s about the right price though, as the market is high. At the end of the day, July is a suitable sale for us to buy at, then get them over and continue with them. We have four or five months to give him a rest and get him ready for December.” 

The Rabbah Bloodstock homebred was making his first appearance at the sales. He is the second foal out of Pretty Baby, whom Haggas saddled to victory in the Group 3 Oak Tree Stakes in 2018. The mare’s first foal is the Group 3 Nell Gwyn Stakes scorer Pretty Crystal. 

Haggas’s Somerville Lodge draft sold nine lots for receipts totalling 408,500gns.

The final major price of the sale came a short while later via an online bid by Alastair Donald. The SackvilleDonald agent went to 140,000gns for Comical Point from Andrew Balding’s Kingsclere draft. 

Saeed Suhail’s son of Blue Point made a winning debut at two before finishing fifth in the Norfolk Stakes, won by Charles Darwin. He also earned black type when third in the Listed Rockingham Stakes and has proved largely consistent at three, finishing in the frame on his last four starts over sprint distances. 

“He goes to Bahrain and will go into training with the Kublers, who have made a fantastic start to their training career over there,” said Donald. "He has strong form, is a good-looking horse, will like the fast ground and is on the perfect rating for the Turf Series. He came highly recommended by his previous trainer.”

Baker bidding for Bahrain bounty

Another buyer with Bahrain on his mind was George Baker. The Epsom trainer went to 110,000gns for King’s Trust, who won a Southwell maiden in the colours of the King and Queen and was last seen hitting an RPR of 91 when going down by just a nose in a seven-furlong Doncaster handicap. The three-year-old son of Kingman was trained by John and Thady Gosden and sold through The Castlebridge Consignment. 

“Bahrain has been a huge part of our life for the last six years,” said Baker. “We’ve supported them and they’ve supported us. It’s tough out there at the moment and we’re committing to supporting them because it might be a tough winter for them. They’ve got their first Group 1 and they’re running the Turf Series again, and it’s important for us to be part of it. 

“We’ve got wonderful owners who want to do the same. He’s a lovely horse for a syndicate of regular Bahrain owners. He probably cost me a little bit more than I hoped for but we need these horses. 

“He’s hopefully perfect for that gig over there. We love it over there - it’s another string to the bow. It’s tough because there’s a lot of people who want to do it. We’ll get him home, see where we are. Maybe we can win a Glorious Goodwood handicap on the way!”

O’Brien makes 100,000gns move for Raspoutine

Having encountered stiff competition at this year’s store sales, Fergal O'Brien turned to Tattersalls in search of fresh talent. The Gloucestershire-based trainer took home two recruits from this year’s July Sale headed by the 100,000gns Raspoutine, who was secured during Thursday’s evening session. 

The three-year-old son of Time Test was bred and owned by Denford Stud and offered by Sir Mark Prescott’s Heath House Stables. 

He won one of his nine starts for Newmarket’s long-serving trainer, and reached the podium on three of his last four starts. His latest effort was a career-best on Racing Post Ratings, running to an RPR of 84 over a mile and two furlongs at Redcar. 

“I have a new owner, Mr [Tom] Hayes, and he was keen to get some horses we can get on with,” said O’Brien. “We got one on Tuesday [the 26,000gns Criminal], then went to Sir Mark’s to see Raspoutine and loved him. He vetted really well and, looking at his videos, it looks like he’s been getting outpaced over a mile two. I hope we can get him to jump some hurdles and Mr Hayes can have some fun. 

“We’ll get him home, get him schooled and see where we go. He’s a beautiful horse, though. I actually loved him even more today than I did when I saw him on Tuesday. I’m delighted we got him. It’s a lot of money, but you have to pays your money and takes your chance.”

Fergal O’Brien signed for the promising RaspoutineCredit: Tattersalls/Laura Green

The Grade 1-winning trainer added: “The store sales have been so strong that I’ve been trying to buy Mr Hayes a horse for probably the best part of two months. 

“We went to Doncaster and there were horses we could’ve bought for £100,000, but they didn’t really fit the bill. I thought this lad would be somewhere between £80,000 and £120,000; that’s where we valued him. It’s no good just spending the money, though, it’s about getting a bit of value.”

Raspoutine is a sibling to nine winners including Cocked Hat Stakes scorers Michelangelo, who also ran third in the St Leger, and Private Secretary. 

Thorne makes Excellent purchase

Excellent Believe will switch from Jack Channon to Stephen Thorne after the County Dublin trainer went to 100,000gns for the talented four-year-old. The son of Make Believe won three of his 11 starts for Channon and Jaber Abdullah, and achieved his peak RPR of 111 when runner-up to Zeus Olympios in the Group 3 Superior Mile Stakes. 

He was last seen finishing 13th in the Coral Challenge Handicap at Sandown on Saturday. 

“He’s strung five solid efforts together in stakes company,” said Thorne. “Obviously we have to forgive the last two runs but when you come to these sales you always have to be prepared to forgive a run or two; otherwise we’re coming up against buyers from markets we’ve nowhere near the money to try and compete with. 

“He was drawn very wide last week at Sandown and was on the wrong side in the Royal Hunt Cup on his penultimate start. He’ll be targeted at the big premier handicaps back home and hopefully he’ll get back to the stakes form he showed back in the spring. Jack said he’s shown his ability all the way through the season, and in those big handicaps it’s luck of the draw really.” 

Thorne added: “He’ll have a little break now and we’ll plan for an autumn campaign. He was second to Zeus Olympios, who went on to be placed in the Lockinge, with juice in the ground at Haydock, so he handles cut underfoot. At the moment he’s for Shamrock Thoroughbreds.”

Stephen Thorne: "We only have two opportunities a year to buy this type of horse"Credit: Tattersalls/Laura Green

Thorne has already made an impact in his first couple of seasons with a licence, with the likes of Gleneagle Bay, Jagged Edge and Sir Les Patterson showing smart form this season. He expanded on the importance of these sales for trainers looking to make headway without the kind of budgets required to compete at the headline yearling sales. 

“We only have two opportunities a year to buy this type of horse,” he said. “And every year the pool seems to get more and more narrow. I tried on one horse yesterday and he made 160,000gns, which didn't make sense to me. We’ve always had plenty of luck at these sales, though. 

“There was Current Option many years ago, Jagged Edge is a more recent one and we bought Sir Les Patterson here last year and he worked out very well for us. We’re trying to increase the quality all the time and hopefully Excellent Believe will add to it.” 

Excellent Believe made his third appearance at the sales by far his most fruitful. He first cost JC Bloodstock 22,000gns as a foal before Channon, Armando Duarte and John Kilbride signed at €55,000 at the Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale. 

O'Dwyer eyes dual-purpose role for Poetry 

Agent Darren O’Dwyer got among the buyers signing for a six-figure lot when going to 100,000gns for Poetry Of Time. The three-year-old son of Ulysses won his last two starts for the Haggas yard and owners Simon Munir and Isaac Souede, with his most recent victory gaining an RPR of 88. 

“He’s been bought for Syd Hosie,” said O’Dwyer. “We liked his profile, he’s won over seven furlongs around Chepstow and he’s by Ulysses, so there’s plenty of options. He’s been bought to be a dual-purpose horse. He’s a nice individual and came highly recommended so we’re hoping he works out. If he can jump, hopefully we’ll have a nice juvenile hurdler on our hands. If not, we can go back on the Flat with him and contest some nice races.”

Darren O'Dwyer: "You never like to spend that kind of money but that’s what they cost in this day and age"Credit: Tattersalls/Laura Green

He added: “With the way the sale is going, and with a lot of good people on him, we knew it was going to be tough to buy him. You never like to spend that kind of money but that’s what they cost in this day and age. Syd’s had a good spring and has a lot of nice horses and a good team for the winter, hopefully this horse can be another good addition.” 

He's Waliim heads west

Those prices were superseded when Qatar-based trainer Ibrahim Al-Malki went to 150,000gns for He's Waliim during the morning session.

The three-year-old son of Too Darn Hot made all to win a Beverley maiden on his juvenile debut and doubled his tally last time out when landing a Sandown handicap by four and a half lengths. The latter effort earned an RPR of 100. He was previously trained by James Tate. 

He's Waliim was knocked down to Ibrahim Al-Malki for 150,000gnsCredit: Tattersalls/Laura Green

“He goes to Qatar and should be competitive in the stakes races over a mile,” said Al-Malki. “He likes firm ground and ticks all the boxes for us. We bought two further horses at the sale and they will ship straight to Qatar. This sale works well to get the horses ready for our autumn season.” 

All told, Al-Malki spent 235,000gns on his three recruits. 

He's Waliim was bred by Willie Carson’s Minster Stud and is out of the Group-placed Galileo mare Phiz, making him a sibling to four winners. The best of those is the Group 2-placed Al Madhar. He's Waliim was bought for previous owner Jaber Abdullah through Rabbah Bloodstock for 75,000gns at Book 1 in 2024.

Key stats hold up despite drop in numbers 

The slimmed-down July Sale catalogue saw the offering reduced by 20 per cent (128 lots) compared to last year’s edition. In turn, aggregate sales fell by 18 per cent year-on-year to 13,837,500gns. 

However, the demand for the stock on offer was highlighted by the average and median remaining almost identical to 2025 at 29,820gns and 15,000gns respectively. The clearance rate was 91 per cent, up from 88 per cent, as 464 lots found new homes.

In his end-of-sale statement, Tattersalls managing director Matthew Prior said: “The Tattersalls July Sale is one of the highlights of the bloodstock calendar and, together with top-class racing at Newmarket, makes ‘July Week’ an unmissable event for many and we have welcomed a wide range of domestic and international visitors to a sun-drenched Park Paddocks this week.

“Whilst the catalogue may have lacked some of the stars of previous years, we have nonetheless witnessed vibrant trade for top-class breeding stock and racing prospects, particularly among the highly sought-after consignments from Godolphin and Juddmonte, which included two of the top ten prices ever achieved at this fixture, both purchased by Ace Stud.

“The sale has also attracted the customary strong contingent of buyers from throughout the Middle East who, despite the ongoing challenges facing the region, have attended in large numbers and made their usual impact at Park Paddocks. As ever, we are extremely appreciative of their continued patronage.

“They have been joined by buyers from throughout Europe and further afield, thanks in no small part to the endeavours of our overseas representatives. Visitors have included buyers from Australia, France, Germany, Italy, India, Malaysia, the Philippines, Scandinavia, Spain and North America.”

More from the Tattersalls July Sale: 

‘We’re always trying to upgrade’ - smart filly sells for 240,000gns as online action continues and a new buyer emerges 

‘Renaissance Lady really is something of a collector’s item’ - up-and-coming bloodstock operation buys into a dynasty at 500,000gns