The Tattersalls July Sale got off to a solid start on the opening day in Newmarket Tuesday morning with the traditional mixed offering. It featured 147 lots selling for 1.81 million guineas at a clearance rate of 78%. The average for the day was 12,373 guineas and the median 5,000 guineas.
The July Sale has always been a source of high-class horses-in-training and breeding stock, not least the dams of 2009 Group 1 winners St Nicholas Abbey (Montjeu) and Jan Vermeer (Montjeu).
The opening session was topped by the unraced three-year-old Pivotal filly Flag Day who was knocked down to agent Amanda Skiffington for 115,000 guineas. The Darley consigned filly is a daughter of the European Champion two-year-old Danzig filly Blue Duster and a half-sister to Blue Symphony, dam of the Group 1 placed filly Fantasia. Skiffington purchased the filly on behalf of Oakgrove Stud’s John Deer after seeing off the efforts of locally based agent Margaret O’Toole.
The same team of Skiffington and Deer had earlier been under-bidder on the Cape Cross filly Cross Section who was offered in foal to Darley’s Dubawi who has had a sensational start to his stud career. The half-sister to the Listed winners Il Warrd and Coy is out of the Machiavellian mare Demure and was knocked down to London based agent Charlie Gordon-Watson for 110,000 guineas on behalf of US breeder Bill McAlpin’s Greenwood Lodge Farm.
Oakgrove Stud’s John Deer made his presence felt again later in the day when he secured the Medicean filly Zarkavean for 75,000 guineas via Amanda Skiffington. She is a daughter of the Darshaan mare Zafadola, third in the Group 1 Irish St Leger and dam of the Group 3 winner Emily Bronte and Listed winner Zelanda.
Zarkavean was consigned to the sale by Bill & Tara Dwan’s The Castlebridge consignment in foal to the Group 1 Prix du Moulin winner Aqlaam.
The recent lifting on the ban on the importation of mares from the UK into India had an immediate effect on the opening day with locally based agent Anthony Stroud buying six lots bought on behalf of Indian clients for a total of 178,500 guineas.
Trading continues at Newmarket on Wednesday and Thursday both before and after racing at the July course while Friday has a single morning session. Inglis bloodstock director Jonathan D’Arcy will be on the rostrum through the July Sale. Tattersalls bought a significant shareholding in Inglis two years ago.
1 Guinea = AUD 1.89