‘She’s a bit of an outcross’ – 250,000gns Now Or Never tops day one trade at the Tattersalls February Sale
Another top draw went to BBA Ireland’s Michael Donohoe as Tattersalls opened business for 2023 on Thursday.
During December’s Mares Sale, the agent sent shockwaves through Park Paddocks when he bid 5,400,000 gns for the four-time Group 1 alcohol-free winner, but this time around 250,000 gns was enough to lead the market as the first day of February -Auction produced more down -to-earth day trading.
The lot in question was ten-year-old Now Or Never, winner of the Group 3 Leopardstown 1,000 Guineas Trial and third to Jet Setting in the course of the 2016 Irish Classic. The Bushranger’s daughter later switched hemispheres where she raced as Now Or Later and the Blazers Group 2 stakes won.
The Tweenhills Farm and stud-supplied mare is also a half-sister to two-time Group 1 heroine Fairyland with the pair from Queenofthefairies, a Pivotal half-sister to champion sprinter and intelligent sire Dream Ahead. Now Or Never’s first foal, a colt by Zoustar, turned two this year and was offered in foal to Kameko, the hero of Tweenhills from 2,000 guineas.
“She was bought for a client who has mares in Europe and Australia,” Donohoe said. “She will be foaled in Ireland and then we will decide what to do with her. She could be taken to the southern hemisphere or sent to Australia. Obviously she was a great filly and it’s a real fast family.
Now Or Never was sold by David Redvers’ Tweenhills Farm and StudCredit: Laura Green
“Possibly the late cover or the fact that she missed a year [barren in 2022] might have put some people off as I thought it had some value. With her pedigree she can go to any stallion as she is a bit of an outcross. She had a lot of speed herself although she stayed a mile and physically we should have a lot of opportunities as she is a nice, decent sized mare.
Bred by Tally-Ho Stud, Now Or Never made her third public appearance. She was bought back from a seller in 2014 as a book 3 year old for just 10,000gns and later fetched £42,000 to BBA Ireland at the Doncaster Breeze-Up Sale the following year.
Donohoe also secured Mehmas the winning Pure Nature in foal at 85,000 gn and the well related First Snowfall at 68,000 gn.
Pure Nature, a Dansili half-sister to Listed Scorer Ghostwatch out of the Hernando family, was offered by Baroda Stud, while First Snowfall, a Dubawi daughter who shares her side with two-year-old Australian Champion and sire Pierro, was presented by The Castlebridge Broadcast. First Snowfall was cataloged as an unplaced but opened her account on her penultimate outing for Archie Watson and Hambleton Racing in a Newcastle handicap.
“It’s a great family and they’re going to come back to Ireland and a decision will be made about a stallion,” Donohoe said after signing with First Snowfall. “She will not stay in training, she has now won a race. It’s a real, deep family. There is a stallion on the side and with some international runners in the pedigree. She could land in Australia in time. She is by Dubawi, who should become a real broodmare sire.”
Bronsan Racing secures a rare breed
A well-behaved colt from Galileo’s penultimate crop was the first lot to break into six-figure territory as Tattersalls’ Jason Singh, receiving instructions over the phone from Neil Sands, outbid the O’Callaghan family of Tally-Ho Stud by 140,000 gns.
Offered by Barton Stud on behalf of Lady Ogden, the two-year-old is a half-brother to two-time Group 1 winner Amazing Maria and joins the growing line of Bronsan Racing run by Sands and his father Con.
The two-year-old Galileo half-brother by Amazing Maria is in the Park Paddocks sales ring Credit: Laura Green
“They’re becoming a rare breed, these Galileos,” Sands said. “Obviously he was one of the greatest stallions of modern times and my father, the boss of our team, had had his sights set on this type of horse for a long time.
“We’re very pleased that we were able to close for the price we did – it could have doubled in Book 1! We have a fantastic network of helpers and Hubie de Burgh supported us with this purchase. The dream for this horse is to become a top racer and then a stallion prospect. You must have this dream, but sometimes we are afraid to dream!”
The youngster will travel to Ireland to start his time in training. Sands adds: “We have a good body in our stable in Joseph O’Brien but we will make a plan in the next few weeks. We are very excited to add him to our stable which is growing exponentially.
“We have horses in training in Australia and the UK, although most train in Ireland. We also have a couple of prospects for National Hunt and we’re looking forward to them for next season and looking forward to Cheltenham but the main focus for us is flat racing. We have around 40 horses in training, both in partnership and in our own possession.”
The colt is by Messias Da Silva, who was purchased from Sir Robert Ogden at the Fasig-Tipton Calder Two-Year-Olds in Training Sale in 2007 for $700,000. She won one of six starts after being sent to practice with Jeremy Noseda. to achieve a Lingfield Novice achievement on her second outing.
From the paddocks, however, she has exerted a far more significant influence as she is the mother of five winners, most notably Amazing Maria, whose five achievements include Group 1 wins at the Falmouth Stakes and the Prix Rothschild.
The amazing Maria and Messias Da Silva also went under the hammer during the December 2021 mare auction. Both were signed by Blandford Bloodstock, the former at 230,000 gns and the latter at 20,000 gns. Amazing Maria was covered by Camelot in 2022 while Messias Da Silva was visiting Ardad.
Merry discovers the outcross option
A second lot hit 140,000 gns later in the session when Hugo Merry secured Queenhope on behalf of Imad Al Sagar’s Blue Diamond Stud. Another Barton Stud winning Kendargent sister of Group 3 top scorer and Group 1 ranked Kenhope was offered as a foal to the red hot stallion New Bay by Ballylinch Stud.
“This mare is a complete outcross and will be a very easy mare to cover,” said Merry. “We saw her Galiway yearling at Barton Stud and she is a very, very good first foal. Queenhope is a very commercial mare and I know the family well through my client Dr. Poonawalla.”
Queenhope: well related daughter of Kendargent is sold to Hugo Merry for 140,000 gnsCredit: Laura Green
He added: “Blue Diamond was very keen to buy into this Gray Sovereign line. It’s so hard to buy interesting pedigrees now and ones that are a full outcross line and this family also goes back to Pat O’Kelly’s wonderful Flame Of Tara line. Physically Queenhope is right and she has plenty of room to carry a good foal – but it’s really the quality of her first foal that really sold her to us.”
Coleman to the point
Most of the interesting lots came in the later stages of the session including the 98,000 gns Moon De Vega offered by Jamie Railton and signed by Stroud Coleman Bloodstock’s Matt Coleman.
The four-year-old daughter of Lope De Vega won one of her nine appearances for Ralph Beckett and Regents Consulting and also achieved a top Racing Post Rating of 99 by finishing fourth in the Group 3 Hoppings Fillies’ Stakes.
“She was bought as a broodmare for an English breeder and is being bred commercially,” said Coleman. “Obviously she’s a smart racehorse from a great pedigree with Lope De Vega and Azamour [Moon De Vega’s damsire] are two broodmare sires that I also like very much. I thought she had a lot of quality and she’s a good walker.”
Moon De Vega: Consigned by Jamie Railton and sold to Stroud Coleman Credit: Laura Green
Railton also delivered another filly trained by Beckett in Apache Spark. The three-year-old daughter of Sioux Nation, who broke her maiden in Wolverhampton on Monday, went the way of stud Najd at 46,000 gns. The Saudi Arabian operation was another to make a splash at the Mares sale in December after buying Saffron Beach for 3,600,000 gns.
“She’s just a really nice person and Ralph did a great job with her,” Railton said. “It was bought by a really good organization and I hope it is successful for them. She’s looking at an upward curve and maybe that’s what she needs to increase it in the distance. She is a very athletic horse and very personable so the future is ahead of her.”
Sales for the session ended at 2,265,500 gns, down 27 per cent from last year, albeit from a supply that was down 13 per cent to 180, of which 141 were sold at a 78 per cent clip. The average declined 12 percent to 16,067 gns and the median fell 28 points to 6,500 gns from 9,000 gns 12 months ago.
The Tattersalls February Sale continues on Friday at 10am.
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