Record Turnover at Tattersalls

An electric day’s trade at the Tattersalls December sale in Newmarket yesterday produced an aggregate of over 36-million guineas, the highest single-day turnover ever seen at a European bloodstock auction. No less than three lots made 3 million guineas or more, and two of the trio came from the Sangster family’s Swettenham Stud.

Ocean Silk (bbc)The 10-strong dispersal brought in a total of 8,555,000gns, including session topper Ocean Silk (Dynaformer). The seven-year-old, a listed winner and runner-up in the 2003 G1 Yorkshire Oaks, sold in foal to Pivotal (GB) for 3.2-million guineas. She was the subject of a duel between John Ferguson and Coolmore’s Paul Shanahan, with the Sheikh Mohammed team prevailing once again.

Ferguson went to a world-record $10.5 million for the Swettenham Stud mare Playful Act (Ire) at Keeneland November. Ocean Silk, a $190,000 KEESEP yearling purchase by BBA Ireland supremo Adrian Nicoll, is from the family of two-time European champion filly Divine Proportions and G1SW Whipper. The day’s co-second top selling lot also came from the Swettenham consignment. MGISW Angara (GB) (Alzao) was purchased by London Thoroughbred Services, agent for Waddesdon Stud, for 3-million guineas.

After the Swettenham draft went through the ring, Ben Sangster reflected, “It is a sad day, but we have to be delighted with the prices. There are a lot of memories—Ocean Silk was bought as a yearling by Adrian Nicoll and trained by John Gosden, and we bought Angara privately and had a lot of sport with the pair of them.” Sangster added, “We’ll let the dust settle and see what the future holds, but I will have several horses running in my colours and I have a younger brother with two farms in Australia.”

Click here to watch the duel for Ocean Silk.

Extract from TDN 5.12.07