DUBAWI all the way. That was the verdict when the curtain finally fell on the Tattersalls December Foal Sale last Saturday night.

As we went to press last week two fillies by the Darley stallion were leading the way, but the best was yet to come. West Blagdon Stud sent a daughter of Dubawi out of the Group 3 High Chaparral mare High Heeled through the ring and when the hammer finally fell it was at a European high price of 800,000gns. Not surprisingly it was John Ferguson who signed for her.

High Heeled was placed in both the Coronation Cup and the Oaks and her half-sister bred the Irish 1000 Guineas winner Just The Judge. That racemare went through the same ring a year ago and sold for 4.5 million guineas.

Dubawi was not the only sire hitting the heights during the week. Another to the fore was the Tsui family’s Sea The Stars who stands at the Aga Khan’s Gilltown Stud and he had three of the top eight lots during the week. Shadwell bought two of these and the more expensive was Fittocks Stud’s son of Fresnay, a Rainbow Quest dam of a stakes winner. He cost Sheikh Hamdan 400,000gns.

Shortly before the colt was sold Castletown Stud’s Sea The Stars filly out of a winning half-sister to German champion three-year-old Dai Jin was also snapped up by Shadwell, this time with a price tag of 270,000gns.

STARS SELL WELL

Six produce by Sea The Stars sold for 200,000gns or more and another in that group was New England Stud’s half-brother to stakes winners Whazzis and Whazzat, from the family of Invincible Spirit and Kodiac, and Sunderland Holding Inc gave 240,000gns for him. The Fagans’ Deerpark Stud sold the best-priced Kodiac foal of the week, receiving 255,000gns for a half-sister to the 2015 Group 3 winning juvenile Shaden. From the family of Lahib, the filly will be heading to the USA after her acquisition by Dromoland Farm. Another Irish farm to do well with a Kodiac was the Cassidys’ Nafferty Stud and they got 200,000gns from John Ferguson for the second foal and first colt of the unraced Dubai Destination mare Analysis, from the family of Dancing Brave.

There were just two foals in the sale by Dansili and both were colts offered from West Blagdon Stud. Abbeylands Farm paid 240,000gns for the second foal of the Group 3 winning Halling mare Havant minutes before Rob Speers spent 230,000gns for a half-brother to the Group 3 winning Irish juvenile Bye Bye Birdie, their dam being an own-sister to champion Sulk and half-sister to the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup winning Dansili filly Dank.

Shamardal was another sire whose progeny were in great demand and Frank Motherway’s Yellowford Farm consigned a son of the dual champion racehorse on behalf of Brucetown Farms and he sold to McMahon and Hill Bloodstock for 220,000gns.

CASTLEBRIDGE DOUBLE

The Castlebridge Consignment included sons of Oasis Dream and Iffraaj that sold minutes apart for 220,000gns and 200,000gns respectively. The latter is a half-brother to this year’s smart juvenile Foundation, winner of the Group 2 Royal Lodge Stakes and placed in the Group 1 Racing Post Trophy.

Late in the session on Friday evening Ballybin Stud’s Dawn Approach half-brother to the Group 2 Hungerford Stakes winner Breton Rock sold to Stauffenberg Bloodstock Services for 180,000gns. Peter and Ross Doyle Bloodstock gave 175,000gns for Oghill House Stud’s Shamardal half-brother to stakes winner Mixed Intention. That was one bid more than New England Stud got for their Shamardal half-brother to smart 2015 juvenile White Bullet. He cost Ebor Bloodstock 170,000gns.

The top-priced foal on Saturday was Usk Valley Stud’s Dark Angel colt from the family of Group 1 winning siblings Cerulean Sky, Moonstone and L’Ancresse. Yeomanstown Stud signed for him at 170,000gns. That was also the price paid by Camas Park Stud for Yellowford Farm’s Camelot colt out of an own-sister to Mahler and from the family of Footstepsinthesand and Power. Crimbourne Stud’s Exceed And Excel half-sister to a pair of stakes winners was snapped up by Blandford Bloodstock for 160,000gns while Brendan Holland’s Grove Stud acquired an Oasis Dream filly, the first foal of a listed winner by Dalakhani, for 150,000gns and this was also the value of Bryanstown House Stud’s Dawn Approach half-brother to Ektihaam which sold to Camas Park Stud.

FERGUSON’S SPEND

Ballybin Stud’s Iffraaj half-brother to the Nell Gwyn Stakes winner Esentepe sold for 140,000gns to John Ferguson and was just one of the 24 lots bought by Sheikh Mohammed’s advisor for a total spend of 4,549,000gns. This made him the leading purchaser of foals, followed by Peter and Ross Doyle who spent almost 2.5 million guineas for 28 lots, including the sale’s second highest priced foal for Mayfair Speculators. Shadwell spent 1,772,000gns on 12 lots.

The Castlebridge Consignment headed Trickledown Stud for the honour of being leading vendors with 41 lots selling for 1,863,800gns. Special mention must be made of Airlie Stud and Kenilworth House Stud, both of which sold three foals each for averages of 278,333gns and 255,000gns.

On Saturday night Tattersalls chairman Edmond Mahony commented: “The highest priced foal to be sold in Europe this year; three filly foals all by the outstanding Dubawi making more than 600,000gns, and record turnover for the third consecutive year are tributes to a catalogue which, as ever, has featured so many of the best foals to be found in Britain and Ireland. “The 800,000gns European top price for West Blagdon Stud’s Dubawi filly out High Heeled is the highest priced filly to sell at the Tattersalls December Foal Sale since 2002, and the fourth highest ever in Europe. In addition nearly 80 foals have sold for 100,000gns or more this week which is another record for the sale and a real indication of the intense competition for the best foals throughout the week.

“The Tattersalls December Foal Sale is primarily the domain of British and Irish pinhookers and they have worked tirelessly all week, joined in increasing numbers by international owners looking for quality foals to race. Buyers from America, China, Hong Kong, South Africa, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates have all purchased foals for 200,000gns or more and made a huge contribution.

“While there have been many positives to take from this week’s sale it would be wrong to overlook the impact of a significantly larger catalogue than last year. Only twice have we offered more foals at the December Foal Sale, and the larger numbers have resulted in a more selective market and a lower clearance rate than in recent years, very much mirroring the dynamics at play in the yearling market.”