THE lure of a £100,000 bonus for a graduate winning at this year’s Royal Ascot meeting and a much reduced catalogue could not stop a decline in the key figures at this year’s Tattersalls Ascot Breeze Up Sale. Extracting market trends from the first breeze up sale of the year in Europe is impossible at this stage.

Fewer vendors returned home with their offerings, thanks to a large improvement in the clearance rate, and there was plenty of money available for horses who performed well in the trials beforehand. This was most evident in the case of the sale topper, the last lot to go through the ring.

Consigned by Thomond O’Mara’s Knockanglass Stables, the son of Swiss Spirit was purchased by Kilronan Stud for €15,000 at last year’s Orby Sale and this time his value soared to £110,000 after he recorded the best of the privately recorded times while breezing. He was one of a number of purchases at the sale by trainer Jamie Osborne, who faced a stern challenge for the colt from Matt Coleman acting for the Cool Silk Partnership.

Osborne revealed that the colt was bought for a trading partnership who intend to purchase more at the upcoming sales. The sale topper was always set to be a headliner and O’Mara had recommended him strongly to Osborne.

Another of the sale’s best prices given by Osborne was £60,000 for a son of the first-season sire Gutaifan offered from the Slattery’s Meadowview Stables. The trainer was keen on the colt, revealing that he has a couple of others in the yard by the sire and they have been giving him all the right signs.

Matt Coleman gained compensation for the Cool Silk Partnership when paying £85,000 and £60,000 respectively for a son of Coach House and a daughter of Hot Streak. The former was one of the most successful pinhooks of recent times, going from a £2,000 yearling purchase at Tattersalls Ascot, to a whopping £85,000 this time. He was sold by Robson Aguair and Coleman had to fend off the buying power of Middleham Park Racing to secure the colt.

From the second crop of Coach House who did very well with his first runners from a smaller crop than most, the colt impressed Aguair so much that he acquired both his half-brother and their dam subsequently. Should this year’s two-year-old fulfil his consignor’s prediction and become a stakes horse, Aguair will be smiling even more broadly than he was on Wednesday.

HOT STREAK

Another graduate of the Tattersalls Ascot ring to record a handsome profit was the best-priced filly on the day, Dunsany Stables’ daughter of Hot Streak. She is from the first crop of the Tweenhills sire and cost Danny Benson £20,000 last year. She made three times that amount this time and Matt Coleman already has the Queen Mary Stakes in mind for her. The first foal out of a half-sister to the German classic winner Hawksmoor, she will be trained by Richard Fahey.

Another Irish vendor who will be pleased with his sale is Johnny Collins of Brown Island Stables. He bought a couple of yearlings last year in America by Summer Front, a Grade 2 stakes winner by War Front, and the first of these was sold to Richard Brown and Richard Hughes for £85,000. Brown will offer another at the sale in Doncaster.

At the conclusion of the day, director of horses in training sales Richard Pugh was keen to emphasise the massive upswing in the percentage of lots sold. “Achieving a healthy clearance rate was our foremost priority entering this year’s Tattersalls Ascot Breeze Up Sale. An increase in the clearance rate to 86% was achieved following a notable effort from the entire team since last year’s sale.

“The £100,000 Royal Ascot Bonus caught the imagination of both vendors and purchasers and a reduced catalogue ensured vibrant trade from start to finish. Tattersalls Ascot Breeze Up Sale has celebrated some notable graduates over the years including Group 1 winners The Wow Signal and Sands Of Mali, and is an established date in the breeze up calendar.

“Whilst top lots often grab headlines, it was extremely gratifying to see Robson Aguair pinhook his son of Coach House from £2,000 from our own Ascot Yearling Sale in September to realise £85,000 here today. We would like to thank Ascot Racecourse for producing an ideal breezing track yesterday and GBRI who have assisted us greatly in attracting overseas clients.”