THE 86-rated three-year-old Arctic Grey will continue his career in Bahrain after topping the Tattersalls Online October Sale at 66,000gns.

The Dark Angel gelding, whose two wins for Richard Hannon came over a mile, will now be trained by Paul Smith, who recently took over the training licence from his father Allan.

The grey was secured by bloodstock agent Richard Frisby, who commented: “For someone who still relies on a catalogue rather than an iPad for most sales, I approached today’s Online Sale with a degree of apprehension!

“Pre-sale vetting and good photos and videos give buyers tremendous confidence in the whole process, which is uncomplicated and very efficient.”

Arctic Grey was one of 62 lots to sell, from an offering of 144. The average price returned at 7,190gns, while the median price was 4,100gns.

The second-highest price was paid for Danny Kearns, as the owner bought out a partner in the Mark Loughnane-trained sprinter Bright at 47,000gns. The five-time winner by Starspangledbanner was offered with a rating of 80.

With an official rating of 93, the Ed Bethell-trained four-year-old Old Cock was the highest-rated horse in the catalogue and will transfer to Antony Brittain’s Northgate Lodge Stud after selling for 26,000gns.

The winner of the valuable Hambleton Handicap in May, the Calyx gelding is a half-brother to Godolphin’s 450,000gns buy Avicenna, who is now two from two after a listed winner. Their sister by Starspangledbanner topped Tattersalls Book 2 last week at 900,000gns.

Next generation

Of the 13 yearlings offered, six sold, though three were bought by Mark Walford from his own stables, including the highest-priced at 12,000gns. Tony Smurfit’s Forenaghts Stud was among those to utilise the online platform, selling a State Of Rest filly to Martin Hayes for 10,500gns.

The March-born bay is a sister to five winners, including listed scorer Smuggler’s Moon. Strategic Prince and champion three-year-old filly Ramruma feature further down the page.

After Thursday’s sale, Forenaght’s stud manager Caoimhe Doherty commented: “This was our first time selling a yearling online and I am delighted with the result and how smooth and easy the whole process was.

“I had plenty of phone calls and emails over the past two days and obviously, with the vetting beforehand, it makes the sale seamless and more transparent. I will definitely be using the platform to sell yearlings again.”

The next opportunity to sell with Tattersalls Online is the Online Yearling Session and the Online November Sale, both of which begin on November 18th.

All entries can be submitted through the Tattersalls Online website.

Web: tattersallsonline.com.