NEXT week we find out which owners and trainers are prepared to dig deepest to acquire the top lots at the Tattersalls Craven Breeze Up Sale.

Probably the most prestigious of all the breeze-ups, the Craven Sale has seen its reputation soar higher in the past 12 months thanks mainly to classic wins for 2021 graduates Native Trail and Cachet.

The 2022 sale saw Amo Racing and its sister operation Omnihorse play a prominent role. Other leading buyers included Dubai trainer Satish Seemar and Kuwaiti owner Sheikh Abdullah Al Malek Al Sabah.

Bonus scheme

There are just under 200 lots due to be offered for sale and all of them are eligible for the £250,000 Tattersalls Royal Ascot/Group 1 Bonus, won in its inaugural year by champion two-year-old Native Trail.

The scheme offers a £125,000 bonus for the first Craven Breeze Up winner of any of the six two-year-old races at the Royal meeting and an additional £125,000 bonus to the first Craven Breeze Up winner of any of the 15 European Group 1 races open to two-year-olds.

This is in addition to the £15,000 Tattersalls Craven Breeze Up Bonus which has already rewarded the owners of horses bought from the Craven Breeze Up Sale with over £550,000 in bonus prize money.

The catalogue features own or half-brothers and sisters to almost 30 group or listed winners, including the Kingman half-brother to European champion three-year-old colt and four-time Group 1 winner Golden Horn and a full brother to Group 1 winning sprinter The Tin Man, by Equiano.

Other colts with top-class siblings include the Ten Sovereigns half-brother to Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint and multiple Grade 1 winner Obviously and the Siyouni full-brother to Grade 1 runner up Walk In Marrakesh.

Well-bred fillies

Amongst the well-related fillies in the catalogue are the Territories half-sister to last year’s Cartier European champion two-year-old filly Lezoo and half-sisters to Group 1 placed two-year-olds Rumble Inthejungle and The Lir Jet, by Night Of Thunder and El Kabeir respectively.

There are a further 23 two-year-olds out of group or listed-winning mares catalogued, including the Medaglia D’Oro colt out of the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint winner Belvoir Bay.

Other notable lots include the Kingman colt out of the dual Group/Grade 3 winner Stellar Path, the Mehmas colt out of Group 3 winner Obama Rule, already the dam of Group 2 winner and Group 1 placed Insinuendo, the Sea The Stars colt out of listed winner Sequilla and the Showcasing colt out of Group 1 runner- up Sorella Bella.

The 13 juveniles catalogued by exciting first crop sire Blue Point include several out of dams with high class two-year-old form, with colts out of the Group 1 Cheveley Park Stakes-placed Madeline and Group 3 Balanchine Stakes winner Most Beautiful and a filly out of Group 3 Princess Margaret Stakes winner Soraaya.

Leading sires

No less than 39 of the sires represented in the catalogue have already produced classic or Group 1 winners including Acclamation, Aclaim, Ardad, Cotai Glory, Dark Angel, Exceed And Excel, Farhh, Gleneagles, Invincible Spirit, Kingman, Kodiac, Lope De Vega, Mehmas, New Bay, Night Of Thunder, No Nay Never, Oasis Dream, Sea The Stars, Showcasing, Siyouni, Starspangledbanner and Wootton Bassett. Several of the standout young sires of last season are also well represented with two-year-olds by Havana Grey, Sioux Nation, Tasleet and Zoustar catalogued.

They are joined by a strong contingent of USA-based stallions including proven Grade 1 sires American Pharoah, Blame, Dialed In, Malibu Moon, Medaglia D’Oro, More Than Ready, Munnings, Nyquist and The Factor, as well as two exciting first-season sires in champion sprinter Mitole and Yoshida, a grandson of Sunday Silence and Grade 1 winner on both dirt and turf.

Their domestic contemporaries are equally impressive with Advertise, Blue Point, Calyx, Inns Of Court, Invincible Army, Land Force, Magna Grecia, Masar, Soldier’s Call, Ten Sovereigns and Too Darn Hot all represented by their first crops of two-year-olds.

Con Marnane’s Bansha House Stables and Willie Browne’s Mocklershill have the joint largest consignments with 11 juveniles catalogued, whilst last year’s sale-topping consignor Tally-Ho Stud will offer a total of 10 lots.

Classic vendors

Norman Williamson’s Oak Tree Farm, which sold Native Trail, has four well-bred colts catalogued and John Bourke’s Hyde Park Stud, which sold Cachet, will offer four colts and a filly.

In addition to all lots being eligible for both the £250,000 Royal Ascot/Group 1 Bonus and the £15,000 Craven Breeze Up Bonus, buyers looking to benefit from additional incentives will be well catered for with six lots entered in the hugely popular £20,000 Tattersalls October Book 1 Bonus and lots entered in lucrative sales races including the £100,000 Tattersalls Somerville Auction Stakes, the £150,000 Tattersalls October Auction Stakes and the €300,000 Tattersalls Ireland Super Auction Sales Stakes.

There are also 14 two-year-olds eligible for French owners’ premiums, five fillies registered for the Great British Bonus Scheme and nine lots entered in the Swedish Derby and Oaks Series.

Tattersalls Chairman Edmond Mahony said: “Last year’s sale has produced twice as many group/listed performers as any other 2022 European breeze up sale, a testament to the continued strong support of breeze up consignors. This year’s catalogue has both quality and quantity in abundance.”

The ‘breeze’ will start at 9am next Monday at Newmarket’s Rowley Mile. The sale takes place after racing on Tuesday and Wednesday, the first two days of Newmarket’s three-day Craven meeting.

Catalogue highlights

Lot 2: Mehmas half-brother to Group 2 winner Insinuendo, from Oak Tree Farm.

Lot 6: El Kabeir half-sister to Group 1 placed two-year-old The Lir Jet, from Aguiar Bldst.

Lot 9: Equiano full-brother to Group 1 winning sprinter The Tin Man, from Glending Stables.

Lot 38: Territories half-sister to European champion two-year-old filly Lezoo, from Tally-Ho Stud.

Lot 48: Sea The Stars colt out of listed winner Sequilla, from Mocklershill.

Lot 58: Showcasing colt out of Group 1 runner-up Sorella Bella, from Broadmeadow Stables.

Lot 63: Kingman colt out of the dual Group/Grade 3 winner Stellar Path.

Lot 84: Siyouni full-brother to Grade 1 runner up Walk In Marrakesh, from Oak Tree Farm.

Lot 106: Medaglia D’Oro colt out of the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint winner Belvoir Bay, from Powerstown Stud.

Lot 143: Dandy Man half-sister to Dundalk maiden winner Behind Enemy Lines who recently won well on US debut, from Greenhills Farm.

Lot 151: Kingman half-brother to European champion Golden Horn, from Malcolm Bastard.

Lot 162: Night Of Thunder half-sister to Group 1-placed two-year-old Rumble Inthejungle, from Grove Stud.

Lot 185: Ten Sovereigns half-brother to Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint winner Obviously, from Diego Dias Bldst.

Sale info

Sale: Tattersalls Craven Breeze Up Sale

Date/time: Horses will breeze at Newmarket’s Rowley Mile Racecourse on Monday, April 17th, starting at 9am. Selling starts after racing on Tuesday and Wednesday, April 18th-19th.

Lots: 202 catalogued, five withdrawals at time of writing.

Tel: 0044 1638 665931

Email: sales@tattersalls.com

Web: tattersalls.com