HAVANA Grey foals bred off the back of Vandeek’s unbeaten juvenile campaign led the way on the second day of the Tattersalls December Foal Sale, with five fetching six-figure sums, and a colt topping trade at 260,000gns.

Bred off an increased fee of £55,000, the stallion’s three highest-priced foals were consigned by his base of Whitsbury Manor Stud, who also bred the top lot’s listed-winning dam, Avengers Queen. The Harper family’s success fills the page, featuring Diligent Harry, El Caballo and Temple Meads

The Havana Grey colt’s responsibility now lies with Hillwood Stud’s Charlie Vigors, after outbidding Tina Rau, who was standing alongside Nick Bell of Haras de Meautry. Vigors commented: “We will get him home and make a plan from there, and he could well be coming back next year. Havana Grey needs no introduction. This colt has the physical, he has the page, and we are delighted to get him. I was hoping to spend less, and we were at our limit.

“Havana Grey has been good to us – in fact, he has been pretty good for everyone who has been involved with him. As the better mares are coming through, his profile is only going to keep on improving.”

Two for you, too

Vigors bought two by Havana Grey on the day, as did Tally-Ho Stud, costing 165,000gns and 105,000gns apiece. The most expensive of the pair also hailed from Whitsbury Manor Stud and marked a major improvement on his dam’s commerciality, the Hungarian winner having yielded prices of £11,000 and 2,500gns herself, before two of her siblings won stakes races.

“He is a good-walking, active sort,” Tony O’Callaghan said of her second foal. “We’ve had bits and bobs by the stallion before. We’ve bought two by him today, but we just worry about the model. We had 150 [thousand] in mind going in there if we wanted to give ourselves any chance of getting him.

Earlier in the session, Tally-Ho secured another Havana Grey colt from Baroda Stud for 105,000gns. The February-born grey is the first foal out of the winning Brazen Beau mare Della, who is a half-sister to two group performers.

Whitsbury Manor Stud bought Della for 35,000gns two years ago, when the Joseph O’Brien-trained Excesso Velocidad was vendored at 20,000gns. She since visited Havana Grey and the resulting colt sold to WH Bloodstock for 110,000gns on Wednesday.

Havana Grey’s highest-priced filly was presented by Hazelwood Bloodstock and knocked down to Yeomanstown Stud for 105,000gns. Her dam, Queen Kerenza, also proved a bargain buy in 2023, selling to Kerenza Partners for 14,000gns. The once-raced Kingman mare is catalogued as Lot 1636 next week, back in foal to Havana Grey.

THE market’s unforgiving nature drives demand for first crop foals, their sires without risk of declining in favour. It saw foals by Dragon Symbol and Shaquille top trade at Tuesday’s opening session and the latter continued his strong start on Wednesday, when Ace Stud gave 180,000gns for a colt from Genesis Green Stud.

“It is great indictment of the stallion that he has started off so very well commercially,” said Paul Curran, bloodstock and racing manager of Ace Stud, who stand Shaquille. “We came into this week wanting to buy the best by him and I think we have got that.

“It is nice to see that he is stamping his stock. They are bit like himself; he is a beautiful horse. His foals are of good size with substance, which is what we want to see, and they are strong and look precocious types.”

For Genesis Green Stud, Wednesday’s sale produced a well-deserved change of luck, as Michael Swinburn explained: “We bought the mare barren and she died a couple of weeks after foaling this colt.

“I just thought I'd be very clever and put a nice one by the sire in this sale, and I was very surprised when I saw the pedigrees of the foals by Shaquille in the book – I realised then that I was only one of a lot of good ones here!

“The stallion has to have a great chance with the mares he has had, and they have been going down a storm, all the proper people have been buying them. We have one on Friday, and we think he is really nice.”

Dr Till Grewe was another breeder rewarded for supporting Shaquille, with Camas Park Stud giving 125,000gns for a colt consigned by New England Stud. Out of the American-bred and German-trained listed winner Ronja, the colt is a half-brother to two stakes winners.

Shaquille’s penultimate offering on the night, a filly from Barton Stud, was knocked down to Michael Fitzpatrick’s JC Bloodstock for 115,000gns. She is the second foal out of the unraced mare Parlour Palm, who hails from the family of Foreteller, Prophecy and Showcasing

FOAL buyers have latched on to Ghaiyyath this month, his foals averaging €80,250 at Goffs, and two fetching six-figures on Wednesday. Harry Sweeney of Paca Paca Farm stretched to 160,000gns for Starfield Farm’s Ghaiyyath colt out of Spirituoso, a mare who was valued at 2,500gns in 2021.

“We bought the mare while she was in training,” Starfield Stud’s Michael Orlandi explained following the sale of the Spirituoso Partnership-bred foal. “We liked the pedigree, we went to Ghaiyyath, got a smashing foal and are delighted with this result.”

On using Ghaiyyath when he stood for €25,000 in 2024 [€20,000 in 2026], Orlandi said: “We selected the stallion because he was by Dubawi and was a top racehorse. We have a son of Dubawi at home - Dubawi Legend - and we are huge fans of Dubawi as a sire of sires.

“We thought that he is a stallion who was going to progress. He is at a price point that is achievable and affordable, and, thankfully, the stars aligned this evening, and it has been like that for the stallion this week.”

Earlier in the session, Kellsgrange Stud sold a Ghaiyyath colt to Kelly Equine for 125,000gns. The February-born bay is the first foal out of a full-sister to Group 2 scorer Fighting Irish, while the second dam is a full-sister to Lockinge Stakes victor Virtual.

This time last year, Ghaiyyath had just one stakes horse to his name, but has since sired a Group 1 winner in Australia, three group winners in the northern hemisphere and 14 blacktype horses worldwide. It’s hardly surprising that his stock were not precocious, given that Ghaiyyath himself was best as a five-year-old, giving pinhookers hope that his progeny will progress further in 2026.

TEN Sovereigns was exported to Turkey last year – the commercial kiss of death for some – but three Grade 1 winners in the interim has revived the former Castle Hyde Stud resident. One of the high-achieving trio was Lush Lips, who captured the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup last month and subsequently sold for $ 3.7million – a fine return on the £82,000 paid by Avenue Bloodstock, Medallion Racing and Donnacha O'Brien two years ago.

Avenue’s Mark McStay was responsible for buying Lush Lips’ full-brother for 150,000gns on Wednesday. “I have purchased this colt for Steve Weston of Parkland Thoroughbreds,” he explained. “He has been a really good client in recent years with Lush Lips and Porta Fortuna. This colt will probably go to Luke Barry's Manister House Stud, and Steve has the option to race or resell.”

“Ten Sovereigns has been very lucky for me,” the agent continued. “This is a really nice colt and when I saw him, I felt we had to have him. Lush Lips stays training next season and all roads led to the Breeders' Cup for her.

“Lush Lips was an outstanding physical and this foal is a really good type too, fair play to the Pococks. It is not an easy game breeding racehorses and that farm breeds winners, let's hope this is another good one.”

Lush Lips and her valuable brother were bred by the Pocock family at their Stringston Farm out of homebred mare Lamyaa. The daughter of Arcano won a Nottingham maiden for Shadwell before selling to BBA Ireland for €28,000 at Goffs. She is a half-sister to dual German group winner Electric Beat and to the dam of Group 1 filly Melo Melo.

At the close of business, 86% of 256 foals offered found a buyer, compared to 82% at the corresponding session 12 months ago. There were positive gains across the board, though not to as great an extent as on Tuesday. Turnover grew by 15%, while the median of 35,000gns and average of 47,425gns represented increases of 3% and 8% respectively.