BOOK 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale is never short of egos, entertainment and eye-watering prices, but things kicked up a notch 12 months ago, when frenzied bidding sent records tumbling. Book 1’s previous highs were set in 2022, when the top of the market was boosted by Richard Knight’s spend on behalf of Saleh Al Homaizi, who later failed to pay his bill.

Last year, Kia Joorabchian brought a taste of the dramatics to Park Paddocks, signalling the approach of a top lot when he took his place in the ring. With the assistance of Alex Elliott and others, Amo Racing racked up a spend of 19,575,000gns on 17 yearlings, with only Godolphin exceeding their outlay at 22,020,000gns.

It was Amo Racing who set a new European record for a yearling colt when stretching to 4.3 million guineas for Lodge Park Stud’s son of Wootton Bassett. Subsequently sent to Karl Burke and named Poker, Kia Joorabchian’s recruit was sent off 11/8 favourite on debut last month and finished sixth.

The sale’s top lot, a Frankel filly bought by Amo for 4.4 million guineas, has been named Partying and is, as yet, unraced for Kevin Philippart De Foy.

Tough act to follow

Despite cataloguing the smallest number of yearlings in the sale’s history, the turnover reached new heights at 129,648,000gns (after private sales), which in turn produced a record average price of 370,501gns and unprecedented median of 250,000gns.

Book 1 is always a sale consignors want to sell at, but one can safely presume that Tattersalls was inundated with entries this year. The team whittled it down to 537 for the catalogue - an increase of 20% on last year - and quality hasn’t suffered for the increase in quantity. As chairman Edmond Mahony stated, it contains “the pedigrees of the finest yearlings Europe has to offer”.

At publishing date, the number of siblings to Group/Grade 1 winners stood at 50, but that number has since risen to 53, thanks to recent performances. Twenty-five of the yearlings catalogued are out of Group/Grade 1 winners, while an impressive 153 are out of stakes winners.

The Irish Champions Festival provided some envious updates, with Glenvale Stud’s 190,000gns pinhook of a Blackbeard colt (Lot 230) now looking more inspired than brave after the brother, Arizona Blaze (by another Scat Daddy sire in Sergei Prokofiev), won the Group 1 Flying Five Stakes.

Eve Johnson Houghton proved you needn’t have a massive budget to beat the best when her and Anthony Bromley’s 35,000gns Book 2 buy Zavateri captured the National Stakes, much to the delight of his breeders John and Tanya Gunther. They offer a Ghaiyyath half-sister via Newsells Stud as Lot 534 this week, with the same draft also featuring a Frankel own-brother to the 2024 top lot.

At 40 yearlings, The Castlebridge Consignment offers the largest draft, which includes a Wootton Bassett half-brother to last month’s Moyglare Stud Stakes heroine Precise (Lot 514), a Frankel sister to Luxembourg (Lot 37), a St Mark’s Basilica brother to Derby hero Anthony Von Dyck and a Wootton Bassett half-brother to Ghaiyyath (Lot 304).

Proven pedigrees

Thanks to some exciting updates, Tally-Ho Stud have the task of selling four siblings of Group 1 winners from their consignment of 16. Even without those pedigrees, the O’Callaghan family’s offering should be in high demand, considering they sold Group 1 winners Venetian Sun and Wise Approach at last year’s sale. Their siblings are catalogued next week, along with a Starman half-brother to Power Blue (Lot 499) and a full-brother to Nunthorpe Stakes winner The Platinum Queen (Lot 474).

Joe Rogers’ Ballintry Stud bring just one yearling to Newmarket, but the Blackbeard filly (Lot 170) is a precious commodity as a half-sister to Goliath, who gained his second Group 1 success since the catalogue was printed.

Finbar Kent made a fantastic start to consigning on his own earlier this year and makes his Book 1 debut with two fillies; a Saxon Warrior half-sister to dual Group 3 winner One Look (Lot 186) and a Sea The Stars filly from the family of Pentire (Lot 211). Both were pinhooked by Integral Bloodstock, for €80,000 and 90,000gns respectively.

The catalogue is filled with brave pinhooks, and the lowest-priced foal is already punching above its weight in terms of its yearling sales date. Bought by the Gleeson brothers’ Aughamore Stud for €20,000, Lot 305 is a Maxios colt out of a Galileo half-sister to Study Of Man.

The most expensive pinhook is Lot 200, sourced by Howson & Houldsworth Bloodstock and Flintstone Bloodstock for 410,000gns. Reoffered by The Castlebridge Consignment, the brother to Facteur Cheval (Ribchester) is one of 30 yearlings catalogued by Wootton Bassett.

The catalogue contains 11 yearlings by Dubawi, 30 by Frankel, 27 by Kingman, 33 by Lope De Vega, 34 by Night Of Thunder, 27 by No Nay Never and 35 by Sea The Stars. When the catalogue was published, siblings to Alpinista and Field Of Gold were obvious standouts, but both were withdrawn last week.

As well as the yearlings mentioned above, other pedigree highlights include:

Lot 7: Wootton Bassett filly out of dual Group 1 winner Again

Lot 28: Frankel half-sister to top-class sprinter Battaash and Group 1 performer The Antarctic

Lot 38: Too Darn Hot colt out of champion three-year-old filly Attraction, making him a half-brother to three stakes winners

Lot 71: Dubawi half-sister to champion St Mark’s Basilica and 2000 Guineas victor Magna Grecia

Lot 95: Too Darn Hot brother to top two-year-old filly Skitter Scatter

Lot 157: Dark Angel own-brother to champion miler Charyn

Lot 163: Frankel colt out of multiple Group 1 winner Glass Slippers

Lot 218: Dubawi colt out of Nassau Stakes winner Lady Bowthorpe

Lot 266: No Nay Never colt out of Cheveley Park Stakes heroine Millisle

Lot 337: Frankel colt out of French 1000 Guineas heroine Precieuse

Lot 368: Starspangledbanner half-sister to Matron Stakes heroine No Speak Alexander, whose Night Of Thunder filly sold for €1 million at Goffs earlier this week

Lot 382: Dubawi colt out of Group 1-winning sprinter Romantic Proposal

Lot 424: Sea The Stars filly out of champion two-year-old filly Skitter Scatter

Lot 428: Dubawi colt out of Frankel’s Falmouth Stakes winner Snow Lantern

Lot 468: Daughter of French 1000 Guineas winner Teppal, by Siyouni

Lot 508: Dubawi half-sister to Waldgeist, whose four Group 1 wins included an Arc victory