Record price at Tattersalls

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Led by a world record price for a weanling filly, the Tattersalls December foal sale completed its third of four sessions Friday, continuing the auction's upward trend with gains across the board.

A Giant's Causeway half-sister to European champion Galileo was Friday's session-topper at a record 1.8 million guineas, or about $2,929,500. American owner Charlotte Weber's Live Oak Stud bought the filly, a daughter of European champion Urban Sea, from the Irish National Stud's consignment. The Irish National Stud offered the filly on behalf of Sunderland Holding Inc.

The session sold a total of 164 lots for gross receipts of $13,856,372, up 14 percent from last year, when 178 head sold. The 2002 third-day average was $84,490, up 24 percent from last year's equivalent session.

The December sale's foal sessions were to run through Nov. 30. The foal sessions are followed by mare sales from Dec. 2 through Dec. 5.