Shadwell again buys day's top lot at Tattersalls

Sheikh Hamdan al-Maktoum's Shadwell Estate Company paid $368,953 (220,000 guineas) for the session-topping yearling on Wednesday to close Book 2 at the Tattersalls October yearling sale in Newmarket, England.

After three days of selling, gross, average, and median figures at the sale all declined compared with last year's three-day Book 2 sale, according to figures provided by the company. Gross receipts declined 3.5 percent to $34,489,577 for 606 horses sold, compared with $35,735,459 for 509 horses sold last year. The average dropped 18.9 percent, from $70,207 last year to $56,913 this year, and the median dropped 20.3 percent to $41,923.

Prices at many yearling sales in Europe and the U.S. have declined by double-digits over the past year because of the recession and its impact on the bloodstock market.

The session-topping colt on Wednesday is by Medicean out of the Rainbow Quest mare Navajo Rainbow. At Tuesday's session, Shadwell also signed for the co-session topper, a $433,000 yearling colt by Invincible Spirit out of the Sadler's Wells mare Eminencia.