Tattersalls average up at opener

The Tattersalls October yearling sale, the largest Thoroughbred yearling auction in Europe, with more than 1,000 horses cataloged, opened Tuesday with a bullish first session.

A Kingmambo colt out of Irtifa topped the opener at $915,075. Shadwell Estate Co. bought the colt, a half-brother to the stakes-placed North American winner With Certainty, from European Sales Management.

The opening session saw the average price rise 33 percent to 76,239 guineas, or about $132,885. The top of the market appeared to be fueling the increase, as the 2003 opener's top price was 40 percent higher than last year's. Overall, the 2003 opening session sold 186 lots for $24,716,612, a gain of 27 percent when compared to last year's gross. Last year's opening day sold 194 yearlings.

The auction is divided into two portions. The first runs through Friday, with a second portion set for Oct. 13-15.