Tattersalls has sale-record price
A $729,330 colt by Invincible Spirit set a sale-record price Thursday at the Tattersalls July sale in Newmarket, England.
The 3-year-old colt, Business as Usual, won once at 2 and again this year from four starts to date. The Kern/Lillingston agency's Alastair Donald purchased him and said the colt will head to Hong Kong trainer John Moore, possibly to point for the Hong Kong Derby. Business as Usual is out of the stakes-producing Irish River mare Lesgor. The price in local currency is 460,000 guineas.
Trained by Michael Jarvis for Paul Makin, the colt beat future Britannia Handicap winner Ransom Note in his most recent start in May at Newmarket.
Thursday's selling was still under way at 3:30 p.m. Eastern
On Wednesday, a 115,000-guinea Pastoral Pursuits winner named Drawing Board was the top-priced horse on a day of declines. The top price was the equivalent of about $182,333.
Drawing Board, a 2-year-old colt, is out of the Danzero mare Grand Design. Ramzi Hassan purchased the colt from trainer Kevin Ryan's Hambleton Lodge Stables.
Wednesday's selling, divided into two sessions, sold a total of 149 horses, up from last season's 136, but gross fell by 2 percent, average by 11 percent, and median by 20 percent.
American buyer Tony Grey, breeder and co-owner of recent Prioress Stakes Franny Freud, took advantage of the relatively strong dollar-to-pound exchange rate and bought the day's second-most expensive horse, juvenile Moment of Weakness, for 100,000 guineas, or about $158,550. A Big Bad Bob gelding, Moment of Weakness was a late entry to the auction. He has won twice on synthetic surfaces and placed in listed company on the turf in Ireland in his most recent start. A bay son of Kristal's Dream, by Night Shift, he came to the auction ring from trainer Jessica Harrington's Commonstown Racing Stables. Harrington sold Moment of Weakness on behalf of Harrington's husband John.
Plans call for Moment of Weakness to race in the States, Grey said.
The Tattersalls July sale was to continue through July 9.