Tattersalls mare sale declines on third day despite $1.6M Wild Coco

Despite selling group winner Wild Coco for $1.66 million, the Tattersalls December breeding sale’s third session in Newmarket, England, on Wednesday saw sharp drops in average and median.

Wednesday’s session, the third of four breeding stock sessions at the December sale series, ended with 211 horses sold for about $12,481,800. The average price was $59,156, with a median of $28,739. Compared year-to-year in the local auction currency of guineas, gross receipts dipped less than 1 percent from last year’s equivalent session, when 172 horses sold.

The average price fell by far more, dropping by 19 percent, and the median fell most sharply, by 29 percent. But the buy-back rate was 20 percent, down from 26 percent a year ago.

Wild Coco, a 4-year-old broodmare prospect by Shirocco, brought 985,000 guineas from Japan’s KI Farm, which is owned by Tomoyuki Nakamura. Keisuke Onishi of J S Company bid on Makamura’s behalf. The price in American terms was $1,665,100.

“I was just hoping the auctioneer would drop the hammer!” Onishi said. “I was on the phone to Japan and KI Farm for five minutes. I was a little nervous.”

Trained and consigned by Henry Cecil on Gestut Roettgen’s behalf, German-bred Wild Coco has won the Group 2 Park Hill Stakes and the Group 3 Lillie Langtry Stakes. Nakamura intends to keep her in training with Cecil, Onishi said, in hopes that she can win a European Group 1 next season. Wild Coco is from the family of German champion and good producer Wild Romance.

Rainbow Springs brought the session’s second-highest price of 440,000 guineas, about $743,800, from Caroline and Michael Wates’s Langton Stud. Buying agent Richard Brown said the Wateses purchased the 4-year-old, who is in foal to Oasis Dream, with a view toward upgrading their broodmare band. Consigned by Whatton Manor Stud, Rainbow Springs is a daughter of the Group 1-placed Pearl Dance, by Nureyev. A homebred for George Strawbridge, she was third in the Group 1 Prix Marcel Boussac at Longchamp in 2010. Her family includes Melbourne Cup winner Delta Blues and 2010 Blue Norther Stakes winner In the Slips.

U.S. breeders also were in evidence again on the six-figure purchase list Wednesday. Among them was Brookdale Farm, which picked up Mantilla, a half-sister to Group 1 producer Tantina, for $177,500. Brookdale also purchased the $194,400 Aptitude mare Pomarine, a half-sister to Grade 1 winner Senure and to Grade 3 winner Speak in Passing. Both Mantilla and Pomarine sold as part of Juddmonte Farms’ consignment.

An unidentified U.S.-based commercial breeder represented by Richard Brown bought the Giant’s Causeway mare Unreachable, whose dam, Harpia, is a full sister to Danehill, Eagle Eyed, and Shibboleth. Unreachable cost $278,900 and also was a Juddmonte consignee.

The Tattersalls December breeding stock sale will continue on Thursday with the final session beginning at 10 a.m. local time. Sessions stream live online at www.tattersalls.com.