Tattersalls October: Record median at first Book 1 session

The Tattersalls October yearling sale kicked off its Book 1 section, annually a showcase for Europe’s finest, with a session on Tuesday that posted declines in gross and average with fewer horses sold but also finished with a record median for a Tattersalls October opening-day session.

Tattersalls reported 107 horses sold for about $34.1 million (20,185,000 guineas) on Tuesday. Gross receipts were down 23 percent compared with the 2013 Book 1 opening session, when 124 horses sold for about $44.5 million (26,319,000 guineas). Tuesday’s average of about $318,000 (188,645 guineas) dropped 11 percent, but the median of about $236,000 (140,000 guineas) rose 19 percent, and marked a new high for a Tattersalls October opener. The buyback rate on Tuesday was 26 percent; it was 21 percent at last year’s opening session.

John Ferguson, bloodstock advisor for Sheikh Mohammed al-Maktoum, purchased Tuesday’s session-topper, spending about $1.3 million (775,000 guineas) for a son of Oasis Dream. Consigned by Floor Stud, the colt is out of the winning Montjeu mare Titivation, and is a half-brother to European champion and English and Irish One Thousand Guineas winner Attraction, also a stakes producer. Ferguson outbid American owner Jon Kelly and Turkish owner Ibrahim Araci for the colt.

American bloodstock agents Alex Solis and Jason Litt landed the second highest-priced yearling on Tuesday and the top filly, purchasing a daughter of Dansili for about $1.18 million (700,000 guineas). The filly, consigned by Ireland’s Croom House Stud, is a full sister to Group 1 winner Zoffany and is a half-sister to Group 3 winner Wilshire Boulevard and to That’s Plenty, stakes-placed in the U.S. this year.

The Tattersalls October yearling sale continues Wednesday with the second of three Book One sessions. The Book 1 section ends with a final session Thursday, and the Tattersalls October sale resumes next Monday with the first of three Book 2 sessions.

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