Tattersalls session topped by $3.9M mare

Sumora, the dam of Group 1-winning juvenile Maybe, led a parade of high-priced fillies and mares Tuesday in the Tattersalls December breeding stock sale's second session in England.

Coolmore's M.V. Magnier paid 2.4 million guineas, about $3,931,200, for Sumora.

The session ended with a 31-percent increase in gross, and the average and median prices also gained ground, rising by 34 percent and 10 percent, respectively, over last year's figures. The session sold 160 horses for $41,373,914. The average price was $258,587, and the median was $90,090. The buy-back rate was 26 percent, compared to 24 percent at the equivalent session in 2010.

A 9-year-old stakes-winner, Sumora is a daughter of Coolmore's late sire Danehill and was in foal to their highly fashionable sire Galileo. That foal will be a full sibling to Maybe, favored for next year's 1000 Guineas. Sumora also is a three-quarter-sister to the 2011 Epsom Oaks winner, Dancing Rain.

Reve d'Iman, dam of the 2010 Irish 1000 Guineas winner, Bethrah, fetched 1.7 million guineas, or $2,784,600, from Katsumi Yoshida's Northern Farm. A 10-year-old Highest Honor mare is in foal to Montjeu.

Pearling, a 5-year-old full sister to European champion and successful sire Giant's Causeway and carrying a Galileo foal, sold for $2,129,400, or 1.3 million guineas, to Saleh al-Homaizi and Imad al-Sagar's Blue Diamond Stud. Just behind that price was 1.2 million-guinea Testosterone. A 3-year-old Dansili filly, she is twice group-placed and sold to Nurlan Bizakov's Hesmonds Stud (Charlie Gordon-Watson, agent) for the equivalent of $1,965,600.

Mt. Brilliant Farm owner Greg Goodman was among active American buyers. Goodman paid 440,000 guineas, or $720,702, for the Group 3-placed juvenile filly Gooseberry Fool. John Sikura's Hill 'n' Dale Farms spent 650,000 guineas, or $1,064,700, for the unraced Dalakhani 4-year-old Darinza, in foal to Galileo.

The December breeding stock sale was to continue through Thursday in Newmarket.