Kodiac Colt Tops Second Day of Tattersalls December Foal Sale

Lot 646: Kodiac (GB) / Gold Again (USA)
Lot 646: Kodiac (GB) / Gold Again (USA)

Day 2 of the Tattersalls December Foal Sale continued in robust fashion with rises across the board and two lots topping the 200,000 guineas mark. A total of 216 lots sold for 9,258,500 guineas resulting in a 10% rise in turnover, whilst the average rose 7% to 42,863 guineas and the median rose 12% to 33,500 guineas. 

Sun Bloodstock, who had already hit the headlines when selling the sale-topping KODIAC half-sister to BARNEY ROY at the December Yearling Sale, topped proceedings on the second day when securing a son of the Tally-Ho Stud stalwart. Catalogued as lot 646, the brother to the Group winning SPIRIT OF XIAN was knocked down to Sun International’s David O’Callaghan after he outgunned Haras D'Ommeel's Hubert Honore, who was standing with Gwenael Monneraye of La Motteraye.

"He's really well bred, obviously Kodiac is a high-class stallion and he's a full-relation to a stakes winner," said O’Callaghan. "He's a lovely balanced, attractive colt and will be raced by Sun Bloodstock.

"It's a lot of money for a pinhook, and it was a lot of money to race too, but when you're buying to race you can afford to spend a little more. If he can run he won't look expensive." 

The sale represented the best ever result at the Tattersalls December Foal Sale for Brian Kennedy of Meadowlands Stud.

"I bought the mare here as a maiden at the December Sale for 6,200 guineas," said Kennedy. "I liked her because of the Miswaki in her pedigree. Her second covering was to Kodiac and she produced Spirit Of Xian. I like working with Tally-Ho and we have been lucky together.

"I always sell my stock as foals, then I can concentrate on the mares in the spring," added Kennedy, who hails from County Down.

Kennedy has sold 13 foals this week for an average price of 39,369 guineas and an aggregate of 511,800 guineas. 

The second horse to realise 200,000 guineas for the day was the ACCLAMATION three-parts sister to the Group 3 Sweet Solera Stakes winner NATIONS ALEXANDER. Catalogued as lot 664, and consigned by Paul and Sara Thorman’s Trickledown Stud, the daughter of the WHIPPER mare PARTY WHIP was knocked down to Cheveley Park Stud’s Chris Richardson for 200,000 guineas after he saw off Shadwell Estates’ Angus Gold.

"She is a beautiful filly and we are looking to invest in some new families," said Richardson. "She is very athletic, has a very good page and we're very pleased to have bought her."

Paul Thorman of Trickledown said: "She was bred by Ned and Ann Kearney of Bridgetown Stud, Chris Mills and Terry Jennings.

"She came to us about six weeks ago and you could see straight off that she was an absolute queen - both Sara and I loved her, it is rare for us to agree on one!

"But they have to produce it when they get here, walk well too, and she never put a foot wrong, never missed a beat. 

"She had 13 vets on her - and in all my 40 years selling here, I have never had so many vettings for one foal. In the ring she still had seven or eight bidding on her over 100,000gns."

Abbeylands Farm’s Frannie Woods will be hoping lighting strikes twice after securing lot 511, the BATED BREATH colt out of LIFTING ME HIGHER from Stringston Farm for 150,000 guineas.

"We've had a bit of luck with the farm before - we bought an Australia foal for 165,000 guineas last year and sold him for 525,000gns in Book 1, we're planning a repeat!" smiled Woods.

"This was an obvious foal, by a very good sire but I loved him when I saw him and was always going to have a play for him." 

It has been a successful month for Stringston Farm’s Robert & Nick Pocock, having bred the Group 1 Melbourne Cup winner REKINDLING and they consign a GLENEAGLES half-sister to him as lot 886 tomorrow.

LIFTING ME HIGHER was purchased via Rob Speers at the Tattersalls December Mare Sale last year for 45,000 guineas carrying this BATED BREATH colt.

One stallion sure to have plenty of interest at the Tattersalls December Foal Sale is Coolmore’s four-time Group 1 winner GLENEAGLES. The winner of both the English and Irish 2,000 Guineas is a son of the legendary GALILEO out of the phenomenal mare YOU’RESOTHRILLING and his first foal to go through the ring at Tattersalls was lot 594, the colt out of the Group 3 winning mare EASTERN APPEAL.

Consigned by Anthony Phelan’s Glashare House Stud, the colt out of the SHINKO FOREST mare was knocked down for 150,000 guineas to locally-based bloodstock agent Amanda Skiffington, standing next to MV Magnier.

Following the purchase Phelan commented; “He was very precocious from the time he was born. Over here you could’ve dropped a bomb behind him and it wouldn’t have mattered. He was just so cool. He’s a very easy horse to deal with.”

The Tattersalls December Foal Sale continues at 10am on Friday, December 1.