85,000 Guineas Midnight Lion Heads Tattersalls Summer Sale
The inaugural one-day Tattersalls Summer Sale, formerly the Tattersalls Ascot July Sale, saw an active day’s trade at Park Paddocks with a diverse buying bench purchasing for the Middle East, horses to go jumping, as well as broodmare prospects.
Midnight Lion set to join National Hunt Trainer Paul Nicholls
Bidding was brisk in the ring, as well as online, for the wildcard entry MIDNIGHT LION, a June winner at Goodwood over 1m6f. He was sold by trainer Charlie Johnston's Kingsley Park on behalf of Rabbah Bloodstock for the session’s top price of 85,000 guineas.
A Tattersalls December Foal Sale and October Yearling Sale, Book 1 graduate, the son of NATHANIEL was purchased by Nick Taylor, assistant to Tom Malone Bloodstock, and the three-year-old has a jumping future ahead of him.
"He was clearly the pick of the day for us, and he has been bought for Paul Nicholls," said Taylor. "We liked him when we saw him, Nathaniel is a big plus to go jumping, he has a lovely soft ground action and is just the type of horse we are looking for. He has the size and Charlie Johnston was very positive about him.
"He stays, and there is a good hurdler in the pedigree, too. We just need to be a bit lucky now!"
Stephensen Bloodstock Secure Laafi For 72,000 Guineas
Also from the Rabbah Bloodstock draft, the progressive three-year-old LAAFI was bought via an online bid of 72,000 guineas by Stephensen Bloodstock.
The lightly raced, 95-rated son of CLOTH OF STARS from William Haggas' Somerville Lodge was a juvenile maiden winner over a mile last October. He finished fourth in the Listed Lingfield Derby Trial on his 2023 seasonal debut and then came home in mid-division in the Golden Gates Stakes at Royal Ascot.
The colt is a grandson of the Group 1-placed MARE NOSTRUM, the dam of the Group 1 and Grade 1 winner ERUPT.
Jedburgh Stud Buy Filly Timeless Melody for 42,000 Guineas
The TEOFILO four-year-old filly TIMELESS MELODY, an April winner for trainer Haggas and another consigned by Somerville Lodge, made 42,000 guineas with Matt Coleman of Stroud Coleman Bloodstock signing the docket.
"She has been bought for Alec Waugh’s Normandy-based Jedburgh Stud," said Coleman. “Alec has had a lot of luck, as many people have, with mares by Teofilo – he is a phenomenal broodmare sire, and just getting better and better.
"The pedigree is active and working out well – Bridestones, a Teofilo daughter out of the second dam, the Group 1 Fillies’ Mile winner White Moonstone, picked up some black-type recently at Sandown and she might win a stakes race by the end of the season."
He added: “Timeless Melody has won on softer ground and there is a possibility she might run again in France this autumn, but she has been bought as a broodmare and will be covered next spring.”
The session produced a turnover of 778,200 from 77 lots, sold at a healthy clearance rate of 80 per cent and at an average price of 10,106 guineas and median of 5,000 guineas.