Callisto Star Tops Opening Day of Tattersalls December Mares Sale at 675,000 Guineas
The Tattersalls December Mares Sale got off to a strong start with the mare CALLISTO STAR topping proceedings at 675,000 guineas and international buyers from Australia, France, Japan and the USA all featuring amongst the top ten lots of the day. The opening day’s Sceptre Session, welcomed by a packed sale ring, saw 14 lots sell for 4,990,000 guineas at an average of 356,429 guineas.
Dam of American Oaks Winner Rhea Moon to Badgers Bloodstock for 675,000 Guineas
The top lot on the opening day of the Tattersalls December Mares Sale was CALLISTO STAR, the dam of the Grade 1 American Oaks winner RHEA MOON, who was knocked down to Grant & Tom Pritchard-Gordon of Badgers Bloodstock for 675,000 guineas. Consigned by Ballybin Stud, the daughter of FASTNET ROCK was offered in foal to STARSPANGLEDBANNER carrying a full sibling to both RHEA MOON and her second foal THERE’S THE DOOR, who was placed in the Listed Cheshire Oaks.
“She’s to stay here in Europe,” said Tom Pritchard-Gordon, whose purchase was made on behalf of an existing client. “She’s a beautiful mare and has already produced a Grade 1 winner with her first foal. She’s carrying a full-sibling to that Grade 1 winner inside her too.
“Fastnet Rock is as good a broodmare sire as there is and her dam is by Galileo so it’s all the bloodlines you want. She’s the whole package. I haven’t decided who she’ll be covered by next year but Starspangledbanner is an obvious target. Fastnet mares work with so many different bloodlines that she could go anywhere.”
CALLISTO STAR was bred and owned by Kevin Molloy, who was at Tattersalls to watch his mare sell.
“We bred Mohican Princess, her grandmother," said Molloy. "Callisto Star was injured and so did not race, we always liked her as an individual, she has a lovely head, very compact and very strong. We wanted to get her a faster horse and so we used Starspangledbanner. Rhea Moon was amazing - last St Stephens night the whole family watched the American Oaks. She had this incredible speed and has gone to Japan. It was a big decision to sell today, but we have a lot of the family - we still have the mother and she is in foal to Starspangledbanner, and we have a half-sister by Zoffany.”
Mauiewowie Destined for Japan After 625,000 Guineas Sale
The NIGHT OF THUNDER filly MAUIEWOWIE is set to head to Japan after being purchased by Lake Villa Farm for 625,000 guineas. Trained by Ger Lyons and consigned by Norris Bloodstock, the filly caught the attention of Lanes End Farm’s Will Farish and underbidder Steve McCann of Kia Ora Stud but it was Yoshihisa Iwasaki, farm manager for Lake Villa Farm, who prevailed. The stud has a broodmare band of 50 and is based in Hokkaido.
"She is going to Japan and to stud. She is a strong mare, we love her conformation and we love her attitude," said Iwasaki. "We have not made covering plans yet, but she will go to one of the very best stallions in Japan."
MAUIEWOWIE, who won the Listed Curragh Stakes as a two-year-old, is out of the HOLY ROMAN EMPEROR mare LA CHAPELLE, a half-sister to the champion older horse GHAIYYATH, the winner of nine races including the Group 1 Juddmonte International, the Group 1 Eclipse Stakes and the Group 1 Coronation Cup, and to ZHUKOVA, winner of the Grade 1 Man O’War Stakes. Their dam NIGHTIME won the Irish 1000 Guineas whilst MAUIEWOWIE’s third dam CAUMSHINAUN was Champion older mare in Ireland in 2001.
Consignor Jenny Norris said: "She came to me through Katie Walsh, who recommended us to owner Eleanora Kennedy who is in the US. It is great to have mares of that calibre, and to have mares in the Sceptre Session and for a small consignor.
"She has behaved like an absolute dream and it did not take much imagination to think what she will look like when she lets down as a mare. She has some different markings, and her Japanese buyers loved her markings and were very keen and were determined to get her.
"She had a lot of lookers, 87 shows on the first day and every time she just came out and marched up and down. It was great to see all the connections who have been involved with her through her career to date and will be interesting to see how she gets on in the breeding shed.
"You never know what is going to happen in the ring, but it is always nice when they are in the Sceptre Session, you kind of think they are special."
Gordon-Watson Secures Daughter of Aquarelliste for 525,000 Guineas
A few lots earlier, the TAMAYUZ mare AUTHORITAIRE became the first of the ‘Sceptre’ lots to break the half million guineas mark when selling for 525,000 guineas to agent Charlie Gordon-Watson after he saw off Haras de la Perelle’s William Rimaud and locally based owner-breeder Stuart Stuckey. Consigned by the Castlebridge Consignment, AUTHORITAIRE was offered in foal to DUBAWI’s 2000 Guineas winning son NIGHT OF THUNDER.
A four-year-old mare by TAMAYUZ, AUTHORITAIRE is a daughter of the Champion older mare AQUARELLISTE, winner of the Group 1 Prix de Diane and dam of two blacktype winners including the Group 1 Prix Jean Romanet runner up AME BLEUE. Her second dam is the Group 3 Prix de Psyché winner and dual French Classic placed mare AGATHE, the dam of ARTISTE ROYALE, winner of the Grade 1 Charles Whittingham Memorial Handicap and the Grade 1 Clement L Hirsch Memorial Turf Championship.
"It is one of the great families, she is in foal to Night of Thunder and she is a mare who will suit him, and it all makes good sense," said Gordon Watson. "She will be going to Ireland."
Australia’s Kia Ora Stud Purchase Wonderful Times for 460,000 Guineas
The Kia Ora Stud team of CEO Steve McCann and farm manager Shane Wright had narrowly failed to secure MAUIEWOWIE a few lots earlier but triumphed soon after when landing the Listed winner WONDERFUL TIMES for 460,000 guineas. The Barton Stud consigned daughter of GOLDEN HORN is out of the Group 3 winner and Group 1 Fillies’ Mile fourth WONDERFULLY, a GALILEO own-sister to the Group/Listed winners GUSTAV KLIMT, FRIENDLY and BLISSFUL and a half-sister to the Group 1 winner NAYARRA. Her third dam is RAFHA, dam of the top class sires INVINCIBLE SPIRIT and KODIAC.
Shane Wright said: "We had quite a lot on our list and we were making our way through, but she has such a deep page and she offers something that does not come our way too often. She has blacktype by her name but she has a page of champions, it is so full. When you come to a place like this you really come for the big families like this.
"She will be coming straight home, it is tempting with her form, she would be very competitive down our way in anything over a mile or 2000m plus but she has blacktype already. We will see how she travels down and we may give her time in the breeding barn next season, that decision will be made.
"We have done some work in the US as well but the Tatts catalogue and especially the Sceptre Sessions with so many quality mares in there that you have to come here if you want to be competitive internationally. We found some lovely mares and, hopefully, we can pick out one or two tomorrow as well.
"Kia Ora has been a very successful boutique farm in Australia for a number of years, it is only in the last few years that we have revolutionised what is going on. We have got quite a big racing syndicate now and we stand some good stallions - in our first year of stallions we got a Golden Slipper winner which is the pinnacle and what you want. It is very exciting times and it is great to be able to come over here to buy beautiful mares to send home to our stallions.
"Getting all these mares in together in one helps to gets your eye in on values I suppose, and what is going on rather than if they are being offered sporadically through a sale, but when there is a quality bunch of mares offered in a small amount of time over a couple of days it is very easy to get caught up in the hype... I reckon the vendors do better than the buyers!"
The Tattersalls December Mares Sale continues on Tuesday, 5th December at 9.30am with the second part of the ‘Sceptre Sessions’ set to take place in the evening.