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Time Test colt tops Guineas Breeze Up Sale on Thursday
A colt by LA Stud shuttler Time Test (Dubawi) topped Thursday's Tattersalls Guineas Breeze Up Sale when bought for 160,000gns by trainer Michael O'Callaghan.
Sold by Tally-Ho Stud, the sale topping colt is the first foal out of the winning Galileo (Sadler's Wells) mare Luna Mare. The colt was a 65,000gns purchase from Book 3 of last year's Tattersalls October Yearling Sale by Tally-Ho Stud.
"He is a lovely horse, he did one of the better breezes and is a lovely looking horse," said O'Callaghan.
"He has a nice pedigree and is out of a Galileo mare. I thought he was the best physical in the sale and hopefully he goes on to be useful."
Time Test will stand for a fee of NZ$10,000 (plus GST) at LA Stud this year.
The most expensive filly sold on Thursday was a daughter of Mehmas (Acclamation) who was bought for 150,000gns by Alessandro Marconi. The filly is out of the the wining Bertolini (Danzig) mare What About Me who has produced two winners to date.
"She is for an owner based in Dubai," said Marconi. "[The consignor] Mr Nolan is more experienced in life and in the game than myself and he highly recommended her. She did a highly impressive breeze, and the underbidder Michael O'Callaghan is very shrewd and has been buying more breeze-up horses than anyone else and has been very successful!"
He added: "The filly is something special and is the pick of the sale, and she is staying for now in England. We will make a plan in half an hour!"
Of the stallion influence, Marconi enthused: "Mehmas is a great sire, we really like these new speedy sires such as him and Sioux Nation. We like the speed and that they were precocious, but it is the breeze that is important. Time is not everything, it is more the way they gallop out and how they are afterwards."
Eight lots sold for six figures including a colt by Soldier Hollow (In The Wings) who was bought by Stuart Boman of Blandford Bloodstock for 130,000gns. Sold by Tom Whitehead's Powerstown Stud, the colt will head into training with Melbourne Cup (Gr 1, 3200m) winning trainer Joseph O'Brien.
Sold as Lot 143, the colt is out of the winning German-bred mare Loyalty (Lando) who is a half-sister to Group 1 winning sire Lucky Speed (Silvano) and the colt had been bought as a yearling by Whitehead for €28,000 at last year's BBAG September Yearling Sale.
"He is a lovely horse and he will go into training with Joseph O'Brien in Ireland," said Boman. "He is a gorgeous individual, he was bought in Germany very well by Tom Whitehead; it was actually the day everyone got stuck in the hotel due to the fire the night before. Tom missed the fire and bought the horse!
"I had to come back and buy the horse this year. He is a lovely horse and breezed very well, he is very quick for a stayer as he is a horse bred to get 1m4f. He showed a lot of speed and is a gorgeous individual."
Overall 157 lots sold for 5,601,500gns, up 25 per cent from 4,492,250gns a year ago when 150 lots sold. The average rose 19 per cent from 29,948gns to 35,678gns while the median increased 22 per cent from 24,500gns to 30,000gns.
"Eight two-year-olds selling for 100,000 guineas or more and a record sale turnover reflect the strong demand at the top of the market and as ever there have been some notable pinhooking triumphs, but the most pleasing aspect of the sale has been the record equalling median which demonstrates real depth to the trade from start to finish," said Tattersalls chairman Edmond Mahony.
