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BREEDING NEWS

GORDON-WATSON SECURES SALE-TOPPING SELKIRK FILLY AT TATTERSALLS

     Appeal, a winning four-year-old Selkirk filly, sold on Thursday for the highest price of $182,871 (110,000 guineas) at the Tattersalls February sale, which saw declines in aggregate, average price, and median at the oneday event in Newmarket.
     Tattersalls reported 179 of 244 horses offered as sold for total receipts of $2,728,271 (1,641,100 guineas), a slight decrease of 1.9% from last year when 164 horses sold.
     Average price dipped by 10.1% to $15,241 (9,168 guineas) compared with last year and median was off 22.2% to $5,818 (3,500 guineas).
     The clearance rate declined to 73.4%, compared with 79.3% in 2011.
     Tattersalls Chairman Edmond Mahony said the sale was solid.
     “While the clearance rate has not matched the record levels of last year’s February sale, it is the second-highest since 2007 and the key indicators of average, median, and turnover have all held up well,” Mahony said. “In addition, we have sold horses to countries as diverse as Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Kuwait, Libya, and Qatar as well as all the traditional European markets, which is a tribute to the continued high regard in which mixed sales at Tattersalls are held.
     “The Tattersalls February sale has been a popular fixture since its inception in 2000 and this year’s renewal has, as ever, attracted an international cast of buyers with a myriad of different requirements. It may not have been a vintage February catalog, but the feature of today’s sale has been the demand for the better quality lots, in particular those from the major ownerbreeders who continue to support this and other mixed sales at Tattersalls with high-class commercial consignments.”
     The sale topper was bought by Charlie Gordon-Watson. The gray filly, who won a distance race on the all-weather track at Wolverhampton by 2¼ lengths on January 6, has an overall record of three wins and a second from seven starts for trainer Sir Mark Prescott, who offered her under his Heath House Stables banner on behalf of Prince Faisal Salman’s Denford Stud.
     “She’s been bought for an existing client, but for a new partnership,” Gordon-Watson said of Appeal, who is out of the winner Linamix mare Amenixa (Fr), a half sister to multiple group winner and group stakes producer Zinziberine. “She’s going back to Sir Mark, and as she is currently in such good form we might as well take advantage of that and try for a bit of blacktype. She will be covered later this spring.”
     Prescott said he was pleased the filly is returning to him.
     “And pleased with the price!” Prescott added.

JACQUELINE QUEST TOPS THIRD DAY OF DECEMBER SALE AT 600,000 GUINEAS

JACQUELINE QUEST, who was first past the post in last year’s 1,000 Guineas before being placed second following a Steward’s Inquiry, topped the third day of the Tattersalls December Mare Sale at 600,000 guineas. There were rises across the board with turnover for the day was up 33% to 7,417,500 guineas, and the average and median up 35% and 50% to 43,125 guineas and 24,000 guineas respectively.
What looked to be a fairytale victory in last year’s 2000 Guineas for JACQUELINE QUEST and her owner Noel Martin, who had named her in memory of his deceased wife, turned into a nightmare when stewards placed her second following interference to the eventual winner SPECIAL DUTY. Trained originally by Sir Henry Cecil before transferring to Ian Williams earlier this year, the daughter of ROCK OF GIBRALTAR was knocked down to Charlie Gordon-Watson for 600,000 guineas after he saw off the Northern Farm team headed by Shunsuke Yoshida.
"She is a Classic winner in all but name," said the successful purchaser. "She has been bought for a private client, will go to Ireland and will visit GALILEO. I am not surprised that she made that figure."
Jeremy Brummitt and Hugo Merry were among the other vanquished bidders on the Timeform 109-rated filly.
"Obviously Noel is disappointed to see her go, but she has been good to us and we wish her a great future at stud. We are delighted with that price," said her trainer Ian Williams.

The team from Katsumi Yoshida’s Northern Farm, including his son Shunsuke, have made a major impact at this year’s December Sale, buying four lots for 2,795,000 guineas headed by REVE D’IMAN yesterday at 1,700,000 guineas. Today they secured the Italian 1,000 Guineas winner MY SWEET BABY for 390,000 guineas at the expense of John Warren, who was stood alongside Newsells Park Stud’s Julian Dollar.
"We are delighted with that," said Oliver St Lawrence, manager of vendor of Aislabie Stud. "We bought her privately in Italy on Federico Barberini's advice and sent her to Dubai, but things did not quite work out there.
"We decided to sell her and she has been very profitable for the stud."

A half-sister to international Group 1 winner GLADIATORIUS, her second dam is the champion AL BAHATHRI, the dam of 2000 Guineas winner HAAFHD, Group MUNIR and Group 1 placed HASBAH.

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