As 7 p.m. closed in, and after almost 9 1/2 hours of extra routine December Mares Sale commerce Dec. 2, Tattersalls lastly raised the curtain on Monday’s installment of the blue-chip Sceptre Classes.
The high-class filly Caught U Trying vaulted to the pinnacle of the market after a web based bid of 1,800,000gns (US$2,394,000, 1 guinea= US$1.33) from the Yulong Investments staff, signing as Willingham. The three-year-old daughter of Harzand was making her second look at public public sale considerably extra productive than her first.
Peter Nolan and coach Noel Meade purchased her for simply €27,000 on the Goffs Autumn Yearling Sale in 2022.
Auctioneer Alastair Pim had his gavel raised at 1,600,000gns when Will Walden, sitting within the packed auditorium to the precise of the podium, lodged the most recent of late bids. “Why not?” mentioned Pim, turning on his heel and looking out in Walden’s path. Nevertheless, when one other 100,000gns got here via on-line, the American coach declined to up the ante any additional.
“Oh my god!” mentioned an emotional Sabina Kelly, spouse of breeder Peter Kelly and co-owner of the filly alongside Tally-Ho Stud’s Tony O’Callaghan.Join BloodHorse Each day
“That is essentially the most superb factor ever. She’s at all times been a pet, we have at all times liked her, she’s simply been an excellent filly. I am gobsmacked and I am in shock. All I can say is: superb. We have had an awesome season together with her. She’s simply fab and I hope she’s as fortunate for the following proprietor as she was for us.”
Caught U Trying wasted no time proving her yearling valuation all improper as she broke her maiden on her second begin at 2 earlier than doubling her tally within the Weld Park Stakes (G3T).
She stored exalted firm thereafter, and wasn’t overwhelmed far when fifth behind You Acquired To Me , who sells in Tuesday’s Sceptre Session, within the Irish Oaks (G1). She was final seen working out a four-length winner of the listed Bluebell Stakes at Naas.
She was bred by Kelly Equine Companies and is the primary foal out of Wild Combine, a Mastercraftsman half sister to the group 3-winning siblings Double Or Bubble and Combine And Mingle, each of whom are by Exceed And Excel .
It was at this sale final yr that Yulong secured Through Sistina , with the two,700,000gns docket signed by Evergreen Equine. The daughter of Fastnet Rock received the Fairly Polly Stakes (G1T) for George Boughey and has added 5 extra group 1s to her file underneath the care of Chris Waller. Connections are set to place Caught U Trying on an identical program and can hope that lightning can strike twice.
Yulong’s basic supervisor mirrored on Monday’s seven-figure acquisition by saying: “There have been bids coming from all corners of the auditorium, which is at all times signal. You prefer to see competitors however you hate to be the one one on the market. Funnily sufficient, that value was round the place I assumed we would find yourself, not that I am any nice choose.
“She’s a well-performed filly and we expect she has a fairly good profile to race on with. Our ambition at this stage might be to ship her to Australia and put her on a path not dissimilar to Through Sistina, who we have clearly had a variety of success with within the final 12 months.
“We’re not suggesting this filly goes to show right into a Through Sistina, though we might love her to. However you need to hold your ft on the bottom and simply hope she will win some good races for us down the road.”
Monday’s opening session noticed 223 of the 261 horses provided change palms for a complete of twenty-two,955,000gns (US$30,530,150) up 48% from final yr, leading to an 85% clearance fee. The typical was $102,939gns (US$135,909) up 32% from 78,168gns in 2023, with a median of fifty,000gns (US$66,500).