Classic connections at the December Sale

We’re heading back to Tattersalls this week with four yearlings, 14 foals and 10 mares, so it’s going to be a pretty hectic fortnight back in Newmarket.

At the December Yearling Sale we’re selling our first yearling for Torreduero Stud and he’s an absolute beauty as well as being well bred (pictured). Selling as lot 164, he’s a half-brother to Jim Bolger’s Irish Derby winner Trading Leather by the young Darley stallion Dawn Approach.

During the mares’ sale I am selling Amami, a beautiful young Peintre Celebre mare I bought from the Wildensteins in Deauville two years ago. She’s in foal to Dabirisim who has made such a good start with his first two-year-olds and I have to say that I sell her with a really heavy heart as I think she’ll be a wonderful broodmare prospect. We are in the process of looking to buy a farm, however, so she will perhaps help us in that quest of finding a place from which to continue to develop Norris Bloodstock.

I’m going to have to keep my eye on Equidia on Wednesday as Prost, a three-year-old in training with Ed Vaughan who I bred in partnership with William, is entered in the Listed Prix Lyphard at Deauville so I’ll be hoping for a timely update for his half-sister by Kendargent who is in the Arqana December Sale the following week as lot 587.

We’ll also be following another Norris Bloodstock graduate Karar in the G1 Hong Kong Mile at the international meeting. He’s been a wonderful servant for Francis Graffard and Al Shaqab Racing, winning the G3 Prix du Pin and finishing second in the G1 Prix de la Foret. He recently ran a really sound race in the Breeders’ Cup Mile and was unlucky not to get the room he needed, so I’ll be very interested to see how he gets on at Sha Tin.

It was great to see our recent July Sale purchase Via Serendipity win for Happy Valley Racing & Breeding and Stuart Williams and he should be a nice horse to follow for next year.

We will have some racing interest through the winter with our own Amenta, who returned to the track last Saturday on her first start for John Berry and showed us she is going the right way. We’re looking forward to seeing her out again in December on what we hope will be the first day off after a long and hectic sales season!