History was made at Park Paddocks on Tuesday during the opening day of Tattersalls October Book 1. Godolphin went to 4,600,000 guineas for a Night Of Thunder colt, the highest price ever paid for a yearling colt in Europe and the most expensive yearling sold anywhere in the world this year.
It capped a remarkable session in which Sheikh Mohammed’s operation dominated proceedings, and the bidding war that produced the record will live long in the memory of those who packed the sale ring.
Night Of Thunder colt smashes European record
Lot 130 looked likely to be one of the stars of the sale, and he did not disappoint. The Night Of Thunder colt is out of My Astra, a daughter of Lope De Vega who finished second in the Group 1 Pretty Polly Stakes. Bred by Ling Tsui and consigned by Norelands Stud, he is the second foal of his dam and comes from a family the Tsuis have nurtured for four generations, with Sea The Stars in his pedigree.
Coolmore’s MV Magnier pushed hard, but Godolphin had the final say. The hammer fell at 4.6 million guineas, eclipsing the 4.3 million guineas Amo Racing paid for the Wootton Bassett colt Poker at the same sale in 2024. Poker has yet to win a race, a reminder that a record price guarantees nothing on the track.
The new record-holder is now the second-most expensive yearling of either sex ever sold at Tattersalls. Only Al Naamah, the Galileo filly who fetched an astonishing 5 million guineas back in 2013, has made more in the Newmarket ring.
There was understandable delight on the Norelands side. Farm manager Matt Gilsenan said: “It’s a great boost because it’s a mad world. It can be a tough week when everyone says ‘You’re going great, you’re going great’, but it’s still nil-nil at that point. You haven’t scored yet. We’ve scored now!”
It was a poignant day for Godolphin too. Sheikh Mohammed was at Park Paddocks just a fortnight after the death of his elder brother, Sheikh Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and his team signed for 11 yearlings at a combined 15.73 million guineas.
The rest of Tuesday’s top five
The record-breaker was far from the only headline-grabber; here are the four other most expensive yearlings sold on the opening day.
3,800,000gns – Wootton Bassett – Loch Lein (Invincible Spirit) colt
Although denied the top lot by regular siring rival Night Of Thunder, the late Wootton Bassett still had a deep impact on Tuesday’s proceedings. His was the second most expensive purchase, a colt out of Jessica Harrington’s former Listed heroine Loch Lein. The youngster’s brother Treanmor has been moderately successful so far for Charlie Appleby and also fetched multi-millions: he was a E2,000,000 buy as a yearling. The colt is another Godolphin purchase in the battle for ownership supremacy.
2,600,000gns – Wootton Bassett – No Speak Alexander (Shalaa) filly
Richard Brown purchased the third most expensive lot late on in the day one ring. Another by Wootoon Bassett, this filly, bought for 2,600,000gns on behalf of Wathnan Racing, is out of 2021 Matron Stakes winner No Speak Alexander, another filly trained in her pomp by Jessica Harrington. She is therefore bred in the purple with Group 1 winning parents to live up to.
1,800,000gns – Frankel – Get Ahead (Showcasing) colt
The only lot by Frankel to make the top five, this colt was the first on Tuesday to make seven figures. Not only is he by Frankel, but he is out of Get Ahead, a half-sister to former 2,000 Guineas hero Chaldean and a full sister to Group 2 Mill Reef Stakes scorer Alkumait. There is a lot to like about his pedigree and he was another purchase by Godolphin, comfortably the biggest spenders on the day.
1,300,000gns – Ghaiyyath – Maria Christina (Kodiac) colt
One sire with up-and-coming potential is former Eclipse winner Ghaiyyath. His most expensive lot in Tattersalls’ Book 1 was a colt out of Maria Christina. She as a daughter of Kodiac who enjoyed moderate success for Dermot Weld. This colt likely impressed with his looks, as he possesses the least flashy of the pedigrees within this top five, but his dam’s half-sister was a Graded winner, while he was yet another Godolphin purchase on a record-breaking day for the operation.
Day one in numbers
The market was in rude health, as turnover on the opening day reached 46,778,000 guineas, up 16% on last year, while the average rose 26% to 406,765 guineas and the median climbed 14% to 240,000 guineas. With Book 1 still in full swing, there could be further fireworks yet.