"Oh my God!" were the only words Willie Browne could muster at Tattersalls April 15. And with good reason.
Around an hour into the opening session of the Tattersalls Craven Breeze Up sale, the master of Mocklershill saw his Acclamation colt, a €70,000 pinhook, transfer to Godolphin for a Craven Sale record of 1.4 million guineas (US$1,946,000, 1 guinea=US$1.39).
The Godolphin buying team of Anthony Stroud and David Loder was not alone in their desire to land the youngster, who put in an eye-catching workout during a breeze April 14.
Alex Elliott, standing in the bidders' area with Amo Racing principal Kia Joorabchian, ultimately filled the role of underbidder, while Jamie McCalmont, bidding beside Coolmore's Paul Shanahan, was also involved beyond the seven-figure mark.
Asked if he had expected to face such stern opposition, Stroud said: "I definitely did not, no. He did a very good breeze, a very good gallop out. He's a lovely horse, and it just shows you how vibrant the breeze-up sales are. There weren't just two people bidding, there were four or five in there.
"It just shows you the appetite to buy horses at this sale. I always thought it would be strong, but I didn't think that particular horse would be quite that strong. We've got a few on the list and he was one of them. It just shows Godolphin's appetite for horses."
The agent added: "He'll go into training with Charlie Appleby. The pressure goes to him, the poor man! There's no one who can do a better job though, he's up there with the best around. It's great for Willie Browne because he's been doing it a long time. It's lovely for him and keeps everything ticking over."
The transaction broke the previous Craven highmark by clear water, with the War Front colt General Marshall bringing 1.15 million guineas from Coolmore in 2014. The son of War Front was another presented by Mocklershill.
Wellwishers practically formed an orderly queue to offer their congratulations to Browne, who brought his first breeze-up draft to market at Doncaster in 1978.
"I thought it would be good, but I can't believe it was anything like that," he said after regaining his composure. "He's a special horse. I believed he'd breezed very well, he didn't let me down. He's never been in the stable for two days, we had 13 or 14 vets. I still thought maybe five or six hundred (thousand). This is crazy."
The colt was bred by Corduff Stud from the Exceed And Excel mare Blue Willow. He is a sibling to two winners, including his full brother Viridian, while his dam is a half sister to 2009 Park Express Stakes (G3) scorer Oh Goodness Me and the listed-winning Eradicate. Another half sister, the 2012 Lingfield Oaks Trial runner-up Colima, has bred the black-type winners Brimham Rocks and Chamade.
Amo Racing Lands St Mark's Basilica Colt
Joorabchian's Amo Racing was back among the big spenders on Day 1 of the Tattersalls Craven Sale, with four new recruits capped by the 750,000-guinea St Mark's Basilica colt out of Layaleena.
The youngster, whose pedigree goes back to the likes of Lope de Vega , was offered by Joey Logan's Grangeclare operation, having been pinhooked for 200,000 guineas at Book 2 last year.
"He's a horse we honed in on early on," said Amo's chief talent scout Alex Elliott. "Robson Aguiar (Amo Racing pre-trainer) actually rode him in his breeze. For a horse who you'd like to think is going to start at seven (furlongs), stay a mile and maybe go a bit further, he carried his speed very evenly, which I always like to see.
"Robson was a huge fan of the horse and he was beautifully presented by Joey Logan. The word on St Mark's Basilica seems to be good, there's been a few that have breezed well. He was an exceptional racehorse and we paid 600,000 guineas for a filly in Book 2. She was bought with Al Shaqab and is doing well with Karl Burke.
"There's a lot of fast horses here, but for me, he was one that is going to carry his speed a bit further, but he was the best of that type over the two days. He's going to go to Freemason Lodge to be trained by Raphael Freire. Kia's keen to support that operation, obviously."
Amo's four purchases generated receipts totaling 1,095,000 guineas, making the firm the second-biggest buyer on the day. Godolphin filled the top spot with two buys fetching a combined 2,050,000 guineas.
The first session of the two-day Tattersalls Craven sale saw 64 lots sold for a gross of 9,454,000 guineas (US$13,141,060), averaging 147,719 guineas (US$205,329) with a median of 91,000 guineas (US$126,490).
The Tattersalls Craven Breeze-Up Sale continues April 16 at 5:45 p.m. local time.
