The Tattersalls October Yearling Sale is one of if not the premier yearling sale in the world. So it shouldn't be a surprise that buyers anchored in the United States are not only making their way there but spending even more.
That migration mirrors what U.S. auctions are experiencing with greater international participation.
Over the last nine years, the amount of money spent and the number of lots purchased by American interests during the opening book at the Newmarket, England, sale have more than tripled.
From the perspective of money spent, Book 1 of the 2017 sale saw Americans sign for about 4.4 million guineas worth of yearlings. Tattersalls does not specifically track its buyers' countries of origin, but according to BloodHorse estimates, this year's edition featured the second-most currency spent (about 16 million guineas) by Americans in Tattersalls October history. It still fell short of the peak established during the 2022 sale with about 20 million guineas.
The 45 lots purchased this week by Americans tied their haul from 2022.
"We have a supply issue in the States," said bloodstock agent David Ingordo, who has been buying for Determined Stables' Matt Dorman. "We have people that want to buy quality horses and race horses, and there's a lot more positives in the U.S. than sometimes people want to admit to, but one of the big negatives is the production side and a shortage of quality. We're obviously coming and cherry-picking the best. But how long has Europe come to America and Japan come to America and done the reverse?
"Matt's stepped up and done it. And I think it's going to pay off for him. Fortune favors the brave. But we're not the only Americans that realize at home, you start to run out of the quality that you need, so you have to go abroad. You stay at home you're not going to get anything done."
Dorman was the top individual American buyer with $3,974,221 spent on seven fillies in Book 1.
WATCH: Ingordo on Filly Purchases, Americans Buying Abroad
Bloodstock agent Liz Crow points to the 2017 sale as the turning point. She said Mike Ryan, a legendary figure in the industry, opened doors that showed others what is possible. That year, Ryan purchased Newspaperofrecord, the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1T) winner, on behalf of Klaravich Stables, which had Chad Brown train the daughter of Lope de Vega .
That trio have been very active in Newmarket this week with five purchases totaling 1.44 million guineas (US$2,026,080, 1 guinea=US$1.41).
"I think Mike Ryan deserves a lot of credit, because he came over and did it first with Newspaperofrecord and kind of proved that this is a great avenue," Crow said. "And then Chad and him come over every year, and they just had a ton of success. And we followed. We've really had a lot of success in the years we've come over. We've bought three or four really nice horses, and it's a sale I don't think you can miss if you have the right budget for it. You need to come with a good budget and know that you're going to have to spend up a little bit. But I think the pedigrees are just second to none. You can't get these sorts of pedigrees in America."
Ingordo said that it has really been the last decade that Americans have begun to take advantage of the opportunities Tattersalls' catalog provides to racing stock. With some of the pedigrees less predominant in the States, Tattersalls gives an opportunity to diversify stables.
"It's not like this is a foreign concept, but people are doing it in earnest," he said. "And when success begets other success, I think if these groups come home and you see these (horses) running back at home doing well, then you'll continue to see it, and this will just become an extension of buying horses.
"Americans have been very fortunate. The backyard for the sales was in America in Keeneland. Now we're going to have to get off our bums and go. It's a much bigger backyard. The backyard is the world."
For its part, Tattersalls has made a concerted effort to attract buyers from the States. The auction house said it was "delighted" with the American representation during Book 1 this year.
"We have made several promotional visits to the U.S. over the last few years and alongside our North American representatives Lincoln Collins and Joe Miller have worked hard to increase the footfall of stateside visitors," said Tattersalls head of marketing Jason Singh. "We have also made an increased effort to market Book 2 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale this year and are pleased to say that several are staying over as well as some new buyers coming in."
Americans remain Active at final book 1 Session
Peter Brant's White Birch Farm joined with Coolmore's M.V. Magnier to secure Lot 461, a Night of Thunder colt, for $740,131 Thursday. The chestnut is out of the Oasis Dream mare Swiss Air. White Birch and Magnier collaborated again for Lot 377, a colt by Mehmas consigned by Lynn Lodge Stud, for $528,665. They also grabbed Lot 423, a Sea The Stars colt out of the Dark Angel mare Sistine Madonna. The colt, which fetched $451,127, is her first foal.
Overall, the Magnier and White Birch partnership spent $6,337,271 for six colts.
Crow grabbed Lot 463, a gray or roan daughter of Havana Grey. The filly had a sticker price of $634,398 and is for Dave Portnoy's Go Go Greys Racing. The filly is out of the Elusive Quality mare Talampaya, who has five winners from eight runners.
Ingordo signed for the Baaeed filly consigned as Lot 454 on behalf of Determined Stables. She will come to the U.S. after securing a price of $578,007. The dam, Stream Song, is by Mastercraftsman and has two winners from three of racing age. Among them is Lava Stream, second in the 2024 Ribblesdale Stakes (G2) at Ascot. Ingordo also secured Lot 490, a Lope de Vega filly at $394,736 on behalf of his wife, trainer Cherie DeVaux.
Solis/Litt signed for two. First came Lot 447, a Kingman filly out of the Highclere Stud consignment. The first foal out of the Twilight Son mare Spirit of Bermuda cost $422,932. Solis/Litt also signed the slip for another Kingman daughter (Lot 487). The dam, Under Offer, has three winners from four foals of racing age. Her most notable runner is Basil Martini, winner of the 2022 Park Stakes (G3) at the Curragh.
Alex Solis said that most of his purchases over the sale's opening three days, including the Kingman fillies, will stay in Europe and go to trainer Christopher Head in France. But with the median price for fillies in Book 1 this year down from 2024, Solis believes he found very good value.
Excluding private sales, the filly median for Book 1 was 200,000 guineas, down 31% from last year's median of 290,000 guineas.
"Huge value. ... I don't know what's going on, but I'm really happy about it," he said.
American-bred Sires Also Play Their Part
Over the course of the three-day Book 1, there were 34 lots by American-bred sires that sold.
The Kentucky-bred son of Scat Daddy No Nay Never, who stands at Coolmore Stud in Ireland, had 20 offspring sell with another seven either withdrawn, not selling, or bought back by the vendor. Those that sold generated a total price of $9,580,200 for an average of $479,010.
Another potential Scat Daddy heir at Coolmore, Kentucky-bred Sioux Nation, had nine entered with two of those being bought back. The seven that sold had a cumulative price of $1,987,781.
Ashford Stud's Justify had three of his progeny enter the sales ring with two others being removed from the sale. Those three sold for a total of $704,887. Kameko, a Kitten's Joy son who stands at Tweenhills Farm & Stud in England, had three of his yearlings change hands for a total of $676,692. Golden Pal , another Ashford resident, had one of his offspring sell for $296,052. Darley's first-crop sire Maxfield had one sell for $70,489.
