Strong trade remains on final day

Tattersalls Book 1 closed strongly on Thursday with figures much on a par with last year's auction and 18 six-figure lots by Darley stallions

Book 1 of Tattersalls October sale concluded on Thursday with yet another buoyant day's trading.

Of the Darley-sired offspring selling, an Elusive Quality half-brother to French 2000 Guineas winner Aussie Rules from the first draft of Prince Faisal Salman's Denford Stud fetched the highest price when sold for 425,000gns.

Demand remained strong for Sea The Stars' sire Cape Cross as another six lots by him returned six-figure sums. Trickledown Stud's colt out of Murrieta, a half-sister to Cape Cross' G1 Racing Post Trophy runner-up Charlie Farnsbarns, made 350,000gns while Sir Robert Ogden went to 210,000gns to secure the full-brother to dual Group Three winner Mac Love. Blandford Bloodstock went to 200,000 for a daughter of Night Frolic consigned by Highclere Stud and Cape Cross was on the Hong Kong Jockey Club's shopping list as they selected a colt from Furnace Mill Stud's draft for 150,000gns.

Lynn Lodge Stud also had another high-priced colt sell on Thursday, this time by leading first-season sire Shamardal, whose colt out of La Vita E Bella fetched 210,000.

Trainer Mark Johnston, who trained Shamardal in his juvenile season and has also been successful this season with his Solario Stakes and Goffs Million Mile-winning son Shakespearean, bought three lots by the young stallion on the opening day of the sale and on Thursday went to 120,000gns for a daughter of Halling out of Luana, and thus a full-sister to multiple Group winner Hattan, from The Beeches Stud. The trainer paid the same price for a Cape Cross colt out of Love And Affection and selected another colt by Cape Cross' sire Green Desert for 100,000gns.

The Lloyd Webbers' Watership Down Stud was successful with a Cadeaux Genereux filly out of Lighthouse, who realised 200,000gns when selling to Blandford Bloodstock while Shadwell added a son of Royal Applause to their list of purchases, paying 160,000gns for a colt from Meadowlands Stud in Ireland out of Notjustaprettyface.

Shirocco and Iffraaj both have their first yearlings at the sales this autumn and they too featured among the six-figure lots: an Iffraaj colt out of the Japanese-bred mare Isana was knocked down for 140,000gns and Charlie Gordon-Watson bought a colt by Shirocco out of Mezzogiorno for 165,000gns.

Darley's American stallion Street Cry does not have a huge amount of yearlings offered in Europe but, with nine individual Group 1 winners to his name, it's no surprise that when Street Cry yearlings come up for sale in Britain and Ireland, they are always in demand.

The three sold on the final day all reached six figures with a colt out of Miznah from Highclere's draft selling for 200,000gns while the Hong Kong Jockey Club paid 140,000gns for the Jamie Railton-consigned son of Moody's Cat.