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Son of Toronado sells to Al Adiyat Racing for 75,000gns
Cloud Drift - a gelding by Swettenham Stud shuttler Toronado (High Chaparral) - who won twice for trainer Michael Bell and The Queen topped the inaugural Tattersalls August Sale on Monday after Sheikh Issa bin Salman Al Khalifa's Al Adiyat Racing, via the online bidding platform, went to 75,000gns to secure the three-year-old.
Catalogued as Lot 188, the gelding is out four time-winning Dr Font (Kris S) mare Humdrum, who has produced five winners including Cloud Drift.
Humdrum herself is out of Listed-placed mare Spinning Top (Alzao), making her a half-sister to Musical Comedy (Royal Applause).
"He is an attractive horse who moves well and is sure to go on and do well for his new connections,” said Bell. “He is relatively lightly raced and I am sure he will go on again.”
Of this new August Sale, Bell added: "I hope it stays. The July Sale can come up quite quickly in the season. The timing in August allows us to run horses at the summer Festivals – Royal Ascot, July meeting, Goodwood – and then sell ahead of the yearling sales , which helps owners know where their finances are if they wish to reinvest.”
Earlier on in the day, Will Douglass, who was working on behalf of his boss Charlie Gordon Watson, took home juvenile winner Soldierpoy (Sepoy) for 67,000gns.
Offered as Lot 96 by his trainer Tom Clover, for whom he also ran third in the Weatherbys Super Sprint (5f) on his third start, the gelding will continue his racing career in Qatar.
“He’s for Injaaz Stud [in Qatar],” said Douglass. “This horse has rock-solid form, he’s been well presented and the trainer’s done a good job with him. He’s strong and sound, and should do a job for us.
“We tried to buy him a month ago and Happy Romance has won again since.”
The son of Darley Australia’s Sepoy (Elusive Quality) is now rated 79 and shed his maiden status on his second start. He was bred by Chasemore Farm and was bought as a yearling by Jackson-Stops Bloodstock / Tom Clover for £7,000 at the Tattersalls Ascot Yearling Sale.
He is out of the Invincible Spirit (Green Desert) mare Lamps Of Heaven and from the family of Flying Childers Stakes (Gr 2, 5f) winner Land Of Dreams (Cadeaux Genereux), dam of the five-time Group 1 winner Dream Ahead (Diktat) and Listed winner Into The Dark (Rainbow Quest).
While Lamps Of Heaven also produced the unraced Queenofthefairies (Pivotal) - the dam of Cheveley Park Stakes (Gr 1, 6f) winner Fairyland (Kodiac) and Blazer Stakes (Gr 2, 1400m) winner Now Or Later (Bushranger).
Douglass said he hopes the August Sale becomes a permanent fixture, believing the timing suits a lot of the buyers.
“This is a great time of year to have a sale of this type,” said Douglass. “It suits everyone buying for an overseas market. At present [in the Middle East] they are not racing because it is high summer, so we buy them, and then ship them over which gives them time to acclimatise before they restart racing in September. The July Sale which is a very good sale, but this suits us better and I hope they keep it.”
Overall during Monday's session 167 lots sold for 1,871,800gns at an average of 11,208gns and median of 6,000gns.
