How much for a group 1-winning filly? On Day 2 of the Tattersalls December Mares Sale on Dec. 5 we got the answer. And not just once but six times. In the case of Teona, the answer was 4,500,000gns (US$5,767,650, 1gn=US$1.2817), but only after a protracted tussle that involved the buying teams from racing's rival powerhouses Coolmore, Godolphin, and Juddmonte.
MV Magnier and Paul Shanahan, talking on their mobiles, lodged Coolmore's bids from the middle of the packed gangway, while Godolphin representatives Anthony Stroud and David Loder were stationed on the opposite side of the bustling auditorium. However, the final play came from Juddmonte general manager Simon Mockridge, who admitted to being stretched further than intended to secure the daughter of Sea The Stars.
Teona was offered by Barton Sales on behalf of Rabbah Bloodstock, having visited Frankel for her first covering this year.
"You've always got to stretch a little bit further than you really want to," said Mockridge. "To buy the best, that's how competitive it is. I thought about three and a half to four [million guineas] was her valuation, but you have to make that extra stretch. That's something that we've learned. It's all very well trying to value them but, when it comes to the moment, you've got to be that little bit stronger."
Teona registered three victories while training with Roger Varian, most notably the Prix Vermeille (G1), in which she got the better of Anglo-Irish and Yorkshire Oaks heroine Snowfall by 1 1/2 lengths. She also won the listed August Stakes and finished her racing days with a third behind Yibir in the Breeders' Cup Turf (G1T).
Not only did Ali Saeed's color-bearer win a group 1 herself but she is out of a group 1 winner in Ambivalent, who carried the same owner's silks to success in the Pretty Polly Stakes, beating Oaks heroine Was by half a length. The daughter of Authorized has bred three winners, with Teona a half sister to Prix Hocquart (G2) victor Al Hilalee.
"She's the best mare in the sale," said Mockridge. "A group 1 winner out of a group 1 winner, and that's what it costs you. For us, she's got a great pedigree and she's by Sea The Stars, who's made a fantastic start as a broodmare sire. He's already the damsire of five group 1 winners. She's everything that we want and she'll fit in very well.
"There were plenty [of elite mares] at Goffs that we tried hard on but we got beaten on most of the great individuals there, but mares like this are very difficult to find. She's a little bit of an outcross for Frankel, which is ideal."
Tally up
By the close of trade the session had become the third-highest grossing day in European auction history. The aggregate was 48,167,000gns (US$61,735,643), an 11% dip on last year's record-busting session. The average price was clipped by 2% at 275,240gns, while the median was down by 18% at 92,000gns. The clearance rate was 79% as 175 sold from 221 offered.
The highest-grossing session in European history is the corresponding day at this sale last year, when the 5,400,000gns Alcohol Free contributed to turnover of 54,005,000gns. The No. 2 grossing session was Day 2 of last year's renewal of Book 1, which was topped by the 2,800,000gns Kalidasa.
