Fabilis became the highest-priced lot ever to sell at the Tattersalls August Sale in just its second year of trading when bought by Peter and Ross Doyle Bloodstock for 350,000gns on Wednesday.
Part of the Juddmonte draft, the three-year-old son of Frankel was trained by Ralph Beckett to win three times in his career. The most recent of those successes came at Newmarket’s July Course in a 1m4f handicap last month.
He boasts a classy pedigree being out of the Grade 3-winning Lear Fan mare Mirabilis, herself a half-sister to Prix de Diane and Prix du Moulin scorer Nebraska Tornado, and is a half-brother himself to the Group 3 winner Monarchs Glen.
Peter Doyle said: “He is for Prince Najd, a very long-established client. I bought for his family many years ago. He is a lovely horse, I didn’t think he’d make that much, but lots of people liked him.
“He comes from a very good operation; it is always nice to buy a horse from Juddmonte. The horse passed all the vets very well. The immediate plan will be to go and race in Saudi Arabia and aim for the Crown Prince Cup. We have had some success in the race before.”
Mags O’Toole stepped in on behalf of bloodstock agent Tom Malone, who was on a plane to Germany while the sale was occurring, to secure Zabeel Champion at 185,000gns.
A four-year-old colt by Poet’s Voice who is a half-brother to the Group 2 winner Dame Malliot, he won six races for previous trainer Mark Johnston and owner Jaber Abdullah. He is now set to continue his career in the National Hunt sphere.
Malone said: “A real champion. He is a big scopey horse, just our type of horse – a chaser in the making.
😍 Fabilis patiently waiting to top the #TattsAugust Sale. pic.twitter.com/zf0eVYRfbA
— Tattersalls (@Tattersalls1766) September 1, 2021
“He came highly recommended, and the owners weren’t going to release him too lightly. He ticks a lot of boxes, he showed a lovely pace over 1m2f to win at Ripon, stayed 1m4f on heavy ground at Royal Ascot.
“A beautiful pedigree, so fingers crossed he goes on and does our job as a novice over jumps. He goes to Ditcheat.”
Another to reach six figures on Wednesday was Shadwell’s Tawaareq, a dual winning three-year-old by the late Shamardal, who was snapped up by Oliver St Lawrence on behalf of Bahrain trainer Fawzi Nass for 180,000gns.
Nass added: “I think he will handle the firm turf ground, there will be plenty of races for him now. He is rated 90 so there are plenty of options within the international series. He is a nice horse, we vetted clean, so we are pleased.”
Wednesday’s session wrapped with a total of 159 lots from 169 offered selling for an aggregate of 3,916,000gns – up eight per cent on the corresponding day in 2020. The average rose 22 per cent to 24,629gns while the median posted a 44 per cent increase to 13,000gns.
The two-day auction saw 286 lots from 313 offered sell for a total of 5,375,200gns – down 36 per cent on 2020’s mark – with the average rising 14 per cent to 18,794gns and the median increasing 11 per cent to 10,000gns.
Tattersalls Chairman Edmond Mahony said: “Last year’s inaugural Tattersalls August Sale, which was born out of Covid-related disruption to the racing calendar, was a huge success and the second renewal has returned figures which suggest that the fixture very has a long-term future.
“With the recent July Sale returning to its customary numbers the August catalogue was significantly smaller than last year, but the vibrance and extraordinary level of international participation, which are the hallmarks of sales of this nature at Tattersalls, have been in evidence from start to finish.
“Buyers from throughout Europe, the Gulf region, Australia and the USA have added to the strong domestic participation, and we have yet again hosted a sale which has achieved a clearance rate in excess of 90% and generated sustained demand in all sectors of the market.
“Equally pleasing has been the fact that the August Sale has seen a return almost to normality after more than a year of staging sales which have been hampered by Covid-related protocols. It has been a real pleasure to have welcomed so many people back to Park Paddocks as we turn our attention to the Tattersalls yearling sales season starting with the Somerville Yearling Sale next week.”