Piste Noire leads Tattersalls session

Juddmonte homebred PISTE NOIRE (Diesis [GB]), an unraced full sister to

champion and Banstead Manor Stud sire Three Valleys from the family of blue-hen

mare Hasili (Ire) (Kahyasi), was the star turn at Wednesday's penultimate

session of Tattersalls' December Sale in Newmarket selling for 340,000 guineas.

Grant Pritchard-Gordon and Paul Makin, and agent Tom Ryan and Charlie

Gordon-Watson all made a play for the sophomore, but it was Blandford

Bloodstock's Tom Goff who secured Lot No. 1889 with a single bid. Goff was

standing alongside Coolmore's Paul Shanahan while bidding.

"It's an outstanding page and she's a full sister to, in my opinion, one of

the best two-year-olds we've ever seen," Goff said. "His Coventry S. (Eng-G3)

win was breathtaking. She will be an enormous asset to any leading breeding

establishment."

Sunderland Holding Inc., the breeding entity of Ling Tsui and family, have

been trying for several choice mares this week through advisor John Clarke and

paid 270,000 guineas for Darley castoff BITOOH (Diktat). She was offered in foal

to King's Best. Consigned as Lot 1767, Bitooh could be covered by the Tsuis'

champion Sea the Stars. Paddy Twomey was underbidder on the mare, who is a

half-sister to this season's Irish Derby (Ire-G1) second-place finisher Golden

Sword (High Chaparral [Ire]). She shares her granddam with Oaks (Eng-G1) heroine

Alexandrova (Ire) (Sadler's Wells).

"There are various options about where she could go and Mrs. Tsui will have a

think, but it's certainly possible that she could go to Sea the Stars," Clarke

offered. "I know the mare's family well as we used to look after the great

granddam Soumana (Pharley) at the Irish National Stud for a Swiss client, Dieter

Hofemeier."

John Tyrrell of BBA Ireland was another standing with Paul Shanahan as he

successfully bid 260,000 guineas for this season's Newbury stakes winner APPLE

CHARLOTTE (GB) (Royal Applause [GB]).

"She's a beauty and I think, with her form, she's something to go forward

with," said Tyrrell, who outbid Matt Coleman of Anthony Stroud Bloodstock on

Lot

1967. "I'm not sure what the plan is with her, there's a possibility she could

go to Australia and I don't know whether she will keep racing for a bit or be

bred."

Tony Nerses, advisor to Saleh Al Homaizi and Imad Al Sagar, was another who

bid 260,000 guineas when getting the Grangecon Stud homebred CRYSTAL SWAN (Dalakhani).

Offered in foal to the 2005 Derby winner Motivator as Lot 1821, she will be

covered by Al Homaizi and Al Sagar's 2007 Epsom hero Authorized next year.

"She'll be a nice mating for Authorized, that's what we have been looking

for," Nerses revealed. "We usually keep the progeny of our mares to race and I

was trying to get one that was in foal rather than a filly, that way you can get

something back. She'll be kept at New England Stud, where all our mares are

based."