Tattersalls December Sale ends on optimistic note

The Tattersalls December Mare Sale finished with a flourish on the fourth and

final day with

134 lots selling for a total of 850,400 guineas and a clearance rate, which has

been strong

throughout the week, of 81 percent. The December Mare Sale finished with 628 lots

bringing a total

of 33,197,700 guineas, at an average of 52,863 guineas and a median of 14,500

guineas.

The

nine-day Tattersalls December Sale saw a total of 1,399 lots sell for 56,903,100

guineas, a

rise of 14 percent on 2008 whilst the 2009 turnover for all Tattersalls Sales rose to

169,407,800

guineas.

"The economic upheavals of 2008 had a dramatic effect on the bloodstock industry

throughout

the world and we approached the 2009 sales season with an air of trepidation,

but the

resilience of the market has been extraordinary," Tattersalls Chairman Edmond Mahony

said at the conclusion of the 2009 Tattersalls December Sale. "From the beginning of Book 1 of

the October

Yearling Sale to the conclusion of the December Sale today, all of the sales at

Tattersalls have

outperformed expectation and, while we are a fair way off the dizzy heights of

2006 and 2007,

it has been particularly gratifying to see a real sense of confidence return to

the industry. The

Tattersalls December Sale is a key indicator of the health of the bloodstock

industry and we

can all derive a measure of optimism from the 2009 renewal.

"In total we cataloged 2,183 lots for this year's December Sale, which was 545

less than last

year and the smallest December Sale since 1993. Remarkably, turnover for the

sale has risen

by 13 percent and all the key indicators of average, median and the percentage of lots

sold have

shown significant improvement on 2008. Not only have the figures provided

encouragement

for the industry going forward, but equally importantly there has been a

genuinely vibrant feel

to the proceedings of the last two weeks at Park Paddocks. The Tattersalls

December Sale has

long set the benchmark in terms of international appeal and the overseas buyers

have been

crucial to the sustained competition at all levels of the market. It has also

been evident that

the successful foal and yearling sales which preceded the December Mares' Sale

have instilled

renewed confidence in British and Irish breeders.

"Our 2009 sales have demonstrated that we have a product which continues to be

coveted by

buyers from all corners of the world with our annual turnover bouncing back from

the

substantial declines of last year," Mahony concluded. "There is little doubt that there remain many

challenges ahead,

but it is also clear that throughout the year vendors have reacted quickly and

positively to the

new economic realities and they have been rewarded for such pragmatism. Most

importantly

2009 has shown that there is an enduring and widespread demand for quality

bloodstock which has always been synonymous with the Tattersalls name."

The top priced lot on the final day was WANNABE GRAND (Ire) (Danehill), the

13-year-old mare who captured the 1998 Cheveley Park S. (G1) and whose first six

foals are all winners. The daughter of Wannabe (Shirley Heights) was consigned by The Castlebridge Consignment

as Lot No. 2068 on

behalf

of Chippenham Lodge Stud and knocked down to Australian owner/breeder Scott

Springott for

62,000 guineas after he withstood the effort of Coolmore's Kevin Buckley.

"They don't make Danehill mares any more and she's a Group 1 winner as well," Springott

said.

"She's empty so we can take her straight home and she'll probably go to More

Than Ready. It's

been a successful cross and we hope to get a good two-year-old. She's going to

Duncan

Grimley's Glastonbury Farms, where I now have 22 mares and this is the first

time I have been

here. The mares are different to those back home and the market has been very

strong."