Yearling colt, three-year-old filly top February Sale

Yearling colt, three-year-old

filly top February Sale

A yearling colt by Selkirk and an unraced three-year-old filly jointly headed

Thursday's one-day February Sale, each realizing a final bid of 92,000 guineas.

The yearling, a grandson of Yorkshire Oaks (Eng-G1) winner My Emma (Marju),

was offered on behalf of the Ian Matthews dispersal through Lanwades Stud. Irish

pinhookers Paddy Twomey and Ger Hourigan battled it out for the bay, with the

former prevailing.

"He's been bought for a syndicate to resell and will be heading to County

Kildare," Twomey said. "He's a nice horse with a nice pedigree."

The 92,000gns filly was MARGARET RIVER (Seeking the Gold), an unraced

three-year-old out of a half-sister to multiple highweight Lammtarra (Nijinsky

II). Bloodstock agent Hugo Lascelles purchased the filly with John McCormack,

bidding through Tattersalls director Martin Mitchell, the unlucky runner-up.

"She's been bought for American clients and will now go to Ireland, probably

to be bred to Montjeu (Ire), but will eventually be based in the States,"

Lascelles said. "The pedigree is exceptional and Seeking the Gold is a good

broodmare sire; he gets horses who go on turf and dirt."

The fixture, Tattersalls' largest ever February Sale, turned over a record

1,957,900gns although the 9,645gns average represented a 5 percent decline and

the 4,200gns median was down by 16 percent.

"It was never going to be easy to follow a year as spectacular as 2005 where

a record turnover was recorded at every sale, so it's very pleasing to begin

2006 in such a positive manner, with another record turnover," explained

Tattersalls Chairman Edmond Mahony. "The February Sale has grown in size from

year to year and it was encouraging to see so many familiar faces at the seventh

renewal of what is now an important fixture on the sales calendar.

"A cosmopolitan cast of buyers is a feature of any Tattersalls sale and it

was a great pleasure to welcome buyers from many European countries as well as

Egypt, Kuwait and the United States to complement the typically strong English

and Irish clientele. The support of many of Europe's leading owner/breeders has

allowed the February Sale to grow in both size and quality and we look forward

to it's continued expansion."