Dance In The Night Tops Vibrant Ascot May Sale

The first one-day Tattersalls Ascot May Sale held at Ascot Racecourse since 2019 produced a robust day’s trade with a wide variety of international buyers in action, the strong demand across all sectors resulting in a healthy clearance rate of 90%.

The session’s average of £6,972 and median of £4,650 were improvements of 14 per cent and 33 per cent on 2019, while the 66-lot smaller catalogued produced an aggregate of £599,600.

The sale’s top price of £31,000 went to DANCE AT NIGHT (Lot 31), bought by owner John Neild as a National Hunt prospect. Previously trained by Andrew Balding, the four-year-old gelding by DARK ANGEL won in January over 7f and was third over 1m2f on his last two starts.

Neild has had such good horses as SPLASH OF GINGE in training with Nigel Twiston-Davies, and this son of DARK ANGEL is also making his way to the Cotswolds. "He is joining the 'Ginge army'," smiled Neild. "He has not got the Ginger name, but we certainly don't mind the name DANCE AT NIGHT! We will put him away now and bring him back in the autumn go hurdling. He looks made for hurdling – he has form over 1m2f and he is a winner, that is always a good sign. He is a good-looking horse."

Tom Malone bought two five-year-olds from Gordon Elliott’s ever-popular Cullentra House Stables draft going to £30,000 for the CAMELOT gelding SHOWBUSINESS (Lot 120), who won over hurdles last weekend, and £22,000 for this spring’s NH Flat race winner GUN RUNNER CASH (Lot 54). By JET AWAY, he has run just twice in two NH Flat races winning on his debut at Perth and then finishing fourth at Kelso on his last start in April.

“I originally bought SHOWBUSINESS in France as a three-year-old for Bective Stud,” said Malone. “He is a lovely horse and Gordon has done well with him. This time he is for trainer Syd Hosie.

"GUN RUNNER CASH is coming back to me and currently is mine, but the plan is to get him sold. He is a fine, big chasing type, and I think at the price he is good value – he is a winner and Gordon told me that he thought he backed him up too quickly for his second start."

The two lots from Richard Hannon's East Everleigh Stables are both set to continue their racing careers abroad – TASHKENT (Lot 29), a three-year-old son of Acclamation and bought by Will Douglass for £27,000, heads to Qatar set to join leading trainer Gassim Ghazali, while GEOPOLITIC (Lot 28) was bought by Freddy Tylicki for £18,000 as a “fun horse” for German trainer Roland Dzubasz.

"I came here for TASHKENT," said Douglass. “He is lightly raced and looks like he has some miles to go, he is a nice horse. We are trying to get a big team of horses up together for Qatar."

Irish trainer John “Shark” Hanlon, always a good supporter of Tattersalls Ascot and bidding online under his Shark Bloodstock banner, went to £24,000 for the Godolphin-consigned SPACE ODYSSEY (Lot 58). By SEA THE STARS, the three-year-old gelding, who has run just the once over 1m2f at Nottingham, is out of the Classic-placed mare LADY OF DUBAI (DUBAWI).

Hanlon, speaking on the telephone, said: “He is for a new owner in the yard and is good-looking horse. He needs gelding so we will get him home, get that done and then look to bring him back to run in the late autumn. I like progeny of SEA THE STARS.” Hanlon is hoping lightning will strike twice – in 2019 he bought HALLOWED STAR as an unraced four-year-old from Godolphin. The son of SEA THE STARS has since gone on to win three races under NH rules for Hanlon.

The next Tattersalls Ascot Sale is due to take place on July 12 and entries can be completed online.