Sibling to George
Washington tops day one of Tattersalls sale
A half brother to Europe's leading miler, George Washington, proved
the pick when Part 1 of Tattersalls October yearling sale opened in
Newmarket on Tuesday..........................
A chesnut son of Cheveley Park stallion Pivotal out of
Bordighera, by Alysheba, the May foal was purchased for $2,378,400 by
Darley representative John Ferguson while his boss, Sheikh Mohammed bin
Rashid al Maktoum, observed from nearby.
The sale was another success for Roy and Gretchen
Jackson's Lael Stables, owners of Bordighera, who, in addition to George
Washington—a $2,050,335 yearling—also has produced three-time Group 1
winner Grandera.
Surprisingly, the Coolmore Stud team that owns George
Washington, a son of their late stallion Danehill, took no part in the
transaction, and it was left to bloodstock agent Tony Nerses to take the
fight to Ferguson.
Nerses bought Araafa, subsequent conqueror of George
Washington in this year's Irish Two Thousand Guineas (Ire-G1), at
Tattersalls for about $267,345 two years ago. That colt proved a worthy
investment when sold recently as a stallion to Newmarket's Plantation
Stud, but his former owners' valuation of Tuesday's star billing came up
short of Darley's.
"The price didn't surprise me—I thought that would be
about his level," Ferguson said. "He's a different horse to George
Washington. He's a Pivotal with size and scope, whereas George
Washington is a flashier individual.
"I doubt this one will be an early type, but hopefully,
he'll make up into an exciting three-year-old."