Star two-year-old sprinter The Platinum Queen and fabled stayer Trueshan head our list of graduates from the Newmarket sale, which returns this month from April 30-May 1
There is something for everyone at the Tattersalls Guineas Breeze Up Sale [April 30-May 1] at Newmarket, with past form offering the possibilities of unearthing a sizzling two-year-old sprinter or a stout-hearted elder statesman stayer – and pretty much everything in between.
The list below provides the evidence, from Hot Streak to Trueshan, from Queen Azteca to Trip To Paris, a rollcall of the sale’s most notable alumni – some purchased for as little as 10,000gns.
Tattersalls Guineas Breeze Up catalogue for 2025
This year’s candidates for future stardom will breeze over the Rowley Mile on April 30 and go through the ring the following day, a mouthwatering hors d'oeuvre ahead of the first two British Classics of the year, the 2,000 and 1,000 Guineas.
“The hallmarks of the Tattersalls Guineas Breeze Up Sale are quality and diversity,” says Edmond Mahony, chairman of Tattersalls.
“There have been a remarkable 42 Group and Listed performers for the sale since 2022, and this year’s catalogue features a strong selection of quality two-year-olds that should appeal to domestic and international buyers in all sectors of the market.”
Crypto Force
b c Time Test - Luna Mare (Galileo)
2022 purchased for 160,000gns
Buyer: Michael O’Callaghan
Consignor: Tally-Ho Stud
Subsequent record: In training, 2 wins from 10 races (inc. G2 Beresford)
Here is a case of ‘what might have been?’ – although there is still time to find out. This son of Time Test beat subsequent Derby winner Auguste Rodin on his debut and later won the G2 Beresford over a mile at the Curragh in the style of a likely Classic contender, but he missed the whole of his three-year-old campaign. On his return at four he drew a blank from six starts while still showing bright flashes of ability, notably when third in the G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup at the Curragh (albeit beaten 11 lengths), and he stays in training as a five-year-old with some fancy entries.
Hot Streak
ch c Iffraaj - Ashirah (Housebuster)
2013 purchased for 42,000gns
Buyer: David Redvers Bloodstock
Consignor: Mayfield Stables
Subsequent record: 4 wins from 18 races (inc. G2 Temple)
A shining example of the breeze-up beau ideal, he gave an immediate return on investment when winning his first two starts and then showed dazzling speed when routing his rivals by five lengths in the G3 Cornwallis at Ascot. He was a pure five-furlong horse – he was foiled by a half-length in the six-furlong G1 Middle Park at Newmarket on his final start at two, but peaked on returning to the minimum trip when blazing gate-to-wire in the G2 Temple at Haydock. That was his final success, although he gained a black-type flourish when third in the G1 King’s Stand at Royal Ascot.
Margot Did
b f Exceed And Excel - Special Dancer (Shareef Dancer)
2010 purchased for 10,000gns
Buyer: Richard Frisby Bloodstock
Consignor: Woodtown House Stud
Subsequent record: 5 wins from 19 races (inc. G1 Nunthorpe)
Three weeks after her purchase for what must be considered loose change she got it right first time in a Newbury maiden, before peppering the outer ring with four placed efforts in stakes grade including a narrow defeat in the G2 Lowther at York. A stakes breakthrough was just a matter of time – two Listed wins the following June – but her crowning glory came as a surprise. Few fancied her chances in the G1 Nunthorpe at York, hence her 20-1 odds, but she rose to the occasion with a career-defining success. At stud she has produced G1 Satsuki Sho winner Justin Milano.
Nearly Caught
b c New Approach - Katch Me Katie (Danehill)
2012 purchased for 25,000gns
Buyer: Anthony Stroud Bloodstock
Consignor: Oak Tree Farm
Subsequent record: 9 wins from 40 races (inc. G2 Prix Kergorlay)
Some, of course, are slow-burners. He was unraced as a two-year-old and looked no more than a cameo player in long-distance handicaps across his next three campaigns, but almost miraculously blossomed at the age of six. In a seven-week flurry of black-type productivity he was placed in a Listed race, won at that level, and next time out crushed the opposition in the G2 Kergorlay at Deauville with a relentless front-running display. That was his high-water mark, although he also made a splash when third in the G1 Cadran at Chantilly on Arc weekend and was still winning Listed affairs as an eight-year-old.
Our Jonathan
b c Invincible Spirit - Sheik’n Swing (Celtic Swing)
2009 purchased for 25,000gns
Buyer: Dr M Koukash
Consignor: Woodtown House Stud
Subsequent record: 7 wins from 37 races (inc. G2 Criterium de Maisons-Laffitte)
Four wins from six races as a juvenile set a standard he could not maintain as precocity wore off, but it was heady stuff for a while. He broke his maiden by six lengths, immediately made his stakes breakthrough, blew his chance at the gate next time, then bounced back to snatch the G3 Cornwallis at Ascot in buzzer-beating fashion by a neck. Better was to follow, as he splashed through the mud for a dominant success in the G2 Criterium de Maisons-Laffitte. He lost his form completely at three but recovered to win the valuable Ayr Gold Cup handicap at four.
Queen Azteca
b f Sharp Azteca - Princesa Helena (Palace Malice)
2024 purchased for 30,000gns
Buyer: Edgar Byrne
Consignor: Fairgreen Stables
Subsequent record: In training, 3 wins from 7 races (inc. G3 UAE Oaks)
Norway is not often the place to look for star quality, but multiple Scandinavian champion trainer Niels Petersen knew he had a filly who could take on the world when she cruised by five lengths in a conditions contest at Jagersro in Sweden, her first start on dirt after two defeats on turf. She swapped the fjords for the desert, thriving at Meydan earlier this year, two wins capped by a late thrust to capture the G3 UAE Oaks, and fifth place in the G2 UAE Derby against colts did little to dent her image. She remains a possible contender for the G1 Kentucky Oaks.
Shantisara
b f Coulsty - Kharana (Dalakhani)
2020 purchased for 10,000gns
Buyer: Federico Barberini
Consignor: Aguiar Bloodstock Ltd
Subsequent record: 6 wins from 15 races (inc. G1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup)
The ten-thousand-guinea purchase who became a dollar millionairess, she was small beer across five starts when trained in France but became champagne quality in the US. She made an instant impact Stateside, rolling up a hat-trick in her first summer comprising the G3 Pucker Up at Arlington, the stakes-grade Jockey Club Oaks at Belmont Park and the G1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup at Keeneland, when she drew off to win by a cantering five lengths. She never hit those giddy heights again with training setbacks a factor, although second place in the G3 Pegasus World Cup Filly & Mare Turf was a sterling performance.
The Platinum Queen
b f Cotai Glory - Thrilled (Kodiac)
2022 purchased for 57,000gns
Buyer: R Fahey/Middleham Park Racing
Consignor: Tally-Ho Stud
Subsequent record: 4 wins from 9 races (inc. G1 Prix de l’Abbaye)
During a career notable for the unconventional, she shone as a juvenile but most brightly when not competing against other juveniles. She made her greatest impact when taking on older horses with the benefit of a substantial weight concession, firstly in the G1 Nunthorpe at York when runner-up to champion sprinter Highfield Princess when in receipt of 24lb. The weight-for-age scale gave her slightly less assistance in the G1 Prix de l’Abbaye at Longchamp but she still justified favouritism in a desperate finish, prevailing by a short neck. She was all two-year-old; one also-ran effort at three and that was all she wrote.
Trip To Paris
b c Champs Elysees - La Grande Zoa (Fantastic Light)
2013 purchased for 20,000gns
Buyer: Federico Barberini
Consignor: Mocklershill Stud
Subsequent record: 6 wins from 27 races (inc. G1 Gold Cup)
A gelding operation was the catalyst for his transformation from run-of-the-mill staying handicapper to international star. The change was instant, and his first success at Group level came on the showiest stage of all when he came home powerfully to lift the historic Gold Cup at Royal Ascot. Bizarrely, he never won again, although he more than paid his way in place prize-money. Four months after Ascot he was in Australia, where as a 30-1 longshot he went down by just a half-length in the Caulfield Cup, before finishing a game fourth behind Prince Of Penzance in the Melbourne Cup.
Trueshan
b c Planteur - Shao Line (General Holme)
2018 purchased for 31,000gns
Buyer: Highflyer Bloodstock/A King
Consignor: Knockanglass Stables
Subsequent record: 16 wins from 33 races (inc. G1 Prix du Cadran x2, Goodwood Cup)
Probably the finest graduate of the Guineas Breeze Up sale, this towering mudlark became one of the best stayers in Europe, denied greater honours only by his disdain for fast summer ground. He emerged as a major player with a romping seven-length score in the G2 British Champions Long Distance Cup at Ascot in 2020, and the following year cashed in on a wet summer by taking the G1 Goodwood Cup, the G1 Cadran – by 4½ lengths from Stradivarius, no less – and another Long Distance Cup, his second of three. He later added another Cadran and a G2 Doncaster Cup to a glittering resumé, but he may be most fondly remembered for blithely carrying a monstrous 10st 8lb (148lb) to victory in the historic Northumberland Plate at Newcastle.
• Visit the Tattersalls website and the Guineas Breeze Up Sale catalogue
Outstanding quality: ten of the best G1 performers sourced at the Tattersalls Craven Breeze Up Sale
The world’s ten most expensive sires for 2025 – Nancy Sexton
Sale of the centuries: spotlight on Tattersalls, the oldest bloodstock auction house in the world
View the latest TRC Global Rankings for horses / jockeys / trainers / sires