Lot 1720: Silver Horn, the unraced two-year-old filly by Golden Horn, offered by The Castlebridge Consignment, goes to Haras D'Etreham for 500,000gns.

The filly is out of the wonderful mare Magnificent Style, whose direct progeny and descendants fill the whole page. Magnificent Style is dam of the champion three-year-old Nathaniel and the champion two-year-old filly Playful Act, the champion English three-year-old Great Heavens, as well as the Group 2 winner Percussionist and the Grade 3 winner Changing Skies.

Silver Horn was sold as part of the Waddesdon Stud dispersal, offered by The Castlebridge Consignment. (18:30)

Lot 1717: Sonaiyla, the daughter of Dark Angel, is bought by Moyglare Stud for 900,000gns, Fiona Craig outbidding Joseph O'Brien standing in the bidders.

"A case of reinvesting from the sale of Mia Maria earlier," smiled Craig. "It is basically a need for speed, that is why everybody else was bidding on her, too! She has something that speed that we find hard to breed, and there is that Group 1 placing [third in the Flying Five Stakes]. She is a pretty filly, too, and she is an outcross, she can go to anything – I am so struggling with all our mares, aside from her own sire Dark Angel she can go to any of the top 15 stallions by stakes winners, which makes her invaluable.

"She can go Galileo, Frankel, Dubawi, Kingman, Sea The Stars – she can go to all of those.

"It is the speed, she won the Listed Sweet Mimosa, it is a good race, hats off to Paddy [Twomey] he did some amazing job," added Craig. "It is that Group 1 5f placing [in the Flying Five Stakes] is the key to it. Now we go forwards – knowing me I will get a two mile horse out of her!"

Trainer Paddy Twomey said: "She is a nice filly, we enjoyed racing her. She was a lucky one, this was kinda of the plan when we started, and it has worked out. Ennistown Stud bought her last year at Goffs, Ruairi O'Coileain of Ennistown Stud was my first owner. She is a clean filly, very easy to train. There was never a temptation to keep her - I am trader, once a trader always a trader!" (18:13)

Lot 1707: Lady In Lights, the Dansili half-sister to two Group 1 winners, sells for 525,000gns. Her older half-sibling is the dual Group 1 winner Magna Grecia (Invincible Spirit), while her 2018 half-brother St Mark's Basilica (Siyouni) won the Dewhurst Stakes this autumn

Lady In Lights was bought by David Cox of Baroda Stud and sold by European Sale Management.

The daughter of Dansili was bred in 2015 by Woodnock Farm, and was bought as a yearling at October Book 1 for 200,000gns by Rabbah Bloodstock.

At this sale last year she was bought by Blandford Bloodstock for 250,000gns and went on to be covered this spring by No Nay Never on a March 3rd service date.

"She has been bought for a client, it is an active pedigree and we look forward to selling some nice yearlings out of her," said Cox. "She will board at Baroda. We've had no thoughts about stallions yet, but No Nay Never is a great sire and we look forward to see what she produces and selling as a yearling."

Lady in Light's dam Cabaret was covered by Kingman this spring. (17:36)

Lot 1691-Lot 1697: the part dispersal of Floors Stud concludes with the sale of seven of the stud's mares with Deep Inside (Redoute's Choice ex Well Spoken), in-foal to Lope De Vega, fetching the top price of the draft at 425,000gns bought by Anthony Stroud. Hibiscus (Galileo), in-foal to Siyouni and a half-sister to the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1) winner Line Of Duty, fetched 325,000gns, bought by Hugo Merry Bloodstock.

Virginia, the Duchess of Roxburghe, and two of the late Duke's children, George and Isabella, were at Park Paddocks to see the mares go through the ring.

"It was sad as well as being exciting for all the buyers, I know Dad would be extremely proud of the team at home of all the effort they have put in, we hope for all the best for the new owners," said George Innes-Ker. "We are to keep five mares and we'll try and keep the Attraction name, Dad's legacy, going. Attraction is carrying a Kingman filly this year so he would be over the moon with that, and fingers crossed next year will go well.

"The five mares will be Attraction, Cushion, Motion, Titivation and Blinking – she is a 95 per cent blind mare and Dad was completely in love with her, so keeping her will be amazing."

The Duchess of Roxburghe added of the plans for the five: "Attraction and Blinking are going to Sara Cumani at Fittocks, she has looked after them and knows them incredibly well. We knew that is where Guy would want them to go, the other three are going to Watership Down."

George Innes-Ker was just a young child when Attraction won the 1,000 Guineas in 2004, but the Classic victory left a lasting impact.

"I was quite small but I remember it so vividly, being a seven-year-old and seeing Attraction win and Dad's excitement that he'd won the Guineas," he recalled.

Mikey Roy, who family bought Hibiscus, said: "She’s a lovely mare and her foal sold very well last week. She’s in foal to a very good stallion and she has a good future. The pedigree is getting better all the time and for us it was a no-brainer to buy her out. Dad [Paul] was great mates with Guy, and while on the one hand I was hoping she would sell for lots of money, on the other I was hoping we could buy her, so we were on a win-win either way.” (17:11)

Lot 1686: Yvonne Jacques of Carisbrooke Stud with Cathy Grassick of Brian Grassick Bloodstock buys Mia Maria (Dansili) for 450,000gns.

The mare is in-foal to Lope De Vega, was bred by Moyglare Stud and is a full-sister to the Meld Stakes (G3) winner Carla Bianca. it s the family of Profound Beauty, Irresistible Jewel and Mad About You.

"Lots about her, her page and that she is in-foal to Lope De Vega - that means a lot as we are big fans of him. We are just trying to get quality, quality, quality with our broodmares. She is obviously one we hope will be very lucky for us over the years," said Jacques.

Grassick added: "Yvonne has the only sister to Phoenix Of Spain, so she really is a big fan of the stallion! She is a big fan of Dansili, too, as Yvonne's filly Stylistique, by Dansili, won a Listed race in France the other day.

"They are not making Dansili fillies anymore, so it is fantastic to get something that combines all those factors, she ticks a lot of boxes. Fiona Craig of Moyglare was saying they have only ever sold four fillies from this family – Candle Lit, whom I bought for Clodagh McStay, is one of the four – so I have bought two of the four! It is a family you just can't go wrong with." (16:26)

Lot 1680: Tisa River (Equiano), a half-sister to the joint-champion three-year-old filly and Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf (G1) winner Iridessa (Ruler Of The World) and to Order Of Australia (Australia), winner of the Breeders' Cup Mile (G1) since the catalogue was published, is bought by Blue Diamond Stud Farm UK for 400,000gns.

"When opportunity knocks you have to grab it , it is exactly what we did. It is not very often that a half-sister to two Breeders' Cup winners come on the market -we are delighted to get her. She will be heading to Decorated Knight," said buyer Tony Nerses.

The mare, who is in-foal to Blue Point, is also a grand-daughter of another Breeders' Cup winner in Starine, who took the Filly and Mare Turf in 2002. (16:14)

Lot 1662: Breathtaking Look, the daughter of Bated Breath bought as a yearling in Book 3 by trainer Stuart Williams with owner Ralph Parry for 42,000gns, sells today for 400,000gns to Northern Farm's Katsumi Yoshida.

Shingo Hashimoto, manager of international affairs for the farm, said: "She had a lot of ability, her race record is very nice and she is very strong, which is important for us."

"We are really sad to se her go," said Stuart Williams, at Tattersalls with Parry. "She has been a delight for us, consistent, tough and genuine. Ralph does breed, but with one worth that much money, you need to put a big stallion on her and it is just a lot of money."

Parry added: "They can send her to a stallion outside of our budget, hopefully she can go to one of the best and breed the best! I go to Japan a couple of times ad year and maybe I can go and see her.

"We paid just 43,000gns for her in Book 3 – we have been lucky a few times in Book 3," added Williams. (15:27)

Lot 1605: Dulkashe (Pivotal), the dam of Defoe, the Coronation Cup (G1) and multiple Group 2 and Group 3 winner, is bought by David Redvers Bloodstock for 525,000gns.

"The core mares will be split between Kameko, Zoustar and we will use a few outside stallions, too,"said Redvers. "We will sit down and see what suits – the idea was to get the mare first. Daughters of Pivotal who thrown Group 1 winners are not terribly common on the market."

Dulkashe, carrying to Churchill on a March service, was sold by the Bennett family's County Limerick-based Miltown Park Stud. (13:59)

Lot 1602: Shena's Dream becomes the dream for Sicilian-based owner Domenico Zammitti. The daughter of Oasis Dream was purchased here last year for 1,200gns from Ringfort Stud – since then her two-year-old daughter Miss Amulet (Sir Prancealot) has appeared and this summer the talented juvenile won the Lowther Stakes (G2) before going on to finish second in the Cheveley Park Stakes (G1) and third in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1).

Shena's Dream was sold today 280,000gns and was bought by Will Douglass of Charlie Gordon Watson Bloodstock on behalf of Al Wasmiyah Stud. She was consigned by Fittocks Stud on behalf of Zammitti and the Cumanis explained the story.

"She is such a lovely mare. Unbelievable,"said Sara Cumani, her husband Luca Cumani adding: "When we were asked this autumn to sell her we wondered how average she must be as she made just 1,200gns last year. But when she came off the box she was perfect – she is absolutely straight, absolutely well conformed, walking straight, walking very well, looking great.

"I am so pleased for Domenico. We have never met him – he is in Sicily and he is so distraught that he could not come over. He said that it would have been the greatest day of his life!"

Explaining the fairy story further, Cumani said: "Domenico bought the mare last year and took her to Sicily, and that is what he does, buys cheaper mares to take home who are in-foal. Then Miss Amulet came along. I knew nothing of him, but he spoke with Franca Vittadini and she said to him to sell her through Fittocks.

"We are absolutely delighted for him, he is a charming man," smiled Cumani.

"They are hard to find, she looks amazing," said purchaser Douglass. "Miss Amulet is a really good filly, she was unlucky not to have won a Group 1 and she was unlucky in the Breeders' Cup. Oasis Dream is really ringing the bells as a broodmare sire, and sometimes it is good to buy a mare when she is not in-foal.

"Al Wasmiyah Stud is a couple of young Qataris, they bought a Frankel foal on Friday [Lot 780, Frankel ex Ballet De La Reine, 220,000gns] and sold a yearling by Siyouni [Lot 159] at Book 1 in October 2019 for 800,000gns.

"They board the mares at Watership Down. They have a filly called Traisha in training with Joseph O'Brien who won a Listed race at Bath. They are trying to buy proven mares and are building up quite a good broodmare band. There are four good mares, including the dam of Suedois [bought here in 2017 for 240,000gns, Lot 1710] and American Nova, who is the dam of Nyaleti [bought here in 2017 for 550,000gns, Lot 1843].

"We have to go to discuss and decide on stallions, but with her the options are pretty open, physically she could go to most stallions, fingers crossed," added Douglass. (13:47)

Lot 1596: the Sea The Moon foals were the height of popularity at the December Foal Sale last week, and his daughter Illumined maintained the trend. She was bred by Forenaghts Stud & Tinnakill Bloodstock from the stallion's first crop, and she went on to win and achieve a Listed placed result for owner George Strawbridge.

She is out of the Listed winner Nenuphar, the dam of Night Lagoon, a champion two-year-old filly in Germany and dam of Novellist, a champion older horse in England in 2-13 and a champion three-year-old in Italy in 2012, the winner of four Group 1 races across Europe.

Night Tango (Acatenango), the Deutsches Derby (G1) runner-up is also a half-brother to Illumined, who was consigned by The National Stud in-foal to Expert Eye, covered in his second year at stud. The Grade 1 winning son of Acclamation stood at £17,500 in 2020 and will be available for breeders at £12,500 next spring.

She was bought by Harvey Bloodstock for 170,000gns. (12:52)

Lot 1555: Aperitif is bought by Matt Coleman of Stroud Coleman Bloodstock for 300,000gns. She is by Pivotal, out of the Oasis Dream mare Swiss Dream and is a half-sister to the Group 3 Hackwood Stakes winner Yafta. She is from the Lordship Stud pedigree of Swiss Lake and Swiss Spirit.

"I have bought her for Noel O'Callaghan of Mountarmstrong Stud," said Coleman. "Noel likes to buy quality mares and good pedigrees, Pivotal mares are very hard to get hold of. She is from Lordship Stud's magnificent family – it is not only a family of racehorses but also of commercial sales horses as well. She is a half-sister to Yafta, who has gone to stud, and she is out of a very fast filly and from a very fast family. She will go back to Noel's farm and no doubt the progeny will be sold commercially.

"She has Pivotal, Green Desert and Indian Ridge on her page – three of the best broodmare sires of all time so, hopefully, she has the ingredients to be a really good broodmare. Noel is really keen to get into these good families, and we were very keen to buy her."

Explaining something of the connection with Mountarmstrong, Coleman added: "I bought a mare for Noel from Juddmonte two years ago called Fine Time, she is a sister to Timepiece et al. Her first yearling made 475,000gns in Book 1 and was purchased with a similar idea – to get a mare with a fantastic pedigree as Noel is trying to breed for Book 1.

"She was last big one we bought, and her first yearling made 475,000gns in Book 1 this autumn [Lot 159]. We shop when we see the right one rather than saying we are coming to definitely buy one – we shop by the mare rather than the sale.

"I have been helping Noel for a few years, I have bought him several mares who have grown him black-type winners and we have been lucky and we work well together. We have three on the list today and that was the first one, we will see what happens to the other two."

Fine Time cost O'Callaghan 420,000gns, the daughter of Dansili bought on this day of the December Sale 2018, Lot 1518. (11:30)

Day 1 statistics: (+/- compared with 2019)

Lots catalogued: 325 (297)

Lots offered: 270 (249)

Lots sold: 243 (215)

Aggregate: 12,292,200gns (-22%)

Median: 30,000gns (-14%)

Average: 50,585gns (-31%)

100,000gns+: 37

200,000gns+: 10

% clearance: 90%

Top price: Lot 1453 Aunty Bridy (IRE) 2018 ch,f., sold by Ballylinch Stud, Ireland, bought by Hurworth Bloodstock

Leading purchasers (by agg): 1. BBA Ireland, 2. Avenue Bloodstock, 3. Yeomanstown Stud

Leading consignors (by agg): 1. Godolphin, 2. Juddmonte Farms, 3. The Castlebridge Consignment

Leading sires (by agg): 1. Kingman, 2. Lope De Vega, 3. Shamardal

Leading sires (by av, two or more sold): 1. Poet's Voice, 2. Galileo 3. War Front (21:44)

Lot 1488: Ringfort Stud pop ups again... this time as breeder of Princess Guest, a 2012 mare by Iffraaj and sold by Tweenhills today for 190,000gns to Plantation.

She was intially sold by Ringfort as a yearling, and ran a few times at three for owner John Guest.

However, it is in her second career as a broodmare that she has found success. Her first foal named Dubai Station (Brazen Beau), bred by Hall Of Fame Stud in 2017, is the winner of two races, including the Pavilion Stakes (G3). He has also been placed in the Norfolk Stakes (G3), the Prix de Cabourg (G3) and the Prix de Ris-Orange (G3) for trainer Karl Burke. He was bought by trainer Robert Cowell at the Autumn Horses In Training Sale this year for 150,000gns.

She is in-foal to Soldier's Call on a February 20 service date. The son of Showcasing stands at Ballyhane Stud - he covered in 2020 off a fee of €10,000 and will be standing for 2021 at €7,500. He won the Flying Childers Stakes (G2) as a juvenile and was placed in the King's Stand Stakes (G1), the Nunthorpe Stakes (G1) and Flying Five Stakes (G1) as a three-year-old. (21:15)

Lot 1481: Wealth Of Words, a 2016 bay mare by Poet's Voice out of Affluent, is bought by Yeomanstown Stud for 130,000gns. She is a half-sister to Daahyeh, winner of the Rockfel Stakes (G2) and Albany Stakes (G3) and second in the the Moyglare Stud Stakes (G1), the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1) and the Duchess Of Cambridge Stakes (G2).

Affluent is a half-sister to Deportivo, winner of the Flying Five Stakes (G2).

Wealth Of Words was sold in-foal to Advertise, who covered for the first time last spring. The fee for the Group 1 winner for 2020 was £25,000 and that has been maintained through to 2021. (20:58)

Lot 1453: the Group 3-placed juvenile Aunty Bridy becomes today's top lot when selling for 410,000gns to Hurworth Bloodstock.

The two-year-old daughter of Camacho has run three times and, after winning her maiden on her debut, finished sixth in the Moyglare Stud Stakes (G1) and then runner-up in the Park Stakes (G3) for trainerJim Bolger and owner David Granville. She was consigned today by Ballylinch Stud

There was interest from around the sale ring – a sale ring that is considerably quieter than would be usual for a Monday evening at the December Mares Sale due to the social distancing requirements – with Michel Zerolo of Oceanic Bloodstock and Andreas Putsch of Haras de Saint Pair involved from opposites sides of the rostrum. However, it was young bloodstock agent Sam Haggas of Hurworth Bloodstock, in a black wooly hat and facemask and sat on his own opposite the rostrum, who came out on top.

"She will stay in the UK for the short time. She may go on to the US, it is undecided as yet, a plan will be made," said Haggas. "She is a good-looking, lightly raced filly, her form is good and there should be more racing in her. She has run to a good level, and she is by a prolific sire of fillies – fingers crossed there is more to come from her."

Bred by Karis Bloodstock Ltd & Rathbarry Stud, Aunt Bridy is out of the Galileo mare Benedicte, a half-sister to the Group 1 Middle Park Stakes winner Amadeus Wolf (Mozart), the Sirenia Stakes (G3) winner Rouleau (Exeed And Excel) and the Listed-placed Aurum (Exceed And Excel). Third dam Rose Violet finished second in the Oaks d'Italia (G1) (20:00)

Lot 1430: Donnybrook becomes the top-priced three-year-old filly at this year's sale so far – the daughter of Invincible Spirit bought by Brendan Hayes of Knocktoran Stud for 240,000gns. It is very much a case of returning to a family well known by Hayes – most of the individuals on the page were bred by Kilfrush Stud, managed by Hayes through the 1980s to 2013 when the farm was sold by owner Richard Strauss to Qatari businessman Mubarak Al Naemi.

Donnybrook's dam, the Group 3 winner Mayhem, was bred by Kilfrush Stud. She raced in France, owned in training by Madam Anne-Marie Hayes. Her first foal Donnybrook was bred by the Mayhem Syndicate. She was sold as yearling by Ballylinch Stud to Godolphin. She ran four times – winning once, and finishing in the places on her other three starts. She achieved a rating of 82 and was consigned by Godolphin today.

"Most people are are very happy to buy what they know," said Hayes. "She is for my son Jonathan really, I was just doing the bidding, he wanted to buy her. Hopefully, she will be lucky for him. She is a very good-looking filly and she had a bit of ability too.

"It is nice to return the ball to Darley and Dalham Hall, they are a huge help to everyone in the industry, it is nice to give a good price to something they are selling."

Of the plans for the spring, Hayes said: "The plan is to get her in-foal early ,we have not really chosen any sire yet, we will see. We will get a fast stallion." (19:14)

Lot 1401, Lot 1403 and Lot 1404: this trio by Ballylinch Stud's Lope De Vega all sell for six figures.

Lot 1401, Lope Athena, was bought by Ringfort Stud. The farm, who followed up the good season it has enjoyed on the racecourse with a strong week of foal sales last week (13 sold for an average price of 64,462gns), bought the mare (carrying to Siyouni) from Hillwood Stud for 125,000gns.

She is a half-sister to the Listed winner Elas Ruby (Raven's Pass), a granddaughter of the Group 3 winner and Group 1 placed Ela Athena, dam of the Group 2 winner Pallasator.

Lot 1403, Teodora De Vega is out of Applauded and from the family of Power, Curvy, Thakafaat, Fotostepsinthesand and Pedro The Great. She made 180,000gns, also consigned by Hillwood Stud and bought by Hubie De Burgh. A winner of two races, she is carrying to the Aga Khan Stud's Zarak, whose first foals are yearlings of 2020.

Lot 1404, Lily De Vega out of Ros The Boss (Danehill) and consigned by Manister House Stud, is bought by Rabbah Bloodstock for 120,000gns. The three-year-old filly is a half-sister to the Group-placed Bossy Guest, from the family of Wind in Her Hair and Deep Impact. (17:42)

Lot 1378 and Lot 1386: Juddmonte's Mechanism (Zamindar-Clepsydra (Sadler's Wells)) and The Castlebridge Consignment-offered Golconda (Planteur-Hijaziyah (Testa Rossa)) are both bought by Frank Fahy of Gerrardstown House Stud. The mares cost the breeder 200,000gns and 210,000gns apiece.

Mechanism is in-foal to Darley's Golden Horn, while Golconda is in-foal to the Ashford Stud-based Justify.

"It is a rare cover this side of the world," said Fahy of Golconda's pregnancy to the US Triple Crown winner, the only mare carrying to the son of Scat Daddy on offer this week.

Fahy will be looking for a stallion options closer to home for Golconda in 2021. "We will be sending her to somebody local! We will get home and settled her in and hope she has a nice Justify foal, after that it is in the lap of the gods. The progeny will be bred to be sold."

He added of his evening's work: "We came over to buy two and we bought two on the first day – we can go home now even though we are not due to go home until Thursday, the pressure is off!" (17:19)

Lot 1379: is the first today to 400,000gns, and she will be heading eastwards – Calming Effect purchased by Northern Farm, Japan. She is a daughter of War Front and out of Emollent (Empire Maker), a four-time Grade 1 winner in the US. She is carrying to Frankel.

"She confirmation is very good, she is having a Frankel who is champion for us, she should match the stallions we have in Japan, but we have many good sires to chose from!" said Shingo Hashimoto, Northern Farm's manager of international affairs on behalf of Northern Farm's CEO Katsumi Yoshida.

"It is a difficult time for everyone as regards travel and I need to isolate when I get home, but travel has been as straightforward as possible and everyone has been very helpful."

Frankel has had notable successes in Japan – in February, Mozu Ascot became his first Grade 1 winner on Dirt, the same horse having won the Yasuda Kinen on the Turf in 2018. Soul Stirring won the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies (G1) in 2016 and the Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks) (G1) in 2017. (17:06)

Lot 1334: "Firelight is a lovely mare and she ticked a lot of boxes, a good race filly, a beautiful looker, and in-foal to Almanzor, whom we like a lot. I bought her for Graham Smith-Bernal, who has already got an Oasis Dream mare out of a Galileo mare. We managed to sell her Sea The Stars colt foal for 170,000gns –maybe we'll look to go down that route again, if they will have us!" said purchaser Jill Lamb after spending 330,000gns on Firelight on behalf of the new owner. "Almanzor is a very suitable cover, and the physical will suit her well. I loved the yearlings, they are really good solid, wonderful-looking horses."

Last week's Smith-Bernal-bred and sold Sea The Stars foal was consigned by Newsells Park where the breeder boards his mares. The foal was catalogued as Lot 978 and is a colt out of Nadia Glory (Oasis Dream ex Soon (Galileo), who was bought by Lamb here in 2018 for 240,000gns.

Firelight, bred and owned by George Strawbridge, was rated 100 and as a racehorse collected fourth placings in the Lowther Stakes (G2) and the Dick Poole Stakes (G3). She was consigned by West Blagdon Stud.

From a young family – her dam Freedom's Light is a 2010 daughter of Galileo – Firelight is a half-sister to the 2017-born and winning Siyouni colt Lauderdale, to a 2019 colt by Kodiac and a 2020 colt by Lope De Vega.

The family stems under the third dam to the prolific Cassandra Go family that includes such top-class horses as Halfway To Heaven, Magical, Rhododendron, Tickled Pink, Theann, Land Force, Verglas and Cross Counter. (15:15)

Lot 1308 and Lot 1311: Baroda Stud's lunchtime Day 1 draft sees Lot 1308, the Listed-placed Flower Fashion (Flower Alley), who is carrying to No Nay Never, sell to Avenue Bloodstock for 180,000gns and Lot 1311, It's Magic, the final offering of the batch, make 260,000gns. An unraced daughter of Galileo, she is in-foal to Ten Sovereigns and was bought by Michael Donohue for BBA Ireland.

"She is a Galileo mare and we all know what Galileo mares can do," said Donohue. "She is a very good physical, is a mare who should be easy enough to cross and she is from a nice tough family. She has been bought for a client from the Middle East, who has a few mares in Ireland and she will probably go back to board at Baroda. We are thinking of a stallion such as Siyouni for her next year – Siyouni on Galileo worked so well this year. And she has a nice covering at the moment in Ten Sovereigns, he is an exciting horse."

The successful Galileo-Siyouni cross hit the headlines this year courtesy of two Group 1 winners – St Mark's Basilica, winner of the Dewhurst Stakes, and Sottsass, the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe hero. (14:07)

Lot 1289: the Kilcarn Sud-bred Irish History (Dubawi), a three-quarters sister to the Group 2 winner and Group 1-placed Echo Of Light (Dubai Millennium), out of Spirit Of Tara, the own-sister to the brilliant Salsabil and former sire Marju, winner of the St James's Palace Stakes (G1), makes 130,000gns.

Irish History was pretty talented, too – she was a winner and twice Group 1-placed when third in the Coronation Stakes and fourth in the Falmouth Stakes.

The 11-year-old mare has a 2019 colt by Sea The Stars, but was not covered in 2019. This February she visited Exceed And Excel.

Avenue Bloodstock purchased her today. (13:15)

Lot 1260: Tom Blain of Barton Stud, standing with agent Barry Lynch, buys Desirous (Kingman) from the Juddmonte draft for 220,000gns, signing on behalf of Faisal Bin Mishref al Qahtani. She was sold in-foal to Frankel, her first pregnancy and her last service date was February 16.

"She has been bought for Faisal Mishref, he is a very loyal client of Barton Stud's," said Blain, going on to explain further about the purchase: "Faisal Mishref had a very good yearling sale. He loves supporting Juddmonte, this mare has a brilliant pedigree, she was a good racemare herself, she is a very good physical, and she is in-foal to a champion.

"She will come back to Barton. We have not thought as far as her next cover, but she will be well mated. She will stay in this country and we will try and make a proper mare out of her."

Of the breeder's broodmare band, Blain said: "Faisal has between two and four mares at any one time, we are trying to keep the quality high. We started off buying cheaper mares and with the good results at the yearling sales, trying to up the quality. I am really pleased we have got this mare."

Desirous, a dual winner and rated 86 when in training, is out of the Matron Stakes (G1) winner Emulous (Dansili), a granddaughter of the Listed-placed Aspiring Diva and a great-granddaughter of Queen Of Song, a Grade 2 and Grade 3 winner in the US. (12:26)

Lot 1252: Amser, by Frankel and a half-sister to the Group 1 winners Timepiece and Passage Of Time (the dam of Times Test), and to the Group 2 winner Father Time and Listed winner Continuum, is bought by Durcan Bloodstock for 160,000gns, signing as Durcan Bloodstock / Heider Family Stables.

From today's early Juddmonte draft, she was sold in-foal to Kingman.

"She has been bought with breeder Scott Heider in the US," said Durcan. "She's a mare who I loved yesterday, Scott loved her last night when he saw her and his manager Tony Lacy. We just think there is a huge upside to her, she has got an unbelievable sexy cover, it is nice and early, too. It is hard to buy a family like that and there is such a lot happening – we are over the moon to have her. I don't know where she will go yet."

Former jockey Durcan can add personal experience of the family – he rode Twice Over (Observatory) four times, including to finish third in the St James's Palace Stakes (G1) and to victory in the Prix Eugene Adam (G2). (12:12)

Lot 1228: Kodiva, a Listed-placed daughter of Kodiac and a half-sister to Silver Grey (Chineur), runner-up in the Prix Thomas Bryon (G3), is bought by Cormac McCormack 50,000gns.

Offered by Hazelwood Bloodstock, her second dam is the wonderful Negligent, a champion two-year-old of 1989 and dam of the Group 1-placed Blatant, Songlark (Singspiel), who went one better than her relation winning the Prix Thomas Bryon in 2002, and Shawanni. She is dam of the other champion in the family – Sky Lantern, a champion in 2013, winner of the 1,000 Guineas (G1), the Coronation Stakes (G1), the Sun Chariot Stakes (G1) and, as a juvenile, the Moyglare Stakes (G1).

Kodiva has a yearling by Dark Angel bought by Mark Flannery at the October Book 2 Yearling Sale for 22,000gns, and is in-foal to Harry Angel. (11:01)

Lot 1213: the almost pure white mare Sell Out (Act One), the dam of the Listed winner and Group 3 placed Showout (Showcasing) and a half-sister to Sueboog (Darshaan), the dam of Best of The Bests as well as an ancestress of the annual Group 1 Melbourne Cup placed Prince Of Arran, makes 95,000gns.

She was sold as part of the Shutford Stud dispersal, consigned by Culworth Grounds Farm and bought by BBA Ireland. She is carrying to Showcasing on an April cover.

Sell Out'sTime Test yearling sold at the beginning of last week for 60,000gns, bought by Kevin Ross Bloodstock. (10:29)

At the conclusion of the 2020 Tattersalls December Foal Sale, Tattersalls Chairman Edmond Mahony commented;

“We felt that the relative strength of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sales would provide a solid platform for the December Foals and this has been borne out by another 2020 sale at Park Paddocks which has held up remarkably well under the current circumstances, and particularly considering the continued widespread travel restrictions.

“Despite having the smallest Tattersalls December Foal catalogue since 2001, with 191 fewer foals catalogued than last year, the sale has achieved turnover just over 10 per cent below last year’s lofty returns and single digit declines in average and median. Not for the first time this year we can reflect on a market which has displayed extraordinary and commendable resilience, most graphically illustrated by a clearance rate which compares favourably not only with 2019, but also with the majority of recent renewals of Europe’s premier foal sale.

“Trade has been competitive throughout the week, starting with sustained demand for the yearlings and flowing consistently through four days of the cream of the British and Irish foal crop. As ever the sale has been dominated by pinhookers and we applaud them for their huge contribution, but even more so in this strangest of years. The sale has been conducted under the strictest of health protocols and the compliance and awareness of all the rules and regulations has been admirable, as has the acceptance that we have not been able to provide the full Tattersalls sales experience in the current environment.

“Nevertheless, we have sold 64 foals for 100,000 guineas or more this week, including Airlie Stud’s outstanding sale-topping Dubawi colt whose 700,000 guineas price tag is the second-highest for a colt foal at this fixture.

"In addition to the individual highlights, we have had widespread participation, some of it online, from buyers from throughout Europe, Japan, North America and the Gulf region, all of which gives encouragement as we turn our attention to the annual showcase of Europe’s finest breeding stock at the Tattersalls December Mares Sale." (13:00)

Foal Sale statistics: (+/- compared with 2019)

Lots catalogued: 934 (1,125)

Lots offered: 791 (921)

Lots sold: 628 (663)

Aggregate: 26,255,100gns (-11%)

Median: 20,000gns (-9%)

Average: 41,807gns (-6%)

100,000gns+ (cumulative): 64

200,000gns+ (cumulative): 21

% clearance: 79%

Top price: Lot 939 by Dubawi (IRE) / Dane Street (USA) Br.C. (IRE), from Airlie Stud to Godolphin for 700,000gns

Leading purchasers (cumulative, by agg): 1. Paca Paca Farm, 2. Peter & Ross Doyle Bloodstock, 3. Godolphin

Leading consignors (cumulative, by agg): 1. Norelands Stud, 2. Whitsbury Manor Stud, 3. New England Stud

Leading sires (cumulative, by agg): 1. Sea The Stars, 2. Dubawi, 3. Frankel

Leading sires (by av, two or more sold): 1. Dubawi, 2. Frankel, 3. Lope De Vega (12:00)

Lot 1130: "We admired the stallion, early precocious and with speed. This colt is out of a Green Desert mare and has always looked a fast horse and will come to hand early – buyer Mr Cunningham has promised us that we will all be going to Royal Ascot to drink some champagne when he runs!" laughed Richard Kent after selling his homebred Rajasinghe colt out of Bakoura (Green Desert) for 50,000gns to Phil Cunningham, the owner of the sire obviously hoping for a repeat of Rajasinghe's Coventry Stakes (G2) success in 2017.

"He has always been a bonny colt, a good walker and we have to be thankful that an owner such as this has the faith in his stallion that he will back his judgement. I bought the mare Bakoura for just €3,500," recalls Kent, who explains: "I had a lad at the sales in Ireland whom I needed to get back to Shropshire, the only way was on a truck with horse – so I had to buy a mare to get him home!"

Mickley has enjoyed a good week here (22 foals sold for average price of 28,091gns) and Kent said: "It has been a tremendous week, we are delighted with the sales we have had. I told everyone I was going to pay them in December, we can sort out the farm bills now!"

Of his stallions, Kent added: "I am pleased with how the Massaat's have been received, they are good consistent horses and look like racehorses. I have a new stallion Almanaara (Dark Angel) for this spring. I saw him race in Dubai – checked he was a colt and not a gelding! – and thought he would be a suitable stallion then. Malih Al Basti rang us recently and it has gone from there.

"Almanaara offers a fantastic bloodline and will give breeders, particularly those based in the north of England, a chance at an affordable price.” (13:34)

Lot 1097: the colt by Australia out of Bitooh, the Diktat half-sister to the Melbourne Cup (G1) winner Rekindling , makes 62,000gns. He was bought by Matt Houldsworth with Aughamore Stud.

"We have bought him for resale, and will aim to bring him back to Book 1 or Book 2. It is a smashing family, a quality family and has been in the Pocock family for a time. I am quite big fan of the stallion, he has had a good year," said Houldsworth.

The delighted consignor Nick Pocock was at Park Paddocks from the family's Stringston Farm in Somerset. He recounted the story of the mare Bitooh. Bred by the Pococks, she was sold as a foal here in 2005. She raced for Sheikh Mohammed and was in Godolphin ownership as a racehorse. She was bought as a breeding prospect by Sunderland Holdings in 2009.

After her half-brother Rekindling won the Melbourne Cup in 2017, the Pocock's bought back Bitooh just two weeks after that southern-hemisphere Group 1 victory.

"The plan will be to send Bitooh back to Australia [the sire!], the family does very well with him and he is a lovely horse to deal with," said Pocock, who added that he was satisified with trade this week. "That was our last lot, it has been tough but reasonable." (12:35)

Lot 1075: the son of Sioux Nation (Scat Daddy), whose first crop are foals of this year, is bought by Alex Elliott for 88,000gns.

"He is probably for resale, but is a colt we'd be happy to keep, too," said Elliott. "I love the Scat Daddy line, he is becoming a real sire of sires and Sioux Nation was a fast horse."

The colt was sold by Barton Stud on behalf of breeder The Brigadier Partnership, which is headed by Rebecca Matthews

"He was the stand-out foal today, we deliberately came today to sell on the Saturday to stand-out and it is a fantastic result. This was an investment by the breeders to get a bloodstock business going so this is really a great start," said Tom Blaine. "I am delighted for them."

Autumn Snow (Invincible Spirit) has a Highland Reel yearling, who has been retained, and in-foal to Le Brivido. She was bought for just 1,500gns at the Tattersalls February Sale in 2018, by Matthews. She is a daughter of the Listed third Epic Smile (Lomitas), who is a half-sister to Ultra (Manduro), winner of the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere (G1). (11:43)

Lot 1045: "This filly is very nice, the stallion is on an upward curve given the fact that he has had small crops, he is very promising," said purchaser John Cullinan of Horse Park Stud after spending 60,000gns on this filly by Sea The Moon. "He should only continue improving. We have had a couple by Sea The Moon, we liked them, they are straightforward horses, we were very happy with them. The stallion is one of the current upwardly mobile sires.

"The mare has also had a black-type runner and is a Galileo mare – it is hard to get stock out of good Galileo mares at my level!"

The filly, who is out of the mare Garabelle and is half-sister to Aphrodite Stakes (L) fourth Bella Vita (Aussie Rules), was sold by Byerley Stud on behalf of Heather Raw's Shoreham Stud.

Ian Bradbury said: "We consign for the farm, this is a lovely filly. We foaled her, then she went home for the summer and came back to prep. Sea The Moon is a good value stallion. The mare is in-foal to Territories, and Bella Vita has jus come home out of training, she will go to something nice, maybe Sea The Moon!"

Bradbury added: "Very sadly, Heather's husband John died last week. Heather is not here, but watching on computer; at least this is something positive for her." (10:58)

Day 3 statistics: (+/- compared with 2019)

Lots catalogued: 268 (268)

Lots offered: 218 (211)

Lots sold: 189 (171)

Aggregate: 16,341,000 (-4%)

Median: 57,000gns (-12%)

Average: 86,460gns (-14%)