Rogue Millennium sells for huge profit at Newmarket event

Tony Elliott with Rogue Millennium before the sale

A horse bought by a syndicate for just £35,000 has been sold for more than £1.7m at Tattersalls in Newmarket.

The sale of Rogue Millennium, winner of the Duke of Cambridge Stakes at Royal Ascot, was among the highlights of day two of the annual December event.

She has been trained at the local yard of trainer Tom Clover since 2021.

"It's very emotional. We've had the horse for a couple of years and she's just been fantastic," syndicate manager Tony Elliott told BBC Look East.

Group One winner Teona - offered in foal to Frankel - was sold for more than £4.7m (4.5m guineas), the third highest price ever paid for a mare.

"She is the best mare in the sale.

"She is a Group One winner out of a Group One winner, and they are very difficult to find," said successful bidder Simon Mockridge of Juddmonte Farms, established in 1980 by Prince Khalid bin Abdullah.

"You always have to stretch when you want to buy the best, it is competitive."

Rogue Millennium sold for 1.4m guineas at Tattersalls in Newmarket

Via Sistina, winner of the Pretty Polly Stakes in Ireland, went to Evergreen Equine for £2.8m, having cost just 5,000 guineas as a yearling.

Shingo Hashimoto bought Cachet and Prosperous Voyage, winners of the 1000 Guineas and Falmouth Takes, for Japan's Northern Farm stud for a combined outlay of more than £4.8m.

"We've had more than 40m guineas [£42m] spent today," said Jimmy George of Tattersalls.

"These are some of the best brood mares and fillies in training to be found anywhere in the world and it's that sort of quality that brings buyers from literally every continent in the world to the Tattersalls December sales.

"There's an awful lot riding on the sales of some of these horses so it's very important that we get it right, we put on a good show, that we get all the right people here."

Last year, the auction house sold off 14 of the horses formerly owned by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

The December event is one of the highlights of the year, achieving a sales aggregate of £84.8m (80.8m guineas) in 2022, and providing a boost to the wider economy in the area.

"It's great for the town," Mr George added.

"Pretty much every hotel room has been booked solid for quite a few weeks leading in to this sale, and it's the same for an awful lot of our sales throughout the year.

"Tattersalls is very much an integral part of Newmarket and the surrounding area. We very much feel part of the community and it's important that we play our role."

Rogue Millennium won the Duke of Cambridge Stakes at Royal Ascot in October, ridden by Daniel Tudhope

More than 1,000 horses will be sold over the course of four days, which could result in more than £100m of business.

Rogue Millennium will now continue her career with Irish trainer Joseph O'Brien and the profit made on her capped a lucrative period for the Tony Elliott syndicate.

"Last month we sold another one of our horses, Rogue Lightning, for £1m, it's been a fantastic few weeks," he added.

"For our investment of about 80,000 guineas (on the two horses) and a return of three million - it's a dream come true.

"Everything gets shared back to the syndicate and it's just been an incredible journey. We have just invested in another five horses and shares are selling fast."

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