BBAG Yearling Sale Sets New Turnover Record
Saxifraga Tops Sale At €600,000
The BBAG Yearling Sale closed 2026 with its strongest result to date, generating total turnover of €9,316,000 (US$10,806,560) — an increase of almost 9 percent on an already strong previous year. Of the 208 yearlings catalogued, 169 found new owners, a clearance rate of more than 81 percent that organisers described as a top figure for the sale. The average price across the sale reached €55,124 (US$63,944), with a median of €55,425 (US$64,293).
Top billing went to a yearling bred by Gestüt Ebbesloh in partnership with Sunderland Holding. Saxifraga, a daughter of Sconset out of Sea The Stars and half-sister to Group III winner Santa Catarina (Zarak), sold for €600,000 (US$696,000), the highest price of the sale. The winning bid came from British bloodstock agent Jeremy Brummitt on behalf of Newsells Park Stud. Brummitt told racing portal GaloppOnline.de that pursuing the dams of classic winners remains central to his approach to buying.
Frankel Colt Fetches €460,000
The second-highest price of the sale, €460,000 (US$533,600), was paid for a son of Frankel out of Wellenspiel, offered by Gestüt Röttgen and purchased by Juddmonte. Wellenspiel is the dam of two Derby winners, Windstoß (Shirocco) and Weltstar (Soldier Hollow), giving the colt a page with proven black-type production behind it.
The first six-figure price of the day arrived with Lot 29. Korsar, a son of Torquator Tasso out of Kalakaua (Gleneagles) bred by Gestüt Brümmerhof, made €110,000 (US$127,600) under the hammer. The yearling was bought by Alex Elliott and will head to England to join the string of trainer Ralph Beckett.
Gestüt Ebbesloh, marking its 100th anniversary this year, recorded two further significant sales alongside its Saxifraga topper. Goldlack, a colt by Farhh out of Galette, sold for €280,000 (US$324,800), again to agent Brummitt, this time acting for buyer Clive Washbourn. The filly Duranta, by Sea The Moon out of Democracy, went to Peter & Ross Doyle for €200,000 (US$232,000).
Gestüt Brümmerhof’s second notable result of the sale saw a Sea The Stars filly out of Diamanta (Maxios) sell for €260,000 (US$301,600) to Meridian International. Stiftung Gestüt Fährhof achieved its best result of the sale with a son of Baaeed out of Nasej (Medaglia d’Oro), which sold for €210,000 (US$243,600) to Amy Marnane, buying on behalf of Paul Rooney. Gestüt Röttgen recorded a further sale when Ronald Rauscher purchased Ataman, by Sea The Moon out of Anna Kalla, for €200,000 (US$232,000).
Six-Figure Prices Spread Across Sires
Taken together, the results point to broad-based demand across the catalogue rather than strength concentrated in a small number of lots. Six-figure prices were achieved across multiple consignors - Ebbesloh, Röttgen, Brümmerhof and Fährhof among them - while the median price sitting just above the average suggests buyers were competing consistently through the middle of the book as well as at the top.
The pedigree pages behind the sale’s leading lots also reflect the sale’s broader traffic in proven black-type families. Saxifraga’s connection to Group III winner Santa Catarina, the Frankel colt’s descent from dual Derby-producing mare Wellenspiel, and the Baaeed colt’s link to Medaglia d’Oro mare Nasej each gave buyers a tangible link to established performance when bidding at the top end of the market.
International buying activity was also evident in the results. British-based buyers Newsells Park Stud, Juddmonte and Ralph Beckett’s yard on behalf of Alex Elliott were all represented among the sale’s leading purchases, alongside German-based consignors and buyers, underlining the sale’s role as a meeting point for bloodstock interests beyond its domestic market.
The sire lines represented among the sale’s top prices also spanned a wide cross-section of the current stallion ranks. Sconset, Frankel, Torquator Tasso, Farhh, Sea The Moon and Baaeed each produced a lot that reached six figures, giving the results a breadth across different bloodlines rather than a reliance on any single sire’s progeny to carry the sale’s turnover.
Brummitt’s involvement in two of the sale’s leading purchases - Saxifraga for Newsells Park Stud and Goldlack for Clive Washbourn - made him one of the most active buyers at the top end of the catalogue, reinforcing the agent’s stated focus on sourcing yearlings out of mares with strong classic-producing pedigrees.
With turnover up on an already record-setting previous year, a clearance rate above 81 percent, and six-figure prices spread across several different studs and sires, the 2026 renewal of the BBAG Yearling Sale delivered what organisers characterised as their strongest result yet - a marker that will set expectations for the sale heading into future years.