A HORSE owner and breeder broke down in tears after selling her beloved colt for almost £1million.
Tanya Gunther was overcome with emotion and her voice trembled as she spoke after the hammer went down on the last foal out of her adored late mare Without You Babe.
Gunther, who runs the Newsells Park Stud, saw the unnamed colt by Kingman go for big money at this week's Tattersalls Book 1 sales in Newmarket.
The sales – which saw a relative of Osama bin Laden splash millions – are the biggest of the year for young horses and over £100million was spent by some of the most famous players in the game.
Among them were Coolmore, who topped the lot by paying over £2m for one horse whose sire is the brilliant Frankel.
Not that far behind was Gunther's bay colt who was bought by Oliver St Lawrence Bloodstock.
Without You Babe was mum to Group 1 winners Tamarkuz and Without Parole, who won the St James's Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot in 2018.
This new colt was her final foal before her death and Gunther was overcome with emotion when talking about how it felt to see him go for such a huge sum.
OFFERS OF THE DAY
Tote: Bet £5 Get £20 in Free Bets – CLAIM HERE
Virgin Bet: Bet £10 Get £20 in free bets – CLAIM HERE
Betfair: Bet £10 Get £30 in Free Bets – CLAIM HERE
Paddy Power: Bet £20 and get it back as Cash if it Loses – CLAIM HERE
Sky Bet: Bet £10 Get £30 in Free Horse Racing Bets – CLAIM HERE
Tote: New customers online only. Place your first bet on racing pools for a minimum of £5 and win or lose you will receive £20 Tote Credit. £20 Tote Credit rewarded as £10 redeemable against racing bets only and £10 redeemable against UK and Irish placepot bets only. Tote Credit cannot be withdrawn, exchanged, or substituted and expires after 7 days. Qualifying bet is the first racing pool bet added to the bet-slip. Ten to Follow, virtual and football bets do not qualify. Totewin will be the qualifying bet when a Totewin and a Toteplace bet are struck at the same time. New UK & ROI customers only. 18+. Full T&Cs apply. begambleaware.org
Virgin Bet: New members. £10 min deposit & bet on sportsbook, placed & settled at 1.5 min odds within 14 days of sign-up. Win part of E/W bets. 2 non-withdrawable £10 Free Bet Tokens: accept in 7 days, valid for 7 days from acceptance (ex. E/Ws & Multiples), stakes not returned. Click here for Rules & Exclusions. Bet Responsibly. BeGambleAware.org 18+ begambleaware.org
Betfair: New Customer offer. Place a min £10 bet on the Sportsbook on odds of min 1/2 (1.5), get £30 in Free Bets. Rewards valid for 30 days. SMS verification required. Only deposits via cards will qualify. T&Cs apply. Please Gamble Responsibly 18+ begambleaware.org
Paddy Power: New customers only. Place your FIRST bet on any sportsbook market and if it loses we will refund your stake in CASH. Max refund for this offer is £20. Only deposits made using Cards or Apple Pay will qualify for this promotion. T&Cs apply. Paddy's Rewards Club: Get a £10 free bet when you place 5x bets of £10+. T&Cs apply. 18+ Begambleaware.org
Sky Bet: 18+NEW CUSTOMERS ONLY. FIRST SINGLE & E/W BET ONLY ODDS OF 1/1 OR GREATER. 3 X £10 BET TOKENS. FREE BET STAKES NOT INCLUDED IN RETURNS. FREE BETS ONLY REDEEMABLE ON HORSE RACING. FREE BETS ARE NON WITHDRAWABLE. NO FREE BET EXPIRY. ELIGIBILITY RESTRICTIONS AND FURTHER T&CS APPLY. 18+ Begambleaware.org
Trying in vain to fight back tears, she said: "This Kingman colt – we loved him. He's the last foal out of the mare so it's mixed feelings.
"You want people to love them enough to pay good money for them, but it's sad to see him go.
Most read in Horse Racing
FIVER FLUTTER
The King and Queen can bag an 11-2 winner with this Haggas runner at Ascot
TEMPLEGATE’S TIPS
My NAP is a Frankel filly with loads of staying power for the Gosdens
NEW MONEY
Osama bin Laden’s relative enters British racing after spending £1.8m on horses
WA TO GO
Nashwa OUT of the Breeders’ Cup but to run at Ascot and stay in training at five
"The mare was such a sweet mare as well so it's been emotional.
"I see a lot of Without You Babe in this horse and he has the colouring of Kingman, he seems to have a great mind.
"He's a special last foal for a mare.
"There's not too many mares who will produce multiple Group 1 winners but he could be special.
"He could be anything and it's sad to see him go."
St Lawrence, who bought the horse for Bahraini owner Fawzi Nass, said: "I loved him from the first time I saw him.
"Hopefully he can take us to the 2,000 Guineas and we can have a bit of fun."
FREE BETS – GET THE BEST SIGN UP DEALS AND RACING OFFERS
Commercial content notice: Taking one of the bookmaker offers featured in this article may result in a payment to The Sun. 18+. T&Cs apply. Begambleaware.org
Remember to gamble responsibly
A responsible gambler is someone who:
- Establishes time and monetary limits before playing
- Only gambles with money they can afford to lose
- Never chases their losses
- Doesn’t gamble if they’re upset, angry or depressed
- Gamcare – www.gamcare.org.uk
- Gamble Aware – www.begambleaware.org
Source: Read Full Article