Sea Force tops Tattersalls July Sale, headed for Bahrain campaign

Sea Force topped the third and final day of the Tattersalls July Sale in Newmarket, selling for 170,000 guineas and leaving the ring bound for Bahrain. The four-year-old gelding by Sea The Stars had already won twice for William Haggas and Sheikh Rashid Dalmook Al Maktoum, and his peak Racing Post Rating of 102 gave the buyer a horse with proven form rather than a speculative gamble.

Bahrain-based trainer Jaber Ramadhan secured Sea Force under JS Bloodstock on behalf of owner Hasan Alajmi, with the purchase made late in the evening from William Haggas’ Somerville Lodge. Ramadhan said the team had been tracking the horse for months before stepping in. “We’ve been following him for the past two or three months,” he said, a line that underlined how targeted the move was for a horse already showing enough class to win and compete at a higher level.

That profile is exactly why the sale matters beyond the Tattersalls ledger. Sea Force is not just changing hands, he is changing campaign, from a strong British yard into a Bahrain programme that has become more ambitious by the season. Ramadhan said the horse could go toward the Bahrain Turf Series once he has been refreshed and prepared, and the mile trip looks a natural fit for a gelding whose best figure came from already solid European form. BloodHorse put the price at about US$239,261 using a rate of 1 guinea to US$1.39.

The calendar in Bahrain gives the move real stakes. The 2026-27 Bahrain Turf Series begins on December 18 and includes races in all three divisions, with each race worth $80,000 apart from the final round at the King’s Cup Festival in March, where the purse rises to $100,000. Bahrain’s flagship Bahrain International Trophy has also been upgraded to Group 1 status for 2026 and carries a $1.5 million purse, a sign that the local pattern is drawing better horses and more serious international intent. Sea Force now fits that picture: a proven, well-related horse with enough ability to matter in Bahrain’s expanding winter and spring scene.

Tattersalls said the sale catalog was down 20 percent from the previous year, while aggregate turnover reached 13,837,500 guineas, down 18 percent. The clearance rate improved to 91 percent, later rising to 93 percent for the closing session, and the next highest lot on the day was Comical Point at 140,000 guineas. In a sale built around horses with immediate racing purpose, Sea Force stood out as the one with the clearest road map ahead.