Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale opens with outstanding strength in depth, headlined by the first European-consigned yearling by Equinox, a number of potential seven-figure lots and a deep international buying bench. With pinhookers buoyed by recent Orby results and first-season sires like Modern Games drawing attention, the sale promises fierce competition from the outset. Here are five things to look out for. Where Will The Top Lot Come From?There were 16 horses sold for 1 million gns or more at Book 1 last year. Yes, you read that correctly: 16. Godolphin spent over £20 million while Amo Racing were a clear second best with over £14 million spent. Despite the cooling off of the Amo operation at the European sales at least, it wouldn't be fanciful to suggest that Tattersalls can beat last year's tally of millionaires such is the strength in depth to the catalogue. But what will top the sale?It's hard to know where to start but, certainly one of the most current pedigrees in the sale is Owenstown Stud's Blue Point sister to Sun Goddess (Sioux Nation), Aidan O'Brien's outstanding triple Group 1 winner. So, what could she sell for? When you think that Senorita Bonita's sister by first-season sire Modern Games lit up the Orby Sale at €1.3 million to Godolphin, surely there is scope for John Tuthill's filly to rock into seven figures – and possibly exceed such a figure? She could be an obvious starting point in search of a show-stopper this week.You've also got to imagine that Clara Stud's Justify brother to Camille Pissarro, who shot the lights out at this sale in 2023 when selling to Coolmore for 1,250,000gns, can make a din in the ring. We all know what Camille Pissarro went on to achieve for Aidan O'Brien, and the first foals of the French Derby winner will be eagerly anticipated in 2027. They are just a couple of lots to look out for in a sale dripping with quality. Equinox Fever Finds Its Way To TattersallsFor the pure novelty factor, it will be fascinating to witness the market's reaction to Newsells Park Stud's Equinox filly, who sells [lot 318] on Thursday and is out of Group 2 winner Waldlied (New Approach), a three-quarter-sister to Arc winner Waldgeist (Galileo).Bred in partnership with Lordship Stud, the Equinox filly represents one of the boldest missions that this sale has seen for some time. Japanese buyers did not hold back in supporting the progeny of their champion at the JRHA Select Sale back in July. He posted a massive ¥1.984 billion [$12.24 million] aggregate for 13 lots sold. A remarkable tally, really, for a sire whose horses have yet to grace the track.But will the ripple effect reach its way to Park Paddocks? And, more importantly, will the filly's breeders be rewarded for such an ambitious play? It will be one of the major subplots of the entire sale. Strong International Buying Bench In TownJason Singh, marketing manager at Tattersalls, says the sales company has assembled “as good a group of Americans for Book 1 than ever before.” A quick jaunt around Park Paddocks on the eve of the sale and you quickly realise that's not marketing speak. The buyers are out in force. Americans Ben McElroy, Justin Casse, Wells Watson and Andrew Cary, all of whom were active at Goffs, were busy inspecting horses on Monday. So, too, were Phillip Shelton of Medallion Racing, the West Pacers Team of Larry Connolly, Conor Foley and Tom Morley, familiar faces Mike Ryan, Chad Brown, David Ingordo, Ben Colebrook, Troy Leavy, Corbin Blumberg, Liz Crow, Alex Solis, Miguel Clement, Bill and Will Farish, Phil Antonacci, Walker Hancock and even Everett Dobson, the president of the US Jockey Club. Safe to say the land of the free and the home of the brave is well represented. Similarly encouraging is the fact that Sheikh Mohammed has been out in force inspecting yearlings since the weekend while Alanood Althani, who spent €1,885,000 at the Orby Sale, is also in town. Pinhookers Expecting Strong CompetitionOverall, Goffs was good for pinhookers. All told, 67 of the 127 pinhooks in Book 1 of the Orby Sale made a profit, which works out at 52.8%. Not bad. Included in those figures was a €150,000 Starman filly that sold to Emmet Mullins for €265,000 and an Ace Impact filly that left Peter Nolan with plenty of profit given she cost €40,000 and sold to Jeremy Brummitt for €175,000. There were a number of similar results but, without doubt, the standout pinhook was the €750,000 Modern Games colt that sold to Godolphin. He was purchased by his connections [including Longview Stud's Eugene Daly] for €225,000 at Goffs last year and was without doubt one of the punchiest pinhooks of the entire sale. There are more expensive pinhooks at Tattersalls this week compared to the Orby. One master of that craft summarised in the Green Room on Monday that, “Goffs was great, the nice horses made nice money. The only problem we could run into this week is the fact there are so many nice horses around the place. I mean, you could have a nice horse here and still miss the target, because there are so many good-looking horses on the ground. Competition will be strong.”It will be fascinating to see how it plays out. Young Sires To Stay The Right Side Of Modern Games is the first-season sire on everyone's lips after his Orby heroics. Godolphin spent a combined €2.05 million on a filly and a colt by a stallion who has been compared in-house at Darley to the brilliant Night Of Thunder. It may seem a bit on the early side to be drawing parallels between the two sons of Dubawi, but the early signs are positive about Charlie Appleby's five-time Group 1-winning globetrotting star. It has to be said that Chaldean, Good Guess and Little Big Bear have made a favourable impression among buyers in recent weeks and the three young stallions are well-represented this week. It's another dimension to the sale that should prove engaging. As the well-known and much-loved Irish on-course commentator Jerry Hannon once said, “strap yourselves in.”The post From Top Lot Prospects To Equinox Fever: Five Things To Watch Out For At Book 1 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.