[Merlinsky]

Ah ha, found it. Courtesy of Pedigree Query's forum:

It is whispered that Demi O'Byrne bought the horse outside, before the sale, for somewhere between $4-5 million, and the Coolmore gang, for want of a term, ran him through the sale and up as high as he could go. Their purpose was to basically smack Sheikh Mohammed upside the head and "prove" they were the winners. He could not have bought the horse at any price. Perhaps it is poetic justice, then, that they will not see a penny of their $4-5 million.

Regardless of their intent, their schoolyard behavior amounted to a public humiliation for Sheikh Mohammed. This caused an otherwise gracious (in public anyhow) ruler to retaliate. At the Keeneland September yearling sale, Sheikh Mohammed spent $57 million on yearlings, and not a Coolmore-sired horse among them. The gauntlet was thrown and the message to breeders was clear... to avoid Coolmore stallions if you expect to sell your equine offspring for anything like their real value. It was even remarked on in the trade publications covering the sale.

Sheikh Mohammed has been a player for a very long time, and his brother, Sheikh Maktoum before him.