Tom Lacy: ‘I Looked Forward To Persian Force Running As If I Owned Him Myself’

Tom Lacy received a heartwarming reception at the Irish Thoroughbred Breeders' Association Awards last week. And rightly so. A legendary figure in Irish racing, Lacy rode 50 winners on the Flat and found only Arkle and Flyingbolt too good aboard Height Of Fashion in two Irish Grand Nationals. 

As a trainer, Lacy sent out hundreds of winners from Rhode, County Offaly, including Ingabelle (GB), who later became a hugely important foundation mare at Ballylinch Stud.

His sons Barry and Tony rode multiple winners for the stable down through the years. It is also here where the late, great Pat Smullen honed his craft, before being crowned Irish champion jockey on nine separate occasions. 

While Tony has relocated to America, where he holds the role of Vice President of Sales at Keeneland, Barry remains an integral part of the family breeding operation, and the pair combined to produce last year's leading 2-year-old Persian Force (Ire) (Mehmas {GB}) from €1,200 mare Vida Amorosa (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}).

Persian Force has recently retired to Tally-Ho Stud, an operation that the Lacys have a close association with, and he will stand for €10,000 in his debut season. 

Tom and Barry sat down with Brian Sheerin for this week's Starfield Stud-sponsored Q&A where they discussed their rollercoaster year with Persian Force, mating plans for Vida Amorosa and much more. 

Brian Sheerin: It was a special night at the ITBA Awards with you taking home the small breeder of the year award for your exploits with Persian Force.

Tom Lacy: Persian Force was a small foal but, every day we went out to him, we could see him thriving. He grew into a lovely foal but he wasn't nearly as nice a foal as his brother [Gubbass (Ire)]. The main reason why we went back to Mehmas was because Gubbass was such a brilliant foal. When you think about it, we brought an unraced mare to an unproven stallion, who never had a runner before, and then went back to him the following year as well. We had two foals by a stallion who never had a runner. It could have been a disaster and, nine times out of 10 it would have been a disaster, but Mehmas has worked big time. 

BS: You said before that you broke the golden rule in bringing an unproven mare to an unproven stallion. 

TL: Absolutely. She was a well-bred mare, by Lope De Vega, and a fine big mare to match. Persian Force may not have been a big horse but he was full of courage. Jesus, he gave his best every time he ran. He'd put his head down, his ears back and he'd kill himself trying. That's number one for me, a horse who has a bit of fight and courage. But because the first foal was a good foal, I went back to Mehmas. Now, if it had been the other way round, and Persian Force came out first, I wouldn't have gone back. I was talking to Tony [O'Callaghan, of Tally-Ho Stud] who said he reckons Persian Force will end up being 16hh. You have to remember that these are only babies, they are only 2-year-olds when they are retired to stud, so there's plenty of growing in him. He's plenty big enough as he is but they reckon he'll grow, just like Mehmas did when he was retired to stud. 

BS: So who owes who a drink at this stage? 

Barry Lacy: Let's put it this way, when Mehmas went to stud first, it was the usual craic with everyone rolling in behind the first-season sire. But we didn't use Mehmas the first year he went to stud because we didn't have a mare suitable. It was in his second year at stud where we used him and got Gubbass and his third year when we got Persian Force. So, we used Mehmas for his smallest books of mares. Persian Force was always going to be Mehmas's best 2-year-old last year, because he'd very little else to run for him. He didn't cover huge books during Covid either, so, he could have a quiet year this year but then we're expecting to see him take off again next year and beyond because it's from 2021 when people started sending him the better quality mares on the €25,000 stud fee. So, when you're asking who owes who a drink, I'd say we're in front!

BS: Not too many people are in front of the O'Callaghans!

TL: Sure, we're always arguing. They came over here to look at Persian Force as a foal. The three boys-Tony, Roger and Henry-but they never said a word about the horse, whether he was good, bad or indifferent. They came in here and watched racing for the afternoon and never mentioned the horse any more but then went and paid €75,000 for him at the sales. They were going to buy him no matter what. They gave away the game because, when they say nothing, you know they like them. If they found any hole in Persian Force at all, you could be sure they'd have made a big thing about it! It was the same with Gubbass. They came over to look at him and never said a word, went to the sales and bought him as well. They are great men. 

BS: Between Gubbass and Persian Force, you have had a lot of fun over the past few years. 

BL: I'd say that one of the biggest kicks we have gotten in racing was watching Gubbass winning the Super Sprint S. at Haydock. He was in the Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale, which took place at Newmarket because of Covid. I asked Roger [O'Callaghan] if we could sell him under the Tally-Ho banner and he said it was no problem if I went over and helped them out at the sale. The morning that we're loading up Gubbass to bring him over for the sale, a call comes through to say that Pat Smullen has sadly passed away. Pat had worked here for years and is obviously a local hero. Roger told me that, if I couldn't go to the sale, he would understand completely. I gave Roger my word that I'd help him out at the sale and it's not like I could go to the funeral in any case because of Covid so we continued with the plan. We thought he was a 50 grand yearling all day long but he only made 26 or 27 grand at the sale. We always felt that he was a racehorse so when he won first time up and then went on to the Super Sprint, we were delighted. The other thing is, we are a small operation and if we approached one of the bigger outfits to do a foal share, they'd just tell us to go away and not be annoying them. So what do you do? We can't go spending 30 or 40 grand on a proven sire as we had an unproven mare at the time and, the only thing we had to go by on the pedigree is that her half-sister Queen Of Power had an Acclamation colt who made €130,000 as a foal. He ended up being a good horse for Charlie Hills and is probably a major reason why we went to a son of Acclamation (GB) in Mehmas with Vida Amorosa (Ire). 

BS: It's often the case that a mare catches fire just when she's gone too old. You don't have that problem with Vida Amorosa.

BL: She's just turned nine and is in foal to Starman (GB). It was this time last year when we were over in Tally-Ho and Roger said to me, 'Bar, this 2-year-old [Persian Force] could be the real deal.' I said, 'great, let's send the mare back to Mehmas.' He says, 'No, you won't, you'll go to Starman.' You hear it time and time again, that this horse is good and that horse is good, but you want to see them go and prove it. I thought, fine, let Persian Force prove he's a good one and, if he is as good as everyone says he is, then we can always go to Mehmas the following year. 

BS: We're busy putting together our mating plans pieces in TDN, so what plans have ye made on that front?

BL: The bottom line is, if Vida Amorosa goes in foal to Mehmas, whether she has a filly or a colt, it doesn't matter. In actual fact, the filly is probably worth as much if not more to us. It's the logical choice. If you don't go to Mehmas, where do you go?

TL: As I said to Barry, you could go to Acclamation, the sire of Mehmas. It's the same line. He's had a great run as a sire. 

BS: How many mares do you have to make mating plans for?

BL: We've only got two mares to foal this year, the smallest bunch we've ever had. We'd a lovely Danehill Dancer (Ire) mare, whose first foal ended up being Different Gravey (Ire) for Nicky Henderson, but she's retired now. She looked like she was going to be a very good National Hunt broodmare at one stage but it was a total disaster. We bought a lovely Australia (GB) mare last year but she died foaling. That's why we've the lowest number of mares we've ever had between retiring mares and just a bit of bad luck. 

TL: Some of them just weren't up to scratch. They were only ordinary and you don't want to be breeding ordinary mares. If they're not good, they're a waste of time. 

BS: Getting back to the awards night, John O'Connor of Ballylinch Stud presented you with your trophy, which is quite significant given he purchased Ingabelle off you. Of course, Ingabelle has gone on to be an important foundation mare at Ballylinch. 

TL: We bred Ingabelle and sold a half share in her before she ever hit the racecourse but, when her racing career was over, her owners didn't have any interest in breeding from her so we sold her. If we didn't sell the half-share to begin with, we'd never have sold her ourselves, but we couldn't hang on to her. I saw Ballylinch put up a lovely picture congratulating me on the award on social media the other day and they mentioned Ingabelle and how she became an important foundation mare for them. We go back a good few years.

BL: She was a very significant filly. I used to ride her out every morning before school. She was a great barometer for me. For years afterwards, you'd ride something and you could say, 'yea, that's nice, but it's no Ingabelle.' I was very lucky that I was able to sit up on something so good at a young age. It's like sitting into a good car. The good horses are very hard to find and the problem is, for a place like this, once you stumble across one, you have to sell to keep the whole thing going. They are hard to hang on to. Dad would have had 10 people working here through the '70s to the '90s. That's lots of wages and lots of owners to look after. There were 40 or 50 horses riding out here every morning for over 30 years.

TL: We had some great times. It's a great lifestyle and you get a great kick out of when things go well. 

BS: When did you retire?

BL: You haven't had your trainers' licence for over 10 years now, Dad. 

TL: Staff was the biggest problem. It was impossible to get staff. If you don't have good riders, you're at nothing, because a bad rider would ruin a good horse. You need good lads riding out.

BL: We had some great people working here and, during the mid-'90s, Pat Smullen was our stable jockey. Every lad in his 60s or 70s around here, they either worked here or in the bog during the summer at one stage in their lives. 

BS: Do you miss the training, Tom?

TL: You miss good horses. I remember I needed a companion for Ingabelle so I went and bought a horse for 1,200 pounds at the sales. He turned out to be Welsh Bard and he was as good as Ingabelle. He was a late foal, which is why we got him cheap, but he won a 2-year-old race in May at Down Royal. I can remember Declan Gillespie rode him to win at Down Royal and, when he got down off him, he said, 'how good is Ingabelle!' He'd been riding the two of them work so he knew exactly what we had.

BL: That was the Monday and Ingabelle was running at Tipperary on the Thursday. I can remember looking up at the boards when I was leading her around the parade ring and she was 14-1. By the time they got down to the start, she was the 5-2 favourite. She bolted up by five lengths. Days like that were brilliant. 

BS: Could you sum up your emotion for being recognised by your peers at the ITBA Awards?

TL: Honest to God, no. None, that's the truth now. You work hard and enjoy the whole year and I looked forward to him running the very same as if I owned him myself. I looked forward so much to seeing him run. We went over to see him win at Newbury and got to speak to Richard Hannon before the race. He told us to come into the winner's enclosure three hours before the race, unbelievably cocky.He knew he had a good horse. It's very difficult to get a good mare, very difficult. Go to the sales and try and buy a good mare, the majority of them are no good and, the ones you want, you can't buy them. 

BL: The dam sire is hugely important. We'd been on the lookout for a Lope De Vega mare for years before we bought Vida Amorosa. 

BS: Has there been many inquiries about the mare?

BL: There have been enquiries but no real offers. 

TL: A few people rang to see if we were interested in selling her but we're not. If you were to sell a mare like that, it would be very easy to flutter away the money and you'd have nothing to show for it, whereas you'd find it hard to find one as good again. Never say never, but we're not thinking of selling her. 

BS: Have you got a mare to send Persian Force this year?

BL: There's a Red Clubs (Ire) mare out there called Style (Ire). Her son, Pagan (Ire) (Sir Prancealot {Ire}), won twice for William Haggas and is doing well out in Saudi Arabia now. She could go to Persian Force. 

BS: You touched on Pat Smullen, Rhode's most famous son, earlier. You gave him his first winner and I'm sure you've many fond memories of him.

TL: He used to come up here every Saturday and Sunday and go racing pony racing on the Sundays as well. He'd get a fiver a ride and ended up being a champion pony race rider. When he was old enough, I brought him up to the Turf Club to get his licence. I remember that they were slow about giving him his licence because pony racing was against the rules but, anyway, after his first or second race riding for me, I knew he was good. He rode like a good jockey from an early stage. After he rode in two or three races for us, he rode everything for us, because we felt even back then that he was as good if not better than the rest of the other jockeys. And he was. He never rode a bad race for us. You could never blame the jockey when Pat rode for you. 

BL: He was here about two years before he had his first winner on the track which was May 1993. I remember going up to Dundalk with Pat where he rode one for us to finish fourth. He was beaten three short heads, it was a blanket finish, but Mick Kinane wouldn't have rode our horse any better. You often see the ride of the month going to a winning ride but this ride, to finish fourth, was as good a ride as there was. I remember coming down off the stand and thinking that Pat Smullen was brilliant. He was claiming seven pounds but he was a stone ahead of any other apprentice out there.

TL: He was heavy as a claimer and he used to live in the sauna here. I remember thinking he would be a good bet to be champion jockey. I would have got great odds. 

BL: There was no Curragh messing with Pat. His parents kept his feet on the ground and he was champion apprentice here twice. He went from here to John Oxx's and then, after a year there, went riding for Dermot Weld. 

TL: I used to tell him to communicate what he thought after a race and he was brilliant at it. Tell the trainer, truly, this fella wants further or whatever. That's what you're being paid for. Don't just jump down. Tell them exactly what you think. 

BL: That's what Pat was renowned for. He was able to explain and he understood how to talk to trainers and owners. That's why they loved him.

BS: Rhode has punched above its sporting weight for years with Pat flying the flag for the village and then last year La Petite Coco (Ire), Minzaal (Ire) and Persian Force, all of whom were bred in the area, recording major successes on the track. You must be proud of the village.

TL: There's three group winners from a five-mile radius. There's four stud farms in the area, with Frances Smullen there as well, and it's only a matter of time before she produces a real good one. 

BS: There's plenty more to look forward to with Vida Amorosa. Has there been any reports on her Inns Of Court (Ire) 2-year-old?

BL: He was bought by Amo Racing. He was a lovely horse. Physically, he was probably the nicest foal out of the mare but he won't be as precocious as the other lads. 

TL: He won't be early, he'll take a bit of time. 

BL: He looks as though he'll be at his best at three. Even at the Orby, he looked a little leggy. 

BS: It's obvious that you both have a great relationship with the O'Callaghans.

BL: They're brilliant. A little horse we bred, Roundabout Magic (Ire) won a little race at Lingfield on New Year's Eve a couple of years ago. He is only a pony and Hollie Doyle looked big on him. Anyway, he hadn't crossed the line five minutes and Tony rings, asking if he had a half-brother. 'He does,' says I, 'but he's by Morpheus.' 'Sure I'll come down and have a look at him,' Tony says. On he comes, to look at this Morpheus yearling. We had gelded him because Morpheus was a complete disaster and we were half thinking of sending this lad to the store sales. But Tony came looking at this lad with a view towards breezing him after his half-brother won a little Class 6 at Lingfield. They didn't buy him because we gelded him, but that's how game he is, he'd come here on New Year's Eve to look at buying a little Morpheus of ours to breeze. They're brilliant people to work with.

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Who’s Hot Ahead Of The Tattersalls December Foal Sale?

The insatiable demand for foals was evident in the figures recorded at Goffs last week with turnover rising 16% to €29,561,000 and the average climbing 16% to €40,110.

At the top end of the market, Kingman (GB) dominated with three foals by the Juddmonte-based stallion selling for a combined €1,540,000 and one of Europe's leading pinhookers Philipp Stauffenberg signing for the €550,000 top lot by the sire. 

Tally-Ho Stud may be best known for being sellers but they pipped Stauffenberg for the biggest spenders title by signing for 19 foals for €1,429,000. Juddmonte, Yeomanstown, BBA Ireland and Camas Park Stud were also on the front foot at Goffs. 

Away from the top end, there were interesting trends to emerge last week that could well impact how this week's December Foal Sale plays out at Tattersalls.

What first-season sires do the buyers want? Who are the emerging forces in the stallion ranks and where might the value lie at Tattersalls? We've examined all of that and more.

Stock In Mehmas And New Bay Is Booming

It's been a breakout year for Mehmas (Ire) and New Bay (GB), who have had their fees for 2023 hiked off the back of memorable campaigns for their respective progeny and, judging by how well their foals went down at Goffs, they can again be expected to play a leading role at Tattersalls.

Let's start with Mehmas, a horse who began his stud career at Tally-Ho in 2017 at a fee of €12,500 and has justified his bump to €60,000 after another memorable campaign, highlighted by Group 1-winning sprinter Minzaal (Ire).

New Bay has done something similar at Ballylinch in that he has climbed the ranks the hard way. He also entered the stallion ranks in 2017, standing for €20,000, but has had his fee for 2023 increased to €75,000 from €37,500 with Bay Bridge (GB), Bayside Boy (Ire) and Saffron Beach (Ire) doing their bit to advertise their stallion's prowess at the highest level this season.

Nine New Bays sold at Goffs for an average of €80,750, headed by colts who sold for €145,000 and €140,000, while Mehmas enjoyed a similarly productive sale with 26 foals selling for an average of €62,455. Four foals by Mehmas broke the €100,000 mark with BBA Ireland going to €160,000 to secure a colt by the stallion.

What's clear about last week's results is that Mehmas and New Bay are the emerging forces in the European stallion ranks. There are 30 foals by Mehmas and 16 New Bays at Tattersalls this week and it will be interesting to see how they perform.

Sergei To Make A Splash?

The Whitsbury Manor Stud team got to dip their toe into the market with some of the first foals by Sergei Prokofiev (Can) going under the hammer at Goffs. How that will prepare an operation who excelled itself with leading first-season sire Havana Grey is hard to know given the amount of foals due to be sold by Sergei Profkofiev at Tattersalls this week. 

The Goffs offering went down well; one colt made €52,000 while the WH Bloodstock team paid €45,000 for another. Of the six foals that sold at Goffs, they averaged at €34,167. Not bad going for a stallion who stood at £6,500 in his first season at stud. 

Indeed, Sergei Prokofiev hails from that Scat Daddy line that is proving so popular. He was clearly quite the looker, too, given he fetched $1,100,000 as a yearling before carving out a decent career without managing to win a Group 1 for Aidan O'Brien. 

There are 60 foals by Sergei Prokofiev at Tattersalls this week. They should provide a better sample size into the standing in which he is held in with the buyers.

Najd Stud Snap Up Foals

We have become accustomed to Najd Stud playing a major role at the horses-in-training sales but it was interesting to see the Saudi Arabian-based outfit sign for four foals at Goffs. Is that a sign of things to come at Tattersalls this week?

Najd Stud didn't shoot the lights out, either, at Goffs. A Ghaiyyath (Ire) colt topped the total spend of €134,500 across five foals. Interestingly, a filly by Shadwell's Commonwealth Cup winner Eqtidaar (Ire), who has his first runners next year, was among the purchases at €36,000 as was a €3,500 Belardo (Ire) colt on the final day of the sale. 

Kildangan-Based Sires Come Up Trumps

Speaking of Ghaiyyath, the Kildangan-based freshman sire enjoyed a rock-solid start at Goffs with 11 of his first foals selling for €824,000 which averages out at €74,909.

Leading pinhookers Pier House Stud bought the top two colts by the stallion for €185,000 and €145,000 respectively and few would be surprised if the offerings by the four-time Group 1 winner go down well at Tattersalls as well. 

Of the 11 foals cataloged by Ghaiyyath at Tattersalls, a filly out of a sister to New York Girl (Ire) (New Approach {Ire}) and a half-brother to Global Giant (GB) (Shamardal) stand out on paper at least.

Fellow Kildangan-based stallions Blue Point (Ire) and Earthlight (Ire) also performed well. Earthlight had 17 foals sell for €942,500 at an average of €55,441 with Tally-Ho, Lynn Lodge Stud, Peter and Ross Doyle among the significant buyers of his progeny.

Even more impressive were figures posted by Blue Point, who had 20 lots sell for €1,011,500 at an average of €56,194. Top of the pops were colts knocked down for €200,000 apiece to Camas Park Stud and Katsumi Yoshida.

Blue Point's yearlings were similarly well-received. Famous for winning the King's Stand and Diamond Jubilee S. in the same week at Royal Ascot in 2019, Blue Point will have his first two-year-olds hit the track in 2023, with yearlings by the sire averaging over €100,000 this year. 

His stats performed favourably against proven sires Dark Angel (Ire), Showcasing (GB), Kodiac (GB), Starspangledbanner (Aus) and Acclamation (GB) in terms of average for a similar number of lots through the ring at Goffs last week. It will be interesting to see if he can carry over that sort of momentum at Tattersalls. 

First-Season Sires

Next year's race to be crowned champion first-season sire is being billed as one of the most exciting renewals for a long time with Too Darn Hot (GB), Blue Point, Waldgeist (GB), Magna Grecia (Ire), Ten Sovereigns (Ire), Calyx (GB), Advertise (GB), Invincible Army (Ire), Land Force (Ire) and Soldier's Call (GB) having their first runners in 2023.

As mentioned above, Blue Point performed well at Goffs while a number of leading pinhookers got behind the progeny of a number of the first-season sires. 

Advertise was one who came out nicely on the figures from a relatively small sample size at Goffs and one would imagine that Tattersalls will provide a more accurate barometer given he has 19 foals there.

But the Goffs results read well. Six foals sold for an average of €32,167 which was more than Invincible Army [14 for €29,773], Ten Sovereigns [15 for €26,833] and Soldier's Call [14 for €26,417]. Those figures could well average out this week. Time will tell.

First Crops Of Note

Along with Ghaiyyath, Earthlight and Sergei Prokofiev, who we have already mentioned, a number of stallions had their first crop go under the hammer at Goffs. 

Some of the more interesting results were posted by Arizona (Ire), perhaps unsurprisingly given he is a son of the sire of the moment, No Nay Never, while King Of Change (GB), Mohaather (GB), Sottsass (Fr) and Without Parole (GB) caught the imagination. 

Peter Nolan paid €60,000 for an Arizona half-brother to Eldrickjones (Ire) (Cotai Glory {GB}) while the Coolmore-based freshman sire, who stands for just €5,000, averaged a respectable €20,192 for 13 foals.

Sottsass was a classier racehorse than most of his first-crop rivals and it told in the figures at Goffs with the former Arc winner posting averages comparable with Mehmas, Invincible Spirit (Ire) and Dark Angel. There were 11 foals by Sottsass at Goffs and they sold for an average of €61,100 and a top price of €180,000. 

G1 Sussex S. winner Mohaather created a good impression with five foals selling for an average of €49,250 including a top lot of €95,000 while Without Parole had four foals sell for an average of €27,000 and a high of €70,000.

King Of Change was subject to a recent transfer after being snapped up by Starfield Stud from Derrinstown and it looks like it could prove to be a decent move given how his first foals performed. 

Peter and Ross Doyle paid €50,000 for a colt by the sire who averaged a solid €24,714 for seven foals sold. That's a good return for a Group 1-winning stallion who is set to stand for just €5,000 next year.

Coolmore Can Count On Wootton Bassett And No Nay Never

Wootton Bassett (GB) and No Nay Never flew the flag for Coolmore at Goffs while demand for the progeny of Saxon Warrior (Jpn) was evidently up off the back of an excellent autumn for the first-season sire. 

Wootton Bassett was bettered only by Kingman and Galileo, who between them accounted for just four foals at Goffs, for the highest averages posted. 

The sire of brilliant G1 National S. winner Al Riffa, Wootton Bassett clearly captured the imagination last week, with seven foals selling for €1,345,000 at an average of €224,167 which earned him a top-three finish in that particular table. 

No Nay Never enjoyed an eighth-place finish in averages posted on €134,800 and, while Saxon Warrior was down on that list at €52,263, he posted a chunky aggregate with 21 foals selling for €993,000. That was the seventh-highest aggregate recorded by any stallion. 

 

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Highflyer Soar As Power’s New Bay Colt Tops Tattersalls Ireland

RATOATH, Ireland–Well, Highflyer certainly soared at Fairyhouse this week with Anthony Bromley signing for 16 yearlings, including two for €100,000 on Wednesday.

However, it was Alex Elliott who was responsible for the top lot (243) at the Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale, a €115,000 Tradewinds-drafted New Bay (GB) colt that was purchased on the same afternoon.

No buyer had a busier two days than Bromley, though. Much like a man rushing to get his Christmas shopping done, he admitted to setting his stall out to fill the lion's share of his orders at another yearling sale where more impressive figures were recorded.

Of the 458 yearlings offered, 448 were sold, representing a clearance rate of 90%. While the aggregate was down 2% on 2021 figures to €12,421,000 and the average also fell 5% to €30,075, the median jumped 11% to €26,000.

For a list of reasons far too complex to enumerate, this year's yearling market has proved incredibly strong despite the global economy supposedly heading down the swanny and, after spending almost €600,000 across the two-day session, Bromley shared a belief that things were about to get even harder for buyers.

He said, “The market is remarkable and it's hard to work it out. Everyone who comes through the gates at a sale must just switch off their telly and forget everything else that's going on in the world. I thought this sale was really healthy and strong but not crazy. I felt that this was the sale to buy at because it's a domestic market. If you look around, it's mostly just English and Irish, whereas next week at the Orby Sale, there will be a surge of Americans and Newmarket will be the same.”

Bromley added, “When you think the sales are too strong, you hear of people saying that they are going to wait until the later sales but, in practice, that is probably the wrong thing to do. It's better to get some tickets for the lottery now. I still have orders for Goffs and for Tattersalls but it's better to get some tickets early sometimes. If anything, it looks like the market is going to get stronger, so I am happy to have got some business done early.”

Bromley spent a total of €581,000 at an average of €36,312 and it was a filly by Tally-Ho's Inns Of Court (Ire) [lot 279] and a colt by Sioux Nation [lot 390] that forced him into the six-figure mark on both occasions.

Speaking after securing Gibbonstown Stud's Sioux Nation colt, Bromley said, “He has been bought for Andrew and Jane Megson, the owners of Polly Pot (GB) (Muhaarar {GB}), the winner of the G2 May Hill S.

“The Megsons also owned Severance (GB) (Nathaniel {GB}), the half-brother, and this guy is a big scopey horse by a red-hot stallion. He will be trained by Ben Pauling.

“He's a beast of a horse and he won't be rushed. Ben's Flat string is starting to grow and Harry [Dunlop] has entered Polly Pott in the [G1] Irish 1000 Guineas today so the Classic dream is alive. “Polly Pott will have one more run this season and they have agreed to supplement for the [G1] Fillies' Mile at Newmarket.”

The €100,000 Highflyer paid for Tally-Ho's Inns Of Court filly meant that the Westmeath stud's young stallion was responsible for two of the top three lots of the sale after Ed Sackville paid €110,000 for Mountain View Stud's colt on behalf of John and Jess Dance on Tuesday.

Bromley revealed that lot 279 was purchased on behalf of Simon Munir and Isaac Suede, who purchased four yearlings all told at Fairyhouse. Three of the four will be trained by Joseph O'Brien, including the Inns Of Court filly, while lot 85, a €21,000 Cotai Glory colt, will join Richard O'Brien.

“The Inns Of Court was for Simon Munir and Isaac Souede,” Bromley said. “We've got a good 2-year-old with William Haggas called Alpha Capture (Ire) (Cotai Glory {GB}) and he was beaten two inches in the £300,000 sales race at Doncaster. They have a small Flat string but they have a little bit of quality in there and they were looking to expand that. We've been buying for them at the previous yearling sales and I bought three for them on Tuesday as well. Three of the yearlings we've bought will go to Joseph O'Brien and one will go to Richard O'Brien. Joseph will train the Inns Of Court.”

On the burgeoning relationship with Richard O'Brien, he added, “We bought Impulsive Dancer (Ire) (Dragon Pulse {Ire}) off Richard and then we sent him Surac (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) after that and he managed to win with him over hurdles. We thought we'd give him a yearling and bought him a colt by Cotai Glory (GB).”

Tally-Ho's Roger O'Callaghan told TDN Europe that the best was yet to come from Inns Of Court after the stallion posted some impressive results at the Premier Yearling Sale last month and how right he was. Bromley was suitably impressed by the stock.

He said, “I have been very taken by all of the ones I have seen by him. They do look athletic. A lot of the Inns Of Courts stayed on my list for a second look which is a good sign. There were some nice ones at the Somerville and I really liked the one that made €110,000 on Tuesday. I actually bid €100,000 for him. I thought this filly was a queen and, while she was a bit more expensive than I thought she'd be, if you like them, you have to go for them.”

Bromley added, “We got two big ones today and we got 12 on Tuesday. I've had one of my best years on the Flat. I've had 25 2-year-old winners, which is unheard of for me, because it's not a big part of my business. A lot of those horses cost less than 30 grand, so we've had a good run. Polly Pott was 21,000gns, Streets Of Gold (Ire) was £27,000 and Bradsell (GB) was just £12,000 so it's been a good year. Let's hope it can keep going.”

A record 70 horses sold for €50,000 or more at the Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale and Simon Kerins lauded it as a success.

He said, “This week saw the September Yearling Sale take place in Ireland for the first time in two years and the trade has been incredibly strong. Most noteworthy was the record number of horses selling for €50,000 or more and turnover that surpassed all previous sessions held in Ireland.

“We had a catalogue of quality yearlings catering for all sectors of the market and the footfall seen across the last few days has been phenomenal. We focused extra attention on welcoming buyers back to Fairyhouse and we were rewarded with the buzz that was felt around the barns and newly improved sales complex. Purchasers descended in their droves from the UK as well as a strong contingent of overseas buyers who all went to battle with a strong Irish buying bench.”

He added, “We would like to thank the vendors who supported us and purchasers, all of whom have contributed to the success of the past two days. Our thanks also go out to Irish Thoroughbred Marketing who have been exceptional to work with on the lead up to the sale and enticing customers with their excellent IRE Incentive Scheme. The sale has displayed remarkable resilience the last two years and we look forward to moving ahead with it now and continuing to build on it year on year.”

Tradewinds Come Up Trumps With New Bay Colt

Shane Power's love affair with Tattersalls Ireland continued as three of his Tradewinds pinhooks made eye-wateringly good profits, including the New Bay colt that topped the entire sale at €115,000 to Alex Elliott on behalf of Australian-based Spicer Thoroughbreds.

He may be just 29 years of age, but Power had already built up an impressive reputation for being a top-notch purveyor of equine talent, further evidenced by the prowess advertised in transforming his €24,000 foal purchase into a sales-topper.

As if that wasn't impressive enough, Power also secured tidy profits with a Due Diligence filly (lot 152) sold to Joe Foley on Tuesday followed by a Sioux Nation colt (lot 354) that was snapped up by Mick Donohoe of BBA Ireland on Wednesday.

He said, “This place has always been very lucky for us. It's funny, we'd no luck at this sale when it was in England the past two years, but every time we bring horses to Fairyhouse, we tend to do alright. We've had good success at the breeze-up sales here as well. It's been a lucky place.

“We brought six here this week. The Sioux Nation colt was €7,000 into €50,000, the Due Diligence filly was €6,000 into €78,000 and the New Bay colt was €24,000 into €115,000, so it's been great.

“I actually bought an El Kabeir filly today to go breezing as well. We sold Bright Diamond (Ire) (El Kabeir) here in May for €52,000 and she's going for the G1 Fillies' Mile. Hopefully this El Kabeir can be as good.”

Power added, “We set up Tradewinds five years ago. It has taken a bit of time for us to build up relationships with the buyers but, when Bright Diamond won her maiden at Newmarket by nine lengths, it gave us a bit of credibility. Hopefully people will think that we half know what we're looking at now.”

Knowing what you are looking at is one thing, but backing your judgment to go out and buy these foals and then produce them in tip-top shape as yearlings is another. So, what's the secret?

“It's a lot of hard work and some long days,” Power explained. “We don't just turn up with these horses. If your horses don't come here looking well, the likelihood is that you'll be coming home with them. We feed them four times a day and there's a lot of pulling and dragging involved but it's worth it on days like today.”

He added, “It's great coming here and getting a few quid but, when you sell a horse and it goes on to do something, that's the real buzz. We sold Lauded (GB), a colt by Acclamation (GB), in our first year to Ed Sackville. He won his maiden first time out, was placed in the G2 Richmond S. and won a load of races in Dubai as well. He kick-started the whole thing for us.”

People have long since cottoned on to the fact that Power knows what he is doing. An even bigger secret that has gotten out of the bag, much to the frustration of Elliott, is that New Bay is one of the hottest sires around.

The leading agent said, “The sire has been unbelievable for me. He has been picked up for Brad Spicer. I met him at a sale in Germany a few years ago and, when Covid hit, he couldn't get over so he asked me if I would do some work for him. That was in 2020 and we bought him two Almanzors (Fr), a Camelot (GB) and a Sea The Moon (Ger)–that type of horse.”

Elliott added, “I sent him two horses from this sale and he really liked the look of the New Bay. There's going to be a day coming soon when I can't afford these New Bays so I'm trying to buy as many of them as I can now. They come in all shapes and sizes but they all look like they'd run through a brick wall.”

 

 

Ballyshannon Bag Emotional Success

One of the most emotional results of the week was achieved by James Hughes of Ballyshannon Stud who, along with the help of his late mother, was responsible for the most expensive Havana Grey (GB) to go through the ring in Ireland when Peter and Ross Doyle paid €70,000 for his colt by the leading first-season sire.

Hughes picked up the grey at Newmarket last December for just 14,000gns from Whitsbury Manor Stud and admitted that Wednesday's result was tinged in sadness over the loss of his mother back in February.

He explained, “My late mother, who unfortunately passed away from Covid in February, gave me the thumbs up when I sent her the video of this horse last December. She told me to go ahead and buy him off the video. We set up Ballyshannon together. It's just a pity she wasn't here today to see it.”

Hughes added, “I loved the yearlings by Havana Grey. I thought that they were all fast and early 2-year-olds. We had done a bit of business with Ed Harper at Whitsbury before and found him to be very easy to deal with. He's straight up and there's no bullshit with him. We try to go back to the same farms every year and like doing business with Ed.”

The significance extended beyond the fact that lot 248 became the most expensive son of Havana Grey to be sold in Ireland, but the result was badly needed after Ballyshannon were forced to buy back lot 29 at €33,000, a colt by Havana Gold (Ire), the previous day.

Hughes said, “We were delighted because we've put in a lot of effort and turned the farm around from being a foaling unit into what it is now. We used to look after 80 to 100 mares and last year we just decided that we needed to take a break and that it was getting too much for us.

“My mother was getting on a bit in age and said she'd like to enjoy the racing a bit more and the pinhooking side of things as well because she loved coming up to the sales.”

He added, “We had a little syndicate on the farm between the three of us and bought four foals. The first one didn't go well, we had to vendor him, and we were coming here thinking, 'have we done the right thing here?' Thankfully it has worked out.”

 

Lupini Reinvests After Another Big Sale

No sooner had Natalia Lupini wrapped up a deal for Listed Ingabelle S. third Highly Desirable (Ire) (Twilight Son {GB}) to continue her career in America, the County Down-based Italian was busy replenishing her stock alongside boyfriend Craig Bryson, with the pair signing for three yearlings across the two days.

Lupini told TDN Europe in the build-up to Irish Champions Weekend that she felt Highly Desirable would out-run her odds of 125-1 in that listed contest and, after doing just that, the filly caught the attention of a number of the big outfits.

Similarly to Arinniti (Fr) (Karakontie {Jpn}), who Lupini sold to Team Valor and Paddy Twomey after the filly posted a creditable second on debut at Naas, Highly Desirable netted connections a huge profit.

Those profits were reinvested on Tuesday and Wednesday with Lupini keen to keep the wheel turning after securing a colt by Twilight Son and fillies by Wootton Bassett and Masar. An owner at the sales also decided to entrust her with a filly by Galileo Gold to train.

She said, “Highly Desirable finishing third in a listed race on Irish Champions Weekend was our biggest result. She has now been sold to continue her career in America and an Irish agent got the deal done. It was a great weekend for us and, to see Arinniti go and win for Paddy Twomey last weekend was good to see as well. I think Paddy is talking about entering her in a listed race at Dundalk next week so we hope she can go on and do well for them.”

Lupini added, “We put our heads together last year and decided to train a few 2-year-olds and it's gone well so we have got a few more yearlings this week. It's also good that people have decided to send us 2-year-olds off the back of that, which happened today, when an owner approached us asking if we'd train a Galileo Gold (GB) filly.”

 

 

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