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Benie des Dieux Stars at November NH Sale

Five mares broke the six-figure mark during the fifth and final day of the Tattersalls Ireland November National Hunt Sale, and Benie des Dieux (Fr) (Great Pretender {Ire}) was undoubtedly the star of the show. Offered by Closutton Stables, the bay went for €350,000 to MV Magnier/Bective Stud. Sold as lot 1253, she is a three-time Grade 1 hurdle winner and was in foal to Walk In The Park (Ire).

Closutton also offered the third- and fourth-dearest lots– lot 1254 and lot 1257, Buildmeupbuttercup (GB) (Sixties Icon {GB}) and Salsaretta (Fr) (Kingsalsa), respectively. The former was snapped up by Jayne McGivern for €165,000 and is a listed winner and Grade 1-placed hurdler in foal to the popular Crystal Ocean (GB). Salsaretta, a Grade 2 winning-chaser entered the ring carrying to Blue Bresil (Fr), and went to Seamar Bloodstock Ltd.

Magic of Light (Ire) (Flemensfirth) (lot 1251) was second at the end-of-day standings at €185,000 and caught the eye of Coolmara Stables. The Baroda Stud draft member ran out a dual winner of the G2 Warfield Mares' Hurdle, as well as the G2 Glencarraig Lady Mares H. Chase. She is a half-sister to Grade 1 hurdler Pingshou (Ire) (Definite Article {GB}) and sold in foal to young sire Crystal Ocean (GB).

At the conclusion of the sale, 857 lots sold of 1,182 (73%) offered for an aggregate of €15,758,100. The average dropped three points to €18,388 and the median was also marginally down to €12,500 (-4%). Thursday's trade ended with 135 sold and a gross of €2,420,250. The average was €17,928 and the median was €7,000.

Commenting on the conclusion of the November NH Sale, Tattersalls Ireland CEO Simon Kerins said, “What an amazing couple of days we have witnessed at Tattersalls Ireland as the November NH Sale reached unprecedented heights with a trade that was simply extraordinary. The November NH Sale continues to be such a strong hallmark sale for breeders and the 2021 renewal is one that only adds to the story in a hugely positive way. The sale kicked off with the highest turnover for a yearling session since 2015, setting the tone for a week of tremendous highs that saw records continue to fall with the turnover, average and median all making huge gains on the previous decade.

“Our foal session set records for a four-day sale and to break the €5,000,000 barrier on Tuesday was remarkable. The sale was a superb representation of the cream of the 2021 foal crop with so many leading breeders continuing to sell their best in November at Tattersalls Ireland.

“The Breeding Stock Sale continued the trend with top prices of €350,000, €185,000, and €165,000 to buyers from France, Ireland and UK illustrating the enduring appeal for the best NH broodmares, and they were the highlights of another incredibly strong renewal of our mare and filly sale with strong trade which enjoyed a record top lot.

“On behalf of all the team at Tattersalls Ireland, I extend our appreciation to the vendors for giving us the opportunity to promote their top-class yearlings, foals and breeding stock and to each and every one of our buyers.”

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Ireland: Banned Substances Seized At Equine Therapy Operation, Two Trainers Caught Up In Investigation

Ireland's Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, acting on their own investigations and information received, seized a number of substances banned for use in racehorses in Monasterevin, County Kildare on Tuesday, reports racingpost.com.

The location is reported to be the operation of a widely-used equine therapy practitioner, who was not identified. Both Thoroughbreds and sport horses were on site during Tuesday's raid.

The DAFM had four representatives on site, with three gardai, and the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board later sent four representatives to the location as well. The IHRB elected to take hair and blood samples from two licensed trainers whose horses were on the premises, but both trainers reportedly believe themselves to be inadvertently caught up in the situation and innocent of any wrongdoing.

A statement from the DAFM read: “On Tuesday ,Nov. 9, 2021, authorized officers acting on behalf of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine carried out an enforcement operation supported by Gardai attached to the Kildare/Laois drug unit and officers from the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board. This Department-led operation involved searches and seizure of products as part of an ongoing investigation into equine doping. As this is an ongoing investigation, it would not be appropriate to make any further comment at this time.”

Weatherbys Releases 2021 Return of Mares

The Weatherbys Return of Mares, through Oct. 20, was published on Thursday. A total of 12,920 live foals were registered so far in The General Stud Book. In 2020 the number was 12,778 and in 2019 13,443 were registered. Of the 12,920 foals, 4,282 (+1%) are registered with the GB suffix and 8,638 (+1%) in Ireland. In 2020 those numbers were 4,236 (GB) and 8,542 (Ire), while two years ago the number of registered foals stood at 4,655 (GB) and 8,788 (Ire).

Currently there are 22,720 broodmares at stud, an increase of 358 from 2020's 22,362. There were 22,919 broodmares in 2019. Of these 22,720 broodmares, 2,949 were not covered, a higher number than 2,667 in 2020 and 2,927 in 2019. Among those not covered, the mares were split with 1,293 (GB) and 1,656 in Ireland. There were also 6,016 no returns and 355 mares were barren.

In Britain, the number of stallions increased by 10 from 149 in 2020 to 159. In Ireland, the number of stallions declined by one from 232 in 2020. National Hunt stallions dominated by number of mares bred with Sea The Stars (Ire)'s Affinisea (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire) on top with 324. Close behind him was Order of St George (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) at 312 and Maxios (GB) (Monsun {Ger}) at 309. Rounding out the top four was Crystal Ocean (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) at 302. The busiest Flat stallion in 2021 was Mehmas (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}), who sired a record 56 first-crop 2-year-old winners. The Tally-Ho resident, who made a bright start to his stud career, covered 292 mares.

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Waterville Lake Stable Set For First Breeders’ Cup With Juvenile Turf Sprint Contender Derrynane

New York-based owners Waterville Lake Stable will enjoy the Breeders' Cup spotlight for the first time when they send out their Empire State-homebred Derrynane in the Grade 2, $1 million Juvenile Turf Sprint on November 5 at Del Mar.

Waterville Lake Stable is owned by Richard Leahy in partnership with John W. Meriwether and Tim Tully, all of which are stakeholders in Waterville Golf Links in County Kerry, Ireland, where their name derives. Many horses that race under the Waterville Lake Stable banner are a nod to the ownership group's familiarity with Ireland. Derrynane is named after Derrynane Beach, located on the Ring of Kerry.

Trained by Christophe Clement, Derrynane, a bay daughter of Quality Road, was a winner at first asking with a two-length victory going 5 ½ furlongs in a state-bred maiden special weight on July 22 over good Mellon turf at Saratoga. Following a distant fifth in the open Bolton Landing one month later over a yielding turf at the Spa, Derrynane was an ultra-impressive winner of the five-furlong Woodbine Cares on September 19, which prompted her connections to consider the Breeders' Cup.

“We were very pleased with her run first out,” Leahy said. “When she ran her second race in the Bolton Landing, it was over a bog, and we knew that she was far better than that. Given the timing and the weather, we went to Woodbine and she won quite easily.”

Derrynane is the first progeny out of the graded-stakes placed Hard Spun mare Portmagee, who captured the License Fee in 2017 following a third in that year's Grade 3 Intercontinental, both at Belmont. Portmagee, named after a village near Waterville Golf Links, is currently in foal to More Than Ready.

“From early on, she was extremely good looking and did everything right,” Leahy said of Derrynane. “She seemed very well balanced and well put together. The mother was extremely attractive and well balanced, also. She had a good personality and demeanor. The mother was a sprinter but we never thought there was any reason she couldn't go further.”

The relationship between Leahy and Clement extends over two decades, linking up via former NYRA chairman Peter Karches, who owned horses with Clement at the time. In addition to Waterville Lake Stable, Leahy also owns horses with Clement under his Oak Bluff Stable moniker of which he is the standalone owner.

Leahy and Clement have enjoyed success with Waterville Lake Stable-owned graded stakes winners Mariensky, Strike It Rich and Derrianne as well as New York-bred stakes winners Miss Valentine, Sea Foam and Celtic Sky.

As Oak Bluff Stable, Leahy and Clement have campaigned the graded-stakes placed Therapist, a multiple stakes winner against New York-breds and open company.

“With Christophe the horse always comes first, we like that,” Leahy said.

Leahy speaks high volumes of the New York-bred program.

“I think the New York bred program is a sensational one,” Leahy said. “It's lucrative and in my mind, you're only a van ride away from the best stallions in Kentucky. There's no reason if you have a good mare that you can't produce a competitive horse in New York. It's not easy to win these races. They're competitive races as well. Over the years I've been doing this, the New York-bred horses have gotten more and more competitive.”

Leahy said he is looking forward to the possibility of going to the Breeders' Cup with Derrynane. While it would be a first Breeder's Cup endeavor for Leahy, it would be a second for Waterville Lake partner John Meriwether, who owned Buckhar – the 13th-place finisher of the 1993 Mile.

“We're very excited about her future,” Leahy said. “It's really special. Hopefully, she has a long career ahead of her. I was talking to Christophe's son Miguel the other morning and he was very excited about her breeze last week.”

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