‘We Back Them Up To The Hilt’: The O’Callaghans on Making Stallions

It is not exactly a state secret that the team at Tally-Ho Stud, to use that old phrase, prefer their horses to do the talking. This could be misconstrued as a lack of friendliness but if you talk to other members of the bloodstock community about Tony and Anne O'Callaghan and their sons Roger and Henry, you will almost certainly hear variations of the phrase “lovely people”.

Indeed, within the family kitchen at the stone farmhouse just a short stretch up from the stallion yard a warm welcome is issued from all four members of the immediate family. Anne has a stroganoff ready for lunch and takes her place at the head of the table as if to referee the debate. But there's no need for that. 

“Well done for getting into the engine room,” she says with a laugh. In a week or so, the covering shed, with its full schedule of mares visiting the farm's seven stallions, could perhaps be judged to be the engine room, but the Tally-Ho kitchen, fittingly bedecked with hunting scenes, is clearly where all the important decisions are made.

As Tony talks, directly behind him sit two large monitors with grids of images showing CCTV footage of the foaling boxes and the farm. Twenty-five foals were on the ground by Jan. 27, almost one a day, and that rate will only pick up as the season progresses. 

To an extent, Tally-Ho Stud is known now as a commercially successful stallion operation. But that is only one facet of the place. The O'Callaghans' sizeable broodmare band of course plays an important part in supporting those stallions, and the two combined have been responsible in creating some notable names, with the farm having been on a particular roll in recent years. 

Group 1 winners Campanelle (Ire), Fairyland (Ire), The Platinum Queen (Ire), Perfect Power (Ire) and Ebro River (Ire) are backed up by Malavath (Ire), Knight (Ire), Kessaar (Ire), Ardad (Ire), Lusail (Ire), and Caturra (Ire). All bar one of those named are by the Tally-Ho stallions Kodiac (GB), Mehmas (Ire), Cotai Glory (GB), and Galileo Gold (GB), though the latter has just moved to Haras de Bouquetot for this season. The exception in the list is Perfect Power, who is by Overbury Stud's Ardad, but as his sire was bred at Tally-Ho, the bragging rights remain strong.

You won't hear a lot of bragging in this corner of Co Westmeath, however. As the conversation begins, naturally the first subject is Kodiac, the de facto king of Tally-Ho. Of his arrival at the stud some 17 years ago, Tony reflects, “I'd say we've been lucky. Then we kind of followed Danehill big time. And I suppose that was a result of Kodiac coming in.”

While Roger adds sagely, “And we've learned from our mistakes.”

Their selection of stallions, Tony says, is “A gut feeling as much as anything. We always like the 2-year-olds. The 2-year-olds only have to compete against themselves, which makes it easier.”

Recruiting the non-stakes winning but well-bred Kodiac in the year his half-brother Invincible Spirit made a lighting start with his first 2-year-old runners, was, in hindsight, an easy decision.

“When he came out the door, we liked him straight away. I'll always remember that,” says Roger, recalling a visit to John Dunlop's Arundel stable.

“Big arse on him, and square,” adds Tony. 

“He'd shown nice form. He was competing in very good races. He'd only been beaten two lengths in a Group 1 [Prix Maurice de Gheest]. We paid what they asked for him on the day. We didn't haggle one bit; we just said we'd take him. And John Dunlop was very disappointed at the time because he wanted another year to compete in Group 1s.”

There follows a brief debate as to the number of 2-year-old winners Kodiac had in one year when setting a new world record. The answer is 61, in 2017, seven more than Deep Impact (Jpn) notched in that same year. Kodiac's reputation has been hewn by his tendency to produce precocious offspring, and Anne points to another important factor.

“His temperament,” she says. “And the fact that the trainers hooked onto him very early on, and the breeze-up boys. [His stock] were so biddable, and winning, and wanted to give that extra inch.”

Presently, at least 10 sons of Kodiac are at stud around the world, one as far afield as Maryland, USA, another right on the doorstep in the homebred Kessaar, who is now up to 25 winners as his first crop of runners turn three. 

Kodiac has had an emphatic influence on Tally-Ho Stud. “He built most of this,” says Roger, wafting his arms around the yard during an earlier stallion parade. At 22, he is the venerable veteran of the team, with another upwardly mobile stallion now snapping at his heels. It has been hard to ignore Mehmas (Ire), who set his own record when becoming the most prolific European first-season sire with 55 winners in 2020, a tally that puts him only behind Kodiac as the most successful sire of juveniles. 

“Incredible,” is how Tony describes the son of Acclamation (GB), a graduate of the breeze-up system which plays such an important role in spruiking young stallions, and sometimes the opposite.

“The breeze-up boys do all the promoting,” says Anne. “And the jungle drums do most of the talking for you. I mean, if the Chinese whispers are good, you don't need to say any more.”

Her husband is quick to remind us that for every successful stallion, there are plenty that don't work out. “They hated Bushranger,” he states. “And we suffered for it. His career ended by 15 April. Ten of them had run, eight of them had started favourite, and not one finished in the first three. He covered mares for the rest of the season and he didn't get one the following year. Not one mare. It's like you turned off the tap.”

We back the stock in the sales, too. We go and look at them often. If we like them any bit at all, we try and buy them. Sometimes too much. But the heart is stupid

As one who has been around horses all his life, he takes a fatalistic view to the inevitability that not every stallion that walks through the gate will end up being held in the same regard as Kodiac. Plenty will end up quietly moving on. Some, sadly, such as Danetime (Ire), Red Clubs (Ire) and Society Rock (Ire), will die young. 

“If they haven't enough mobility, you have to accept it,” says Tony. “You just have to agree, and then you have to look at the next three years' work out in the field. You go to the sales and people just walk past the door. We had it with Morpheus and with Bushranger. That's the hardest part.”

He adds, “But we like to back them. Oh, we back them up to the hilt until they…”

“Kick us in the arse,” interjects Roger.

Tony continues, “We back the stock in the sales, too. We go and look at them often. If we like them any bit at all, we try and buy them. Sometimes too much. But the heart is stupid.”

Often enough, the O'Callaghans will find themselves in competition either at the sales or in the running to buy a stallion with members of their own family. Tony's brother Gay and his wife Annette run another highly successful stallion business at Yeomanstown Stud with their sons David and Robert, with two more sons, Peter and Guy, at the helm, respectively, of Woods Edge Farm in Kentucky and Ireland's Grangemore Stud. Another two of Tony's brothers, Noel and Pat, are also successful breeders. 

Anne, meanwhile, brings a classy distaff lineage to the operation. Her late father Tom Magnier owned Grange Stud, home to the great National Hunt sire Cottage (Ire), and her mother Evie Stockwell was a committed breeder in her own right until her passing last September. Most readers of this publication will be aware of the significant role Anne's brother John Magnier has played within the business for many years.

“We go into the sales and we bid away,” says Tony in his matter-of-fact manner. “We could be bidding against brothers. There's no doubt about it, in-laws and brothers are always sure to be the opposition.”

The commercial feel of the stallion roster, which also includes the promising Cotai Glory, Inns Of Court (Ire), who is about to have his first runners, Starman (GB) with first foals, and new arrival Persian Force (Ire), is largely matched by the profile of the broodmare band.

Tony explains the necessity of this situation. “Look, the Classics are all basically between Coolmore, Juddmonte, Darley, Shadwell, the Aga Khan, and a few others. It's very hard to compete. We just step outside that and work away grand.”

He adds of his farm, which was the birthplace of the 1972 Prix du Jockey Club winner Hard To Beat (Ire) among others, “The Classic winners were bred in Tally-Ho before we got it. There could've been 60 mares here back in the '50s or '60s. There was, I think, three or four Leger winners bred here, Guineas winners, 1000, 2000. I don't know if there was the Derby winner, but there was a whole heap of good horses bred here.”

It is a situation that persists.

“We just keep reinvesting in mares, trying to get better mares. That's all there is. Some work, and some don't,” says Anne modestly. She is considered to have a sixth sense when it comes to the mares being about to foal and is, like her husband and sons, fully immersed in every aspect of the business.

“It's all hands to the pump, should it be needed,” she adds. 

Roger illustrates the point with a recent anecdote. He says, “A mare foaled the night before last, and the foal was coming backwards. So there was Mum, Dad, Henry, myself, my wife, and the night girl, and the vet. We were all there. We got it out, but we were all involved.”

His mother continues, “It's all about a team, it's not just one person. It's a team effort and we try and weave our way through.”

Henry, widely known as 'the quiet one' but very much worth listening to, temporarily escaped that team. Depending on which of his parents you listen to, he did and didn't enjoy his seven-year stint in the world of banking and insolvency. 

“He didn't like it one bit,” says Tony, while Anne counters, “It was interesting,” and Roger chimes in with, “He keeps an eye on us now.”

Henry himself says, “Ah, sure, I didn't mind it either.” But it is easy to see that he is happy to be back among the fold. 

The team ethos referenced by Anne starts with the matings.

“There'd be a debate at the stocks for about 10 seconds,” Roger says.

Instinct, it would seem, rules over scholarly research, but then information gleaned from decades of working hands-on with the stock leads to its own special brand of knowledge; the kind which can't be read in books.

“We try and match what we think would be right,” notes Tony. “But we wouldn't spend two days discussing it now.”

Anne, as intuitive as any member of the team, adds, “It's like when you see a horse coming out of the stable, it's your first impression really. And if it doesn't float your boat…And it's the same with the coverings, they make up their mind that they're going to cover it with X.”

Roger admits that from time to time disagreements can occur, but one senses they are quickly dissipated. 

His mother, in her calm way, adds, “When you still have to work together, and we're so involved, it's up to all of us to give a little bit, take a little bit.”

And Henry agrees. “Ultimately, we only want what's best and we treat every horse like it's our own, so it's only coming from a good place.”

They all admit that the horse business – from mares, to foals, yearlings, breezers, and stallions – is their sole focus. 

“It's all we do,” says Tony. 

Fortunately, they do it rather well. Last year Anne joined her brother in the ITBA Hall of Fame when she was inducted alongside her husband. It was an award widely applauded by those who do business with Tally-Ho Stud, year in, and year out.

“Well, we like breeding winners, sure, we like that,” says Tony, still looking a little embarrassed at such public recognition. 

Anne adds, “It was most unexpected. It was a good feeling, and it makes you realise that the effort you put in has been worth it. To get a proper winner, or even the award. But as I said it was most unexpected. It's nice to be acknowledged by your peers, though, isn't it?”

It is almost certainly not the last time that the name Tally-Ho Stud will be listed among award winners, especially with a burgeoning roster of young stallions to complement the older guard, along with well-stocked fields of mares. However successful Mehmas or any of those following through become though, it will be hard to topple Kodiac in the family's affections.

“He'll always be king,” says Tony. “He would be our king, anyway. We'll be forever grateful.”

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From Havana Grey To Rajasinghe – Which Freshmen Are Here To Stay?

Not only did Havana Grey (GB) record more individual winners and total wins than any of his first-season sire rivals in Great Britain and Ireland, but he also broke the £1-million marker for total earnings, which is why he deservedly wears the champion freshman stallion crown.

Those earnings were propped up by big sales race winners Shouldvebeenaring (GB) and Eddie's Boy (GB), with the latter going on to bag a Group 3 before selling for 320,000gns at the Tattersalls horses-in-training sale in October.

Havana Grey had 36 winners for 76 runners this year and his progeny recorded total earnings of £1,074,697, which was almost £420,000 more than his nearest rival Sioux Nation could manage in what was a pulsating race for first-season sire bragging rights.

But with four stakes winners and 57 total wins achieved in 2022, Whitsbury Manor Stud's emerging force confirmed himself the undisputed top dog of the young sire brigade, and earned himself a fee rise from £6,000 to £18,500 in the process.

Joe Callan, head of Whitsbury's bloodstock and sales, said, “We knew Havana Grey was going to be popular after what his first runners achieved this season but the demand for him has been unprecedented. It's been crazy and it's got to a stage where we've stopped counting [the number of mares who have been put forward to visit the stallion next year]. You can see why people are so keen to use him. He's had a fantastic season with 13 stakes horses and is operating at 16% stakes horses to runners and almost 50% winners to runners in Britain and Ireland. He has big crops coming through over the next couple of years so he deserves the accolades that he is getting.”

Havana Grey was kept honest all year by Coolmore's Sioux Nation, who had an excellent campaign in his own right and earned a fee rise to €17,500 for 2023. By Scat Daddy, Sioux Nation ended the year with 29 individual winners from 65 runners and his progeny amassed £657,000 worth of total earnings in Britain and Ireland.

Matilda Picotte (Ire) was Sioux Nation's biggest earner having accounted for £124,667, highlighted by victory in the Listed “Bosra Sham” Fillies' S. at Newmarket in October.

That effort came off the back of a busy campaign with Kieran Cotter's star juvenile winning her maiden at the Curragh on debut in May, placing in two Group 2s and finishing runner-up in the valuable Ballyhane S. at Naas. Sydneyarms Chelsea (Ire) also secured Group 3 glory for Sioux Nation at Deauville in August for Charlie Hills.

Little separated Harry Angel (Ire) and Kessaar (Ire) in third and fourth, respectively. The Dalham Hall Stud-based Harry Angel had 21 individual winners from 45 runners and recorded £433,814 in earnings while Tally-Ho Stud's Kessaar made a similarly respectable start with 20 individual winners from three fewer runners and amassed £351,906 in prize-money.

Tally-Ho Stud has enjoyed top honours with Mehmas (Ire) and Cotai Glory (GB) in recent seasons and, while the early signs are that Kessaar is not on that trajectory, he has proven a solid addition to the ranks. A classy sprinter, Kessaar's progeny appear to stay further than he did, which is somewhat surprising, and it will be interesting to track their progression in 2023.

Cracksman (GB) came up trumps with Listed winner Dance In The Grass (GB) along with a host of promising youngsters with a view towards next season. He sired nine winners from 39 runners and one would expect his offspring to build on that next year.

The GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf success of Victoria Road (Ire) obviously doesn't contribute towards the leading freshman sire championship in Britain and Ireland, but it's worth bearing in mind with a view to the results of Saxon Warrior (Jpn).

Coolmore's G1 2000 Guineas-winning son of Deep Impact (Jpn) went from strength to strength this year, building to that almighty crescendo in Keeneland with Victoria Road, but he also enjoyed some major triumphs domestically to finish fifth in the British and Irish first-season sire standings.

Saxon Warrior was responsible for 13 individual winners from 41 runners and £351,906 in prize-money. Joseph O'Brien's Lumiere Rock (Ire), winner of the G3 Staffordstown Stud S., and G2 Debutante S. third Thornbrook (Ire) flew the flag for the stallion in Ireland, while Jim Bolger's Gan Teorainn (Ire) enjoyed notable success on and off the track.

After winning her maiden impressively at Naas in August, Gan Teorainn carried the familiar Ennistown Stud silks to finish second in the G1 Prix Marcel Boussac at ParisLongchamp.

That form ensured that one of Saxon Warrior's highest-rated daughters would be in high demand when selling at the December Mares Sale at Tattersalls and so it proved with BBA Ireland paying 1 million gns to secure the filly who is understood to have been bought to continue her career in Australia.

Despite being based in Ashford Stud in Kentucky, Coolmore's Justify enjoyed a notably good first season with runners in Britain and Ireland.

The unbeaten Statuette, successful in the G2 Airlie Stud S., and Group 3 scorer Aspen Grove put the US Triple Crown winner in lights in Ireland this year.

Meanwhile, it was just last week when the Willie Browne-trained Diamondsareforever (Ire) posted a taking debut victory at Dundalk, further solidifying the notion that Justify is a coming force on the international stage. Five winners from just 11 individual runners in Britain and Ireland including £146,963 in prize-money represented a strong start for Justify.

Fellow Coolmore-based US Navy Flag had eight individual winners from 35 runners. It should be noted that two of his best horses enjoyed listed success abroad; Ocean Vision (Ire) in France and Love Reigns (Ire) in America.

Tasleet (GB) is another freshman sire worthy of mention, not least because he sired the brilliant G2 Coventry S. winner Bradsell (GB). Set to stand for just £6,000 at Nunnery Stud next year, Tasleet had a solid 34% winners to runners, which was more than Saxon Warrior, Expert Eye (GB), US Navy Flag, Cracksman (GB) and more.

But the biggest surprise in the first-season stallion ranks came from the figures posted by the largely unheralded Rajasinghe (Ire), who is set to stand for just £3,000 at the National Stud next year.

Winner of the G2 Coventry S. in 2017 for Phil Cunningham, who has been a big supporter of the horse since he went to stud, Rajasinghe had eight individual winners from 10 runners which equates to a whopping 80% strike-rate.

All of this has been achieved with average mares which suggests Rajasinghe could have the makings of becoming a pretty decent sire if provided with the right ammunition.

 

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The Major Talking Points From The Premier Yearling Sale At Doncaster

The first major yearling sale of the autumn in Britain or Ireland, the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale provided entertainment from the beginning to the end, but most importantly, boasted impressive figures. Brian Sheerin was in attendance and discusses the major talking points from the sale.

Figures on the up

The team at Goffs UK could hardly have wished for a better start to the Premier Yearling Sale. The day one figures were off the charts. Of the 218 lots offered on Tuesday, 199 were sold, representing a clearance rate of 91%. 

The aggregate was up 28% to £8,954,500, the average rose 15% to £44,997 and the median climbed 27% to £38,000.

There were noticeably less people around the sales complex at Doncaster on day two. While the figures failed to match what took place on Tuesday, there were some impressive numbers recorded on Wednesday, with an 87% clearance rate on a day where the aggregate climbed 11% to £7,003,000. 

The average on Wednesday went up 0.5% while the median fell by 4% to £32,000. That came despite the fact that there was some late drama in the ring with three of the last seven lots making six figures. 

All told, the sale went well. Of the 406 yearlings catalogued, 363 were sold, translating to a clearance rate of 89%. The aggregate was up 20% to £15,987,500 while the average was up 8% and the median rose by 9%.

Big Results From Small Numbers For Fitzgerald

Alice Fitzgerald knows what she is doing. It was at the Premier Yearling Sale in 2021 when Fitzgerald sold her homebred Basil Martini (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}} out of 10,000gns purchase Under Offer (Bated Breath (GB) to MV Magnier for £160,000.

Fast forward 12 months and Fitzgerald, who never brings more than one or two to the sales, bagged another big pay-day by selling her Kodiac (GB) colt out of Night Queen (Ire) (Rip Van Winkle {Ire}) to Manor House Farm for £160,000. 

What's even more impressive about Fitzgerald? This isn't even her day job. 

John and Jess Dance Stock Up

Given John and Jess Dance bought six-time Group 1 winner Laurens (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) at this sale in 2016, it's only natural that the owners would have an affinity towards Doncaster, which was evident in the results. 

Under Manor House Stables, they signed for nine different yearlings at a total of £837,000, which was only bettered by the £1,162,000 that Peter and Ross Doyle spent across the two days on a whopping 17 different horses. 

However, of the top 10 spenders at the Premier Yearling Sale, nobody boasted a better average than John and Jess Dance. 

The couple spent an average of £93,000 on their nine lots, illustrating that they are seeking quality over quantity more so than ever before. 

High Praise From Doyle

Ross Doyle is renowned for being one of the best judges in the game. Along with his father Peter, he has sourced Mehmas, Barney Roy, Limato, Japan, Fairyland, Magna Grecia, Olympic Glory and much more. 

Therefore, when he praised Goffs for attracting the best bunch of yearlings that he has seen for some time, it reflected well on the quality of the sale.

Doyle signed for two of the top lots in the sale, a colt by New Bay (GB) [211] for £200,000 on day one, and a lovely Dark Angel (Ire) colt [251] the following day for the same figure. 

Grangemore signed for the Dark Angel colt at last year's Tattersalls December Foal Sales for 40,000gns and the sale to the Doyles, who didn't reveal where the horse would be trained, secured a tidy pinhooking profit. The New Bay colt will be trained by Richard Hannon. 

Two Top-Notch Pinhooks

There were a number of good pinhooks over the course of the sale but two stood out. The first was that of lot 21, a gorgeous Ten Sovereigns (Ire) filly that Jamie Railton bought for €26,000 off Ballybin Stud at the November Foal Sales at Goffs last year before selling to Richard Hughes for a cool £110,000 on Tuesday.

The second was an even greater piece of inspiration as Violet Hesketh and Mimi Wadham, who run WH Bloodstock, and transformed lot 171 from a €38,000 purchase back in February to a £120,000 yearling just six months later. 

A colt by Kuroshio (Aus), lot 171 was tipped to do well after a number of shrewd judges got him vetted and, in the end, he was knocked down to Mark McStay and it's understood the colt will be sent to Fozzy Stack to be trained. 

Kuroshio Holding His Own

Kuroshio has been around the world and back but this year represented the classy Australian's first crop of runners since he took up residency at Starfield Stud in 2020. After a slow start to the season, Dontspoilasale (Ire) has come along and won for the stallion in Ireland, and looks potentially progressive, while Jessica Harrington's Panic Alarm (Ire) should be winning races for the stallion when he gets softer ground conditions. 

All told, anyone who has backed Kuroshio will be a lot happier now than ever before as last week's figures were respectable. Away from the headline-maker, lot 171, the Baroda Stud-drafted filly [lot 258] also secured a solid sale for the stallion, and changed hands to join John and Jess Dance for £48,000. All four yearlings by the stallion were sold. 

Force Behind Highclere Stallion

Some will argue that Land Force (Ire) is riding the crest of a No Nay Never wave, and that may have been an entirely plausible summation of the situation had his yearlings not been so impressive in the flesh. 

Top judges Clive Cox-who went to £85,000 to secure lot 71-and Oliver St Lawrence bought progeny by the stallion. Some of the best in the breeze-up business, Katie Walsh, Longways Stables and Con Marnane, also rowed in behind Land Force this week. 

Jake Warren even tipped the Highclere-based stallion for first-season sire honours and, while there is a lot of water to pass under that particular bridge, the early signs are promising for anyone with a Land Force in their stable. 

Of the 17 offered this week, 14 were sold at an aggregate of £510,000, which averaged out at £36,429.

Noteworthy Buyers

A number of top agents, trainers and breeze-up buyers relayed how footfall had increased at the sale and, as a result, it was going to be even harder to smoke out a bargain. 

Well, buyers also had to contend with major competition from afar as Wesley Ward also got in on the action, signing for lot 200, a Lynn Lodge-consigned £82,000 daughter of US Navy Flag. 

Ward is clearly a fan of the stallion and why wouldn't he be? The Patrick Grogan-bred Love Reigns (Ire), whose only defeat in three starts for the American-based trainer, came when she finished fourth in the G2 Queen Mary S. at Royal Ascot. Time will tell if Ward has bagged himself another Royal Ascot filly. 

It should be said that, for all that Eddie O'Leary has a host of international clients, he still made time for his neighbour at Goffs. At one point in the afternoon on Wednesday, Nick Nugent on the rostrum announced, 'from one corner of Mullingar to the other,' when Roger O'Callaghan of Tall-Ho purchased a Mehmas colt [lot 349] for £45,000 off his fellow Westmeath native. 

O'Leary's Lynn Lodge Stud ended proceedings with 11 yearlings sold for £677,000 at an average of £61,545, making the operation the fifth most successful across the two days. 

Tally-Ho Dominate

It was an excellent sale for Tally-Ho. Not only was the stud responsible for the top lot, the Blandford Bloodstock-bought Night Of Thunder (Ire) filly [lot 278] out of five-time winner and listed-placed Thiswaycadeaux (Thewayyouare), but they also ended proceedings as the leading consignors with 24 yearlings making £1,544,000 in total.

That was needed, according to Roger O'Callaghan, who revealed that there were 60 more yearlings standing in the field at home in Westmeath, with 40 needing to be broken in and prepared for the breeze-ups.

Away from the excellent results posted by their own stock, Tally-Ho will have been delighted by how all the progeny of their resident stallions were received with yearlings by Kodiac, Cotai Glory, Kessaar, Galileo Gold, Mehmas and young sire Inns Of Court doing well. 

Night Of Thunder Stars

But the star of the show, without question, was Darley's Night Of Thunder. Along with Tally-Ho's sales-topping filly, the Mountarmstrong Stud-drafted Night Of Thunder [170] colt out of Pious Alexander, which ended day one on top at £230,000, ensured it was a memorable sale for the sire.

Mark McStay landed the day one leader, after which, the leading agent labelled Night Of Thunder, the sire of last week's spellbinding G1 Nunthorpe S. winner Highfield Princess (Fr), as a solid source of top-class talent. 

Classy Siblings On Show

Some pedigrees leapt off the page. The Galileo Gold half-brother [280] to Nunthorpe runner-up The Platinum Queen (Ire) (Cotai Glory {GB}) made £170,000 to join Richard Spencer, the Ulysses (Ire)  half-brother [213] to Coventry S. winner Bradsell (GB) (Tasleet {GB}) was knocked down to Dance Thoroughbreds for £150,000 and Whitsbury Manor's Havana Grey (GB) half-sister to Sandy Lane S. scorer El Caballo (GB) (Havana Gold {Ire}) was all the rage at £230,000 with Jack Warren of Highclere doing the buying. 

Havana Grey Shines

Of the 22 horses offered by Havana Grey, all bar one were sold for a total of £1,089,000, averaging at £51,857. Whitsbury's Ed Harper revealed that his performance is exceeding the wildest dreams but, with nine individual black-type horses in his first crop, perhaps buyers were cottoning on to the fact that they have been witnessing something special.

Soldier's Answers The Call

This game is all about looking towards the future and the early signs are that Joe Foley has another real one at Ballyhane Stud in Soldier's Call (GB). 

The man knows how to launch a stallion and must have taken great credit about how Soldier's Call cleared £563,000 from 13 yearlings sold at an average of £43,308. 

What's more, Foley was prepared to put his money where his mouth is, and bought the top lot [212] by the sire for £105,000 off Tinnakill House Stud for Steve Parkin. 

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Mehmas Colt Tops Final Goffs Foal Session

KILDARE, Ireland–The fourth and final day of the Goffs Foal Sale saw prices return to a more affordable level for the average working man or woman, and while there were no dizzying highs there was a decent level of trade for those present. With an extra day of foals compared to last year, Thursday was always going to test the resilience of the market and not surprisingly the clearance rate dropped a couple of points from the day before to 79% while the session topper, a Mehmas (Ire) colt, fetched €70,000.

Taken as a whole, the Goffs November Foal Sale returned a solid set of results with €25,560,300 worth of foals sold over the four days at an average of €34,966 and a median of €22,000. The overall clearance rate came in at a very respectable 82%. Last year's three-day foal sale saw 482 of 637 offered (75.6%) change hands for €17,578,600. The average was €36,470, and the median 20,000.

Speaking after the sale, Goffs Group Chief Executive Henry Beeby said, “What an amazing business. As we progress through this depressing pandemic it is so uplifting to be involved in an industry that is always looking forward with positivity. And there is no better example of planning for the future than buying foals so, once again, we salute all the mighty foal pinhookers who have driven a trade of strength, depth and vibrancy over the last four days as they look for the next touch. The strong home team have been joined by a multitude of English and overseas speculators along with several end users, and the result has been intense competition and often frenzied bidding especially for those that stood out. Of course they have flocked to Goffs as our vendors have provided us with the cream of the Irish foal crop and we thank every one of them for their ongoing support of the Irish National Foal Sale. As ever our mantra is proven-'we can't do it without you'–and it is only with such a strong catalogue that we can deliver the kind of sustained demand that has clearly been in evidence from Lot 1 right through to the close of business today.”

He continued, “The top of the market proved robust with the new star Frankel leading the way for the second year in succession but bidding has been as keen on each day and at all levels to vindicate so many Irish breeders' choice of Goffs for their best. Indeed, a clearance rate of 82%, up from 76% despite a far bigger catalogue, makes the point and we are so pleased to have received so much positive feedback from so many about so much. We now turn our attention to our two day Breeding Stock catalogue, which reads better than for many a year following yet more wonderful support from breeders.”

Mehmas Magic Continues

Breeders who have supported Mehmas (Ire) since his retirement to Tally-Ho Stud have by and large been well rewarded, especially considering his 2020 covering fee was just €7,500, and lot 813 provided his breeder Golden Vale Stud with a great return when selling to Tally-Ho Stud for €70,000. The colt, consigned by Meadagh Stud, is a half-brother to five winners out of Ishimagic (GB) (Ishiguru) who is a half-sister to the U.S. multiple graded stakes winner Foxysox (GB) (Foxhound). Another son of Mehmas that proved popular was lot 947 from the McEnery's Vinesgrove Stud that sold to Paula Flannery for €56,000. The colt, bred by Billy & Paul McEnery, is out of Zambezi Queen (Ire) (Helmet {Aus}), who was bought by Billy four years ago for 16,000gns.

In what has been a fairly hectic week for the Tally-Ho team between purchasing, selling and monitoring the progeny of their stallions, the O'Callaghans also added a filly on Thursday by their own young stallion Kessaar (Ire) to the team. Lot 931 cost €44,000 and is a granddaughter of the G3 Dance Design S. winner Obama Rule (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}) and the dam, Trump Alexander (Ire) (Iffraaj {GB}), is a half-sister to this year's G2 Kilboy Estate S. winner Insinuendo (Ire) (Gleneagles {Ire}).

Derek Veitch's Ringfort Stud offered a Churchill (Ire) colt on behalf of breeder Rory O'Brien and lot 846 was snapped up by John Cullinan and Roger Marley for €68,000. The colt is out of the dual winner Mistime (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}) who was bought by O'Brien for 32,000gns three years ago and is proving a sound investment.

While many of these foals are bought as pinhook investments, many are offered as a result of a recent mare investment such as the above lot and another that reaped a very good return for a shrewd breeder was lot 960 from Ardrums Stud. The farm bought the dual winner Amber Spark (Ire) (Fast Company {Ire}), a half-sister to stakes winner Ventura Diamond (Ire) (Dandy Man {Ire}), two years ago for only 16,000 gns and sent her to Dandy Man (Ire) soon after for her first cover at an advertised fee of €15,000. The resulting colt went the way of Whiteoaks for €52,000 on Thursday.

As the session continued, Tom Monaghan gave €41,000 for a son of New Bay (GB) from Albany Stud, lot 899, a half-brother to this year's winning Kevin Ryan-trained juvenile Lady Raeburn (Ire) (Mehmas {GB}). Fifteen minutes later, Mark McStay gave €40,000 for lot 904, a son of Holy Roman Emperor (Ire) from Derrymore Farm. Michael Fitzpatrick of JC Bloodstock will be hoping his early purchase of lot 805, a colt by Profitable (Ire), will prove just that when he no doubt returns to a sale ring next year. The colt out of the unraced Iffa Red (Ire) (Iffraaj {GB}) cost Fitzpatrick €36,000 and was offered by Skara Stud.

Paul and Marie McCartan have honed their craft in both breeding and unearthing future stars, and their Ballyphilip Stud took home a son of US Navy Flag for €32,000. Lot 783 is the second produce out of the unraced Fascinated (Ire) (Champs Elysees {GB}) from the family of G1 Irish 2000 Guineas winner Saffron Walden (Fr).

The focus switches to breeding stock on Friday with a 10 a.m. start featuring exciting and sizeable drafts from several global breeding operations in addition to the dam of a triple Group 1 winner.

The post Mehmas Colt Tops Final Goffs Foal Session appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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