Less than a week on from that scintillating display in the G2 Flying Childers S. at Doncaster, the connections of Big Evs (Ire) (Blue Point {Ire}) were reinvesting at the Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale on a Lope De Vega (Ire) filly for €190,000.
Fitting that it was a Blue Point half-sister, the Jessica Harrington-trained Bluedrum (Ire), who provided the page with a timely update when running out an ultra-impressive winner of a maiden at Naas last week.
She looks destined for black-type races and Conor Quirke, who purchased the Lope De Vega filly from The Castlebridge Consignment to be trained by Mick Appleby, has similar aspirations for his acquisition.
He said, “She was a standout for me and ultimately the half-sister got her over the line. This filly is lovely and was well-placed here–the breeders are good at their job. Today was not her cup final, she is going to keep improving, which I appreciate. She is a lovely filly and hard to fault. We like the sire, too, and it all made sense.”
The day one top lot is out of Drumfad Bay (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}), herself a dual winner who finished second in a Group 3 and won a Listed contest.
Quirke added, “She has residual value and is a half to a good Blue Point filly and she will be a broodmare in time. She will go to Mick Appleby. I have bought for RP for the last five years or so. We have danced all the big dances this year with Big Evs and we want to get back to it again next year.”
It was breeze-up consignor Mickey Cleere who found Big Evs initially. He paid 50,000gns for the colt at the Tattersalls October Book 2 Sale before selling him through Quirke to his current connections who are enjoying the thrill of a lifetime.
Providing an update on the Breeders' Cup bound speedster, Quirke concluded, “He bounced out as usual and I have booked my flights to America. Mick is great fun, the owners are good people and it has been a great journey so long may it continue.”
- Mickey Cleere raised a few eyebrows by revealing in these pages over the weekend that he had not started buying for the upcoming breeze-up season despite the fact that there has been a number of major sales prior to Fairyhouse. Well, Cleere, who found Ballymount Boy (Ire) (Camacho {GB}) here last year, didn't waste any time on getting in on the action. The first lot into the ring. Bang. An Arizona (Ire) colt consigned by Alice Fitzgerald goes the way of MC Thoroughbreds. Cleere may have his own approach to the sales but few can argue that it is not an effective one. He went on to land an Ardad (Ire) filly later in the day for €38,000.
- It didn't take long for the day to produce a good pinhook. Lot 20 into the ring, a Teofilo (Ire) colt consigned by Castletown Quarry, was snapped up by Hubie de Burgh for €70,000. Not a bad result for connections who bought the colt out of the unraced Dubawi (Ire) mare Amazing Grace (Ire) for just 21,000gns at the Tattersalls December Foal Sale.
- The first horse to rock into six figures was lot 12, a Ten Sovereigns (Ire) filly from Glenvale Stud, snapped up by Anthony Bromley of Highflyer Bloodstock for €100,000. A half-sister to Lakota Seven (Ire) (Sioux Nation), a smart colt for Joseph O'Brien, the Ten Sovereigns filly was bought on behalf of Polly Pott's owner Andrew Megson to be trained by Ed Dunlop. Speaking alongside Dunlop's brother Harry, Bromley commented, “She has been bought for Andrew Megson, who is perhaps known more for his jumping string. Harry is helping the Megsons and this filly is going to his brother Ed Dunlop, who has a few for the couple to run on the Flat for some fun.”
- It was yet another productive yearling sale for Bromley but he kept everyone guessing as to who he signed the €100,000 Mehmas colt on behalf of. Bred by Yeomanstown Stud, lot 141 was bought by Rochestown Lodge Stud for €40,000 at the Goffs November Foal Sale before selling to Bromley on behalf of “an Irish breeze-up client”. Bromely said, “It is punchy, but I love the sire and this colt has a little more scope than some by Mehmas. He is very athletic. I believe this horse is a racehorse and so does my client. Let's hope he is a weapon!”
- The only Wootton Bassett (GB) to go under the hammer on the day was always going to capture the imagination and it was BBA Ireland's Mick Donohoe who bought the Norelands-drafted filly on behalf of a Middle Eastern client. Donohoe went to €82,000 to secure the filly, out of a winning Dalakhani (Ire) mare, who has also produced a winner. The top agent said, “She has been bought for a Middle Eastern-based client, who has been a lucky client of mine. She will stay in Ireland to be broken and will go on to be trained in Ireland, England or France. It is very busy here, there are lots of buyers and Tattersalls and Irish Thoroughbred Marketing have worked hard to get buyers here across all levels. There should be a good clearance rate today.”
- The clearance rate stood at 86%, down 5% on last year, but the aggregate, average and median was on the up for what was admittedly a bigger book [13 extra yearlings compared to in 2022]. The aggregate was up 3% to €6,729,500, the median up 13% to €30,000 and the average up 5% to €32,827.
Kameko Colt Heading To Norway At 115k
The progeny of Kameko have been in high demand at the yearling sales so far this year and a colt by the Tweenhills sire piqued interests at Fairyhouse when selling to Edgar Byrne for €115,000.
Byrne, who has had a lot of success buying horses to go abroad, notably 3,000gns horses-in-training purchase Kitty Marion (GB) (Iffraaj {GB}), who went on to win a group 3 in Germany, was acting on behalf of Norway-based trainer Niels Petersen.
The trainer commented, “For Scandinavia, you tend to look for a well-balanced horse as our tracks are a little sharper and we don't have any straight courses. We have dirt and turf tracks and he might be one that could suit either surface. He fits what we are after.”
Petersen added, “I have bought a lot here before, but not for some time. We chatted about coming here to see what we could find. We think this bracket suits our requirements–our prize-money is good and it is easier to win than in Ireland!”
The trainer may be a familiar face at Fairyhouse but for the JC Organisation, for whom the colt will race for, this represented the first time shopping this sale. Byrne hopes it won't be the last.
The agent said, “They are a big client of Niels and he has trained a Derby winner for the syndicate. This horse was our top pick for JC, we have other clients to buy for, but he suited this order. We did have to push to buy him, but you do for the right horse and for the good ones.”
The result represented a standout pinhook for Clenagh Castle Stud. Bought for just 11,000gns at the Tattersalls December Sale, the Kameko colt brought home nearly six figures in profit before costs, and the outfit's Adrian Costello said that sourcing one by the stallion was high up on his agenda for pinhooking. How right he was.
Costello said, “He was a gorgeous foal and has done well all the way through and this year Zoulu Chief (GB) (Zoustar {Aus}) has come out and done well. I loved the idea of Kameko last year but it was hard to buy one!”
Poste Delivers With Three Yearlings For New Breeze-Up Project
Charlie Poste, the popular ex National Hunt jockey, made his first trip to this sale count by teaming up with top bloodstock agent Tom Biggs to secure three colts for a new breeze-up venture.
Retired from the saddle four years now, Poste has done well trading point-to-point horses in Britain, but the international appeal of the bloodstock market on the Flat convinced him to gather up a syndicate of 10 people to branch out into the breeze-up game.
Poste signed for a Calyx (GB) filly for €30,000, a Kodiac (GB) filly for €36,000 and a Churchill (Ire) colt for €25,000 on the opening day of the sale under the banner of Blandford Bloodstock and his own Station Yard.
He said, “This is a new venture for us and Tom Biggs of Blandford Bloodstock has been a huge help. We've put together a syndicate of 10 people and the plan is to buy five yearlings to breeze for next year. We went to Doncaster and to the Somerville and underbid plenty so it has been a bit of a frustrating start. But today has been great. We were guided by Tom to come here and we're delighted to have bought three.”
Poste went on to explain that the fact much more credence is paid to point-to-point form in Ireland compared to Britain, where he is based, was another deciding factor in getting involved in training horses for the breeze-ups.
He said, “The breeze-ups is something we have been interested in and building towards for a while now. We started off with all of our own money and didn't have a big backer or anything like that. We needed to create a bit of cash flow with the National Hunt side of the business and, thankfully, there is a bit of that there now.
“We were just trying to look into something where there is a bit more of a global market because there is always going to be somewhat of a ceiling in selling British point-to-pointers rather than Irish point-to-pointers. There is no such bias in the breeze-ups if you turn up and do a good time and look the part so that was another reason for getting involved in this side of things. We have our own ideas about how we do things and are looking forward to seeing how things develop in year one.”
Meet The Italian Buyer Who Spent Almost 200k On Day One
I'll be the first to put my hand up and admit that I knew next to nothing about Razza Latina, who popped up for five yearlings to the tune of almost €200,000 on the day.
That propelled Razza Latina, which is the bloodstock arm of Italian trainer Cristiana Brivio's business, the fourth busiest buyer on the day.
Brivio trains alongside her husband Endo Botti in Tuscany and her colours are said to be quite recognisable in her home country. She has developed a strong list of clients back home and described herself as happy with the quality that she was able to secure at Tattersalls Ireland.
“I am a trainer with my husband but I buy as an agent as well,” she explained. “We train together and they run in my colours. The trade has been very strong here but I think the quality of the horses has also improved in recent years. Yes, it is a strong market, but there is value here.”
Brivio has reason to be happy about shopping in Ireland. It was her €23,000 Goffs Autumn yearling purchase Goldenas (Ire) (Golden Horn {GB}), picked up from Blackberry Road Stud, who landed this year's Italian Derby in Rome.
Brivio said, “I have been very lucky in Ireland. I bought the Italian Derby winner Goldenas here and Ireland has been very good for me. I have always been very lucky here and have bought many winners. I am thankful to my clients for giving me the opportunity to come back. I will be at Goffs next week as well and we just try to buy a nice horse, nothing in particular–a nice racey horse.”
Buy of the day
It was Edmond Ryan of Weir View Stud who supplied Native American (Ire) (Sioux Nation), winner of the €300,000 Tattersalls Ireland Super Auction, at this sale last year. And who's to say the top consignor hasn't unearthed another gem in lot 114, a Make Believe (GB) colt knocked down to Luke Lillingston for €70,000.
Bought for just 13,000gns by Ryan at the Tattersalls December Foal Sale, the Make Believe clearly turned into a belter of a yearling and wasn't missed at Fairyhouse, with many of the top buyers turning up for him in the ring.
Out of a High Chaparral (Ire) mare who won three times and has produced two winners, including the first and only winner for Waldgeist (GB) in Britain to date, the Make Believe is a colt to look forward to in the second half of next year and beyond. He is off to Andrew Balding, who was standing alongside Lillingston when the hammer fell.
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