A SATISFACTORY renewal of the Goffs UK August Sale saw an expanded catalogue due to the incorporation of National Hunt yearlings which had originally been intended for the January Sale and could not take place due to the pandemic.

The yearlings, along with a selection of stores, were sold on the second day of the sale. It was a yearling that topped Thursday’s trade, Paul and Sara Thorman’s Trickledown Stud receiving £44,000 for a Blue Bresil colt, the second produce of the winning hurdler Mary Eleanor. The colt was bred by David Redvers and is a grandson of the three-time Grade 1 Cleeve Hurdle winner Lady Rebecca.

Paul Cashman’s RBS Ltd signed for the colt, and the buyer now stands the yearling’s sire. He indicated afterwards that he will be resold in due course, saying that an added attraction was the fact that he is out of a Midnight Legend mare.

Ten yearlings on the day sold for £25,000 or more and half of them were sons and daughters of Blue Bresil. Challenging for the top spot, but just falling short, was a colt, the first produce of the Shantou winning point-to-pointer Shalltoo. She is a half-sister to Grade 1 winning hurdler Dedigout. Pine Tree Stud paid £42,000 for the colt who was bred in partnership by David Minton, and sold through his wife’s Juliet’s Mill House Stud.

Samcro relation

He was preceded into the ring by Mill House Stud’s homebred Blue Bresil yearling filly, the second offspring of the bumper winner Scorpio Queen. That daughter of Scorpion is a half-sister to Master Of The Hall and Pairofbrowneyes, and to the dam of the great Samcro. The yearling’s third dam bred Sound Man. Matt Coleman secured the filly with a winning bid of £38,000.

Craig and Laura Buckingham bought yet another homebred Blue Bresil filly from the Mill House Stud draft, paying £26,000 for a half-sister to four winners, the most prolific being Jacks Last Hope who was victorious 11 times. Finally, Blythe Park Stud’s Blue Bresil yearling filly sold to Ruth Pitman for £25,000. Her six older siblings have all won and their dam, a group-placed winner on the flat, is a half-sister to the multiple Group 1 winner Sarafina.

Ellison secures son of Jack Hobbs

TRAINER Brian Ellison was investing in the future when he paid £40,000 for an exceptionally well-bred yearling gelding by Jack Hobbs. The Irish Derby winner’s first crop are just two-year-olds.

Ellison’s purchase, a homebred by Choc Thornton of Apple Tree Stud, is the fourth produce of the King’s Theatre mare The Pirate’s Queen. Her three wins included a listed hurdle race, she has two full-siblings who were blacktype winners, including the Grade 2 Peter Marsh Chase winner The Dutchman, and they are all out of the Grade 3 chase winner Shivermetimber.

Juliet Minton’s strong draft of yearlings started with a gelding by Doyen which she sold on behalf of the Stanners’ Earlside Stud for £34,000 to Mags O’Toole. He will be reoffered for sale in 2023. This half-brother to dual hurdle winner Rapper is also a half-brother to the Paul Nicholls-trained Tango Tara, a £120,000 purchase after he won a point-to-point last year in Ballindenisk.

One of the very last lots through the ring was another Mill House Stud offering. This was a Doctor Dino half-brother to the French Grade 1 winning hurdler Athena Du Berlais. Their dam was listed-placed over hurdles and she is a half-sister to Mr Mole, winner of the Grade 2 Game Spirit Chase. Mark O’Dwyer paid £31,000 to secure him.

Simon Sweeting’s Overbury Stud sold a Passing Glance yearling gelding to Louise Kemble for £25,000. The son of three-time hurdle winner Cyd Charisse is a half-brother to the Midnight Legend full-brothers Movie Legend and Uncle Alastair who have 11 wins between them.

Also selling for £25,000, but in a private transaction after being led out unsold at £28,000, was Goldford Stud’s Getaway yearling colt out of the six-time winner and Grade 2-placed hurdler Lifestyle. The colt was bred by David Ford.

Irish stables dominate horses in training section

THE top six lots in the horses in training sale on Wednesday emanated from Irish yards, two of them coming from Donnchadh Doyle’s Monbeg Stables. This duo included the overall sale topper, Secret Scripture.

Tom Malone took home Secret Scripture after his £50,000 bid was enough to secure the Grennan point-to-point winner. That was the five-year-old Mount Nelson gelding’s second start and he is the first runner for his dam Kauto Shiny. Twice a winner in France, she was placed in a listed hurdle race there and ran third in a Grade 2 mares’ hurdle in England. As her name would suggest, she is from the immediate family of the great Kauto Star.

Doyle received £40,000 for his Great Pretender four-year-old Etincelle Artiste from Scottish trainer Nick Alexander. The half-brother to two winners over jumps in France was runner-up on his only start at Kirkistown in May.

Kilbeggan winner

Tom Mullins never despaired after Canford Lights had shown little in the way of form in eight starts on the flat. Switched to hurdling, he was runner-up in a 23-runner maiden hurdle at Punchestown and then won at Kilbeggan after the catalogue was printed. He sold to Evan Williams for £42,000. The same vendor and purchaser combined when Loved Out, surely a winner in waiting, changed hands for £25,000.

Trainer Phil Kirby’s £40,000 bid was enough to see Golfe Clair move from Joseph O’Brien’s Carriganog Stables to Richmond in North Yorkshire. The five-year-old son of Masked Marvel won at Clonmel in June and was going well when unseating his rider at Tramore last time out. He should pick up the winning thread again soon.

Derek Kierans bought Johnny Berry’s Scarteen point-to-point winner Reserve Judgement in a private deal for £37,500. The winner of his only start is related to The Grey Monk and Calgary Bay, while trained Katy Price paid £35,000 for the Colin Bowe-trained Doran’s Bridge, a winner and runner-up from three outings between the flags.

Greatrex is Authorized to buy

TWO stores only sold for £25,000 or more ahead of the yearling section on Thursday. The Thorman’s Trickledown Stud topped this before completing the double with their Blue Bresil yearling colt.

Their object of desire among the stores was a three-year-old daughter of Authorized out of a mare by none other than Giant’s Causeway.

She is Lupa Montana and she was placed once when trained by Ralph Beckett. Two of her offspring have run and won, and they include Ian Williams’ bumper winner Pour Joie.

The Thormans sold her on behalf of Ashbrittle Stud and she was knocked down to Tessa Greatrex of Highflyer Bloodstock, an avowed fan of Authorized.

Vanquish Bloodstock sold a Getaway three-year-old gelding to Devon trainer Linda Blackford for £28,000 and he us a half-brother to five winners. That quintet includes Glow Away, twice a winner and also runner-up in a Grade 2 mares’ hurdle, and this year’s bumper winner Ted’s Friend.