NO Nay Never keeps hitting the right notes, and among the breeders thankful for the racecourse success of his offspring is Denis Brosnan. He sold a son of the Zafonic mare Winning Sequence for M.V. Magnier for 900,000gns after the Coolmore man outbid Anthony Stroud.

A half-brother to three winners and to the dam of last year’s smart French juvenile Barbill, the sale of the colt was bittersweet for Brosnan who lost the dam this spring after she foaled a colt by Profitable. Brosnan was full of praise for the colt and also for the stud’s general manager, Joe Hartigan.

Of the colt, Brosnan said: “He has been outstanding”, adding “It is Joe who does all the hard work, I just turn up for days like this.” The price is a new high for a yearling by No Nay Never, sire of Ballydoyle runners Ten Sovereigns and Arizona, and the third best figure obtained by Croom House in the ring at Newmarket.

Pinhook success

The sire’s success story continued later in the week when Rabbah Bloodstock made their most expensive purchase, paying 325,000gns for the first offspring of the unraced Erewhon mare Lady Soldier. This was also one of the pinhooks of the week as the colt cost Ballyvolane Stud’s John Foley and the Flannery’s Egmont Stud just €54,000 as a foal.

The former home of leading National Hunt sires like Menelek, The Parson and latterly Moscow Society, Ballyvolane has been rejuvenated under Foley’s stewardship and last year the farm also sold a yearling for 325,000gns, that being a son of Lope De Vega.

The current crop of No Nay Never yearlings were bred off a fee of €17,500, a figure that is far removed from his 2019 fee of €100,000.

Anthony Stroud had to settle for the runner-up position in the race to acquire Haras du Mézeray’s No Nay Never half-sister to Group 3-placed Maid To Remember, with a relieved Ross Doyle getting his way at 270,000gns.

Doyle said afterwards: “It is the first time in eight days that I have beaten him [Stroud]. This is a nice, big, attractive filly with a great walk, and by a very good stallion.” The filly will be trained by Richard Hannon.