AFTER two days of steady yet somewhat muted trade, the Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale concluded on Wednesday with a decline in its final figures for the second year in succession.
The sensible decision was taken to reduce the numbers catalogued after an enlarged sale last year witnessed a sharp drop in the clearance rate and this did serve to concentrate demand.
As a result of being 14% smaller than last year, the sale was always going to struggle to match the turnover from 12 months ago although the difference in the numbers sold between 2018 and 2019 wasn’t quite at all as pronounced. When the sale came to a close, the aggregate had dropped by 10% to just under €9.5 million. This was the first time since 2015 that the sale’s turnover has fallen below €10 million.
The average of €24,267 represented a drop of five points on last year and the median held steady at €20,000. As expected, the clearance rate took an upturn as it went from 78% to 86%.
“There was a consistent solid trade as indicated by the clearance rate for both Part I and Part II,” reflected the Tattersalls Ireland CEO Matt Mitchell. “The decision to reduce the number catalogued was correct as it focused purchasers on the quality lots. The reduction in the median/average indicates that the market, at a certain level, is at best in a pause mode. No doubt, Part I of the sale lacked an additional number of yearlings at the €100,000 plus mark, the opinion put your horse in a sale that it will stand out in comes to mind.
International
“There was a large number of international buyers present at all levels of the market reflecting the cooperation between Tattersalls Ireland and Irish Thoroughbred Marketing. It was pleasing to have a number of Irish trainers appear on the list of purchasers. There is no doubt that this year’s graduates will continue to deliver the high rate of two-year-old winners on the track both in numbers and quality.”
THIS time last year an increase in the number of horses catalogued gave rise to a decidedly mixed edition of the Tattersalls Ireland September Sale where the clearance rate dropped sharply while demand at the top of the market was stronger than ever.
This week also represented a mixed edition of the sale but for different reasons. The smaller catalogue helped to concentrate demand and this in turn saw the clearance rate take an upswing to 86%.
However, the sale felt muted and demand at the head of the market was far quieter than it had been 12 months ago.
Admittedly last year’s sale was helped by a record priced top lot of €275,000, but even so there were 10 six-figure transactions and that number fell to just two this year. There was a drop of just one in the number of horses making at least €50,000, which came in at 45 and 69 horses that made between €30,000 and €49,000 as opposed to the 77 who managed this feat last year.
The drop off in six-figure activity represents a marked decline and contributed entirely to the fall in turnover.
The drop in the other indicators aren’t that sharp but they do fall some way short of the totals of 2017 when the sale reached its zenith.
For pinhookers it was tough going this week. There were 149 horses offered over the two days that had passed under the hammer as foals but just 41 of those showed a profit on their foal price, allowing for €10,000 keep on top of purchase costs.
On the whole, the start of a critical four week period in the European yearling sales season played host to steady but unremarkable trade.
The smaller sale didn’t witness the upswing in the median and average that might have been anticipated as a result of the auction being condensed and the top of the market was much quieter than it has been here previously. A revival in that sector of the market will be the challenge for this sale in 2020.
This Exceed And Excel fily from Joanna Morgan's Portlester Stud sold to MC Bloodstock for €90,000 \ Healy Racing
A €165,000 son of No Nay Never held sway at this year’s sale when the impressive homebred from the Hore family’s Mount Eaton Stud sold to Michael Kinane who was acting on behalf of the Hong Kong Jockey Club.
From the highly prized third crop of this in-demand sire, the sale-topper came under the hammer just 13 lots from the end of the sale but this did nothing to diminish his appeal. Kinane’s purchase is related to several stakes performers headed by the Group 2 Railway Stakes victor Medicine Jack.
Prior to this year, the Hong Kong Jockey Club had just one recorded purchase at this sale but this week Kinane also spent €100,000 on a son of Holy Roman Emperor from The Castlebridge Consignment. This colt, whose sire works so well in the Far East, is related to the former Dante Stakes runner-up Freemantle.
Also destined for Hong Kong is a €50,000 son of Dandy Man who was sold by Paddy Burns’ Loughtown Stud.
Cathal and Denis Brosnan from Croom House Stud \ Healy Racing
Reilly sources for international clients
EAMONN Reilly was busying securing quality stock for various American interests and his spending was headed by a €95,000 son of Exceed And Excel from The Castleridge Consignment. This relation to the high-class two-year-old Red Duke was bought on behalf of Magic Cap Stables whose colours were carried to victory by the Jessica Harrington-trained Dragon Roll in a Gowran Park maiden last summer.
The previous afternoon Reilly spent €80,000 on a son of Acclamation who will join American trainer Wesley Ward. This Ratharry Stud offering is out of a half-sister to Ward’s Royal Ascot-winning two-year-old Hootenanny.
Reilly’s BBA Ireland colleague Michael Donohoe picked up a couple of choice lots for the Chinese outfit Yulong Investments and these were headed by a €60,000 son of Footstepsinthesand from Tally-Ho Stud who was showing a good return on the €20,000 he cost as a foal. Also destined to carry the familiar Zhang Yuesheng colours is a €50,000 filly from the first crop of The Last Lion.
Kerri Lyons with Colin Keane \ Healy Racing
ANOTHER Exceed And Excel yearling to play a starring role this week was a €90,000 filly from Joanna Morgan’s Portlester Stud. The 30,000gns foal purchase, who is a half-sister to a recent two-year-old winner in the Karl Burke-trained Wonderwork, is also from the family of the Triumph Hurdle hero Countrywide Flame. This filly was bought by Jim McCartan to go to next year’s breeze-up sales.
The previous evening agent Ed Sackville and trainer Tom Dascombe, whose string are on quite a roll at the moment, forked out €90,000 for a son of Dark Angel and the Group 3-winning Duchess Andorra. This Al Eile Stud offering shares his sire with the trainer’s Ayr Gold Cup winner Angel Alexander.
THE Middleham Park Racing team were busy sourcing talent for next year and, acting through Ross Doyle, they splashed out €90,000 for a son of sire of the moment Footstepsinthesand. This colt was sold by Coole House Farm and he is the second produce of a mare who was bought for €38,000 in November 2015. Richard Hannon, who has enjoyed so much success with the sire’s offspring, will train this colt.
Middleham Park also forked out €62,000 for a son of Equiano who was showing a good return on the 16,000gns he cost as a foal. He was sold by Johnny Fogarty’s Gaynestown Stud.
Richard Fahey (left) Tadhg O'Shea and Freddy Tylicki at Tattersalls Ireland \ Healy Racing
AMONG the fillies to make an impact was a €70,000 daughter of Sea The Stars – the only one on offer by the sire this week. She was bought by Eoghan O’Neill, who trained her stakes-placed dam.
The €70,000 mark was also reached by a Declaration Of War filly out of a useful Montjeu mare who was knocked down to American agent Justin Casse.
Starspangledbanner has been a lucky sire for Fozzy Stack and the trainer teamed up with agent Hubie de Burgh to buy fillies by the sire for €70,000 and €67,000. The duo included a Croom House consigned half-sister to the Hong Kong-based Group 2 winner Endowing.
John McConnell spent €65,000 on a Kodiac own-sister to the Group 3 winner and English-based sire Koropick.
BEN Haslam will train a €65,000 Camacho colt who was knocked down to Bobby O’Ryan and Hugo Palmer will take charge of a son of Showcasing for whom Mark McStay had to give €65,000.
There was quite a pinhooking triumph in store for Jimmy Murphy’s Redpender Stud as a Night Of Thunder colt saw his price go from €5,000 as a foal to €65,000 this time around on the back of an impressive season for his sire’s first runners. The relation to Aspen Darlin was bought by Saubouas Bloodstock.
Lot: 63 (f) Night Of Thunder – Think
Vendor: Ballyvolane Stud
Purchaser: Mark Grant
Price: €35,000
Night Of Thunder’s impressive start to his stud career, which has yielded three stakes winners and a number of highly promising types, means that members of his second crop will be in some demand this autum and this could give rise to some very notable pinhooking triumphs. This daughter of the Dubawi horse and a Group 3-placed juvenile showed a nice profit on the €3,000 she cost at last year’s Tattersalls Ireland November Flat Foal Sale when selling to Mark Grant.
Hubie de Burgh and Fozzy Stack (right) bought two Starspangledbanner fillies \ Healy Racing
Lot: 70 (c) Adaay – Touching
Vendor: Shinglis Stud
Purchaser: Longways Stables
Price: €40,000
Among the sires being represented by their first crop of yearlings at this year’s sales is the English-based dual Group 2 winner Adaay. The Kodiac horse certainly captured the imagination of buyers at Goffs UK last month when he supplied a trio of six-figure lots – headed by a £210,000 colt – and he supplied another taking sort in this colt who was showing a decent return on the 10,000gns he cost as foal. He was bought by noted breeze-up consignor Mick Murphy and enjoyed a notable update during the year when his half-brother Brian Ryan won a Group 3 in Germany.
Lot: 209 (f) Cable Bay – Decorative
Vendor: Castletown Stud
Purchaser: Clive Cox
Price: €38,000
Another stallion to have enjoyed a good start at stud in 2019 is this Invincible Spirit horse who has sired the winners of 29 races headed by the Group 3-winning Liberty Beach. This particular filly is of further interest as she was bought by the canny Clive Cox and her pedigree makes for interesting reading. At the start of the year she had two unraced siblings and one of those is the now 90-rated highly progressive four-time winner Magical Ride and another is the 91-rated three-year-old Severance.
Lot: 244 (c) Kodiac – Eternal View
Vendor: Tally-Ho Stud
Purchaser: M & M Stables
Price: €56,000
After another fine campaign which yielded a fresh Group 1 winner in the recent Sprint Cup scorer Hello Youmzain, Kodiac’s substantial appeal endures and the pick of his yearling crop are sure to be in some demand over the next three weeks. This very smart homebred colt is out of an own-sister to the classy juvenile Kitty Kiernan. Further back, this is the family of the top juvenile Spartacus and his high-class sibling Johan Cruyff who won the Beresford Stakes before enjoying a superb career in Hong Kong.
Italian agent Federicio Barberini (centre) \ Healy Racing
Lot: 284 (f) The Last Lion – Hallowed Park
Vendor: Lodge Park Stud
Purchaser: Blandford Bloodstock
Price: €52,000
Over the two days of the September Sale there were just three yearlings on offer from the first crop of the teak-tough Middle Park Stakes winner The Last Lion and they averaged just over €40,000. The most expensive of them was this filly who is a half-sister to five winners out of an unraced daughter of Aidan O’Brien’s first classic winner – the 1997 Irish 1000 Guineas heroine Classic Park.
“I think it has been a good sale with an excellent clearance rate and a lot of buyers. I would say the horses aren’t as good as previous years and as a result our shortlist was smaller than usual but the clearance rate has been good which is important.” Michael Donohoe BBA Ireland.
“The market is vibrant. The horses that are here are making their money. It’s a good, solid sale.” Joe Foley. Ballyhane Stud
“It’s like any sale – it’s good for the good and harder going for the others. At the top of the market it does seem quieter than it has been for the last couple of years.” Roger O’Callaghan. Tally-Ho Stud.
“Trade was fair and horses were getting sold. If you came here with realistic expectations your horse would get sold and I think that’s been reflected in the trade and clearance rate through the first two days.” David Cox Baroda Stud.