MATCHING last year’s phenomenal increases was never a runner at this week’s Tattersalls Ireland Ascot Breeze-Up Sale but the sale took another stride forward as it recorded a 7% rise in aggregate, breaking through another barrier as two-year-olds worth £2,041,600 were traded.

There was a pair of six-figure lots among the 80% of the lots offered which sold, headed by Mocklershill’s son of the Irish National Stud sire Worthadd.

From the first crop of that son of Dubawi, the colt sold to Peter and Ross Doyle Bloodstock for £130,000, nearly four times his yearling price of £35,000. A son of the winning Dansili mare Malayan Mist, he comes from the family of multiple Group 1 winners Inara and Joshua Tree. The Wicklow-based buying agency spent more than £300,000 on the day for five lots.

Bloodstock agent Alex Elliott gave £100,000 for the only Street Cry in the catalogue. The colt was the better of two lots sold by Eddie and Wendy O’Leary’s Lynn Lodge Stud, and he is a grandson of the Group 1 Prix de Diane and Prix du Moulin de Longchamp winner Nebraska Tornado. It was one of a pair of significant buys by Elliott as he also bought Powerstown Stud’s son of Royal Applause for £50,000.

That colt is the second produce of a six-time winning half-sister to stakes-winner Terror and comes from the family of the speedsters Indian Rocket, The Bonus King and Sovereign Debt.

A total of 13 lots sold for £50,000 or more and were offered by 13 different Irish consignors.

HIGHLIGHT

An early highlight was Con Marnane’s French-bred son of Panis and this €20,000 Osarus yearling buy sold for £75,000 to Stroud Coleman, one of two purchases for that price by the agency. This one was for the Cool Silk Partnership whose colours were carried to victory in the 2016 Norfolk Stakes at Royal Ascot.

Also bought for £75,000 was Tally-Ho Stud’s Kodiac colt out of a half-sister to Group 3 winner and Group 1 runner-up Aspen Darling. The colt comes from the immediate family of Washington DC. Matt Coleman of Stroud Coleman was acting again for Cool Silk Partnership when landing the most expensive filly on the day, a £64,000 daughter of Havana Gold and the listed-winning Diesis mare Esloob. Sold through Hyde Park Stud, she produced an amazing return on her €4,000 yearling price.

PRIVATE DEAL

MC Bloodstock gave £45,000 in a private transaction at the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale last August for a half-brother to five winners by Zoffany, the colt coming from the family of New Bay, Zenda, Oasis Dream and Kingman. This time he traded for £75,000 from Gaybrook Lodge Stud to Sackville Donald.

Brown Island’s American-bred Arch colt out of the Grade 2 winner Wend was unsold in the ring at Keeneland last September at $22,000 but this time he found favour with Stephen Hillen at £65,000 and will join Kevin Ryan. The decision by Sherbourne Lodge to retain their Helmet colt out of a winning relation to Arazi and Noverre last year at 19,000gns was justified when he sold to Peter and Ross Doyle Bloodstock for £62,000. The agents had earlier joined forces with David Marnane to pay £50,000 for Derryconnor Stud’s Showcasing colt, the first foal of an unraced half-sister to Group 2 winner Night Prospector.

Martyn Meade Racing paid £55,000 for a son of More Than Ready and the colt’s third dam was the US Grade 1 winner Lovlier Linda. He was sold from Fairgreen Stables.

Ballinahulla Stables’ Lawman half-brother to Group 3 winning juvenile Final Frontier cost agent Richard Knight and trainer’s son Sean Quinn £50,000, the same price realised by Ardglas Stables’ Style Vendome colt out of a half-sister to Melbourne Cup winner Dunaden.

Tattersalls Ireland’s director of horses-in-training sales Richard Pugh said afterwards that: “We were cautiously optimistic that there would be strong demand at today’s auction. This sentiment has been justified by breaking through the £2 million barrier for the first time and it has also been pleasing to produce an increased clearance rate of 80%.

“We would like to thank all those that supported the sale and we will endeavour to make further strides forward in 2018.”