How would you describe the flat market in 2025?

Jimmy Murphy, Redpender Stud: The problem is that it’s all sire driven, which is not a very healthy way to be, but that’s the way it is, and we can’t do anything about it.

It seems to be getting that way more and more every year, so maybe it’s going to get worse again. The good sires are easier to sell, they don’t seem to mind if they’re out of a robot.

Jerry Horan, Ballynure Park Stud: I think it’s been very solid. Obviously, you have to tick a few boxes, and it’s probably become more selective, but I think there’s great hunger out there.

This was my first year selling at the breeze-ups. Buyers were focused on times, but I also had shares in a couple of more distance horses, and that’s definitely an angle that I would buy more into.

When I was restocking at the yearling sales, it was very tough for what I really wanted. I had to settle for different angles.

I had an okay foal sale, but overall, the footfall was unbelievable. If you had the right foal, the money was definitely there and in Goffs there were a lot of young guys there; there were lots of little syndicates going around. There was a very good buzz at the foal sales. I probably didn’t have some of the sexier sires, but they traded away and they made their value, but I didn’t have anything for a home run.

Peter Nolan, Peter Nolan Bloodstock:We had a pretty good year selling-wise, thank God. We found it selective, but strong.

When we’re buying with Noel [Meade], we’re not at the top end. There are probably more holes in the end we’re buying in, which gives us a chance to buy. This year, we probably got more of a chance to buy a pedigree than we usually would.

Brendan Holland, Grove Stud & Breeze-Up Consignors Association: It was solid the whole way through. Maybe the top end of the yearling market wasn’t as crazy as previous years, but the foal market was strong all the way through and so were the breeze-up sales. There was a very good clearance rate at the breeze-ups.

[On whether that made it difficult to restock] Listen, no one ever gets what they want, because your ambitions always exceed your budget, the two never meet. So, no matter what the markets are like, you never get what you want; it’s always hard to buy what you want.

Whenever you buy any horse, you’re the only person that thought that was worth that money, be it 10 grand or a hundred grand, you’re on your own.

What characterises the National Hunt market currently?

JM: It’s all very sire driven now and the problem is that it’s very hard to have plenty of proven, good sires because they fall off the perch. It’s all duck and no dinner.

PN: It’s getting more selective, more polarised every year. It’s getting out of hand; we’re down to five or six stallions, and French-breds, that’s it.

I think the couple of Camelot horses going to stud in the last year or two could help, they’re going away from the Galileo line a little bit. I think we made it polarised ourselves by the stallions we were standing, more so than what the people were buying. The Galileo line doesn’t work, as far as I can see for the National Hunt, most times. It’s great to see Luxembourg coming along and Los Angeles retired this year. I think it gives us another line there that we can work on.

Michael Moore, Ballincurrig House Stud: I think the foals and the stores are more or less bought the same. It’s gone very, very specialised, very polar. Every box has to be ticked and I think because of that, the top horses are probably making more than they’re worth.

I don’t see it changing until a few more sires catch up with the obvious ones, which they’re beginning to do. I think the biggest issue is that there’s only X number of stallions covering most of the mares, whether you’re in the middle market or at the top end, and therefore if one of them bombs, you’ve problems all the way through.

The big difference with the flat is that horses are resold within 12 months, so you’ve a greater chance of your sire staying relatively hot. [On whether two-year-olds being introduced at the store sales could help] For any point-to-point handlers, that’s an extra year or an extra six months they have to wait.

The ideal scenario for me would be two-year-old sales, and then the following year that there was three-year-old point-to-points in November, December. From being point-to-pointing all my life, I’m a firm believer that soft ground in November and December is not half as tiring as in January or February, especially for four-year-olds.

What was the highlight of the year for you, on the track or in the ring?

JM: Last year we had a wonderful year, but this year we sold a home-bred Minzaal filly for 550,000gns at Book 1. She’s a half-sister to Mill Stream.

JH: The clearance rate was the highlight of the year for me, that I was able to trade away. There was demand at different levels, I found.

I was happy that the foals I sold last year made money for their pinhookers at the yearling sales, too.

PN: It was the first time we’d had a horse in Book 1. We had a Ghaiyyath we bought off Dermot Weld, and we turned him from €48,000 to 180,000gns. We had a Blackbeard filly that sold well at Book 1, too.

As for the highlight on the track, I’m doing the work for Phil Polly, who has horses with Noel Meade, and we’re starting to get a nice bunch of horses together.

BH: The track was the highlight of the year; breezers winning the marquee two-year-old race and the marquee three-year-old race - Ruling Court winning the 2000 Guineas and Gewan winning the Dewhurst. Even if you only go back five years ago, you wouldn’t imagine it was possible that two breeze-up horses would win the two most significant colt races for two-year-olds and three-year-olds.

Grove Stud had another Group 1 performer called Columbus, who’s in training in France. You need to keep producing group horses, which is easier said than done.

MM: To be leading consignor at both the Tattersalls Ireland November NH Sale and the Goffs December NH Sale in one year was, personally, very satisfying.

What young sires have impressed you?

JM: Minzaal’s yearlings were very popular. They were lovely animals to handle and they seemed to have great temperaments. You’d hope they do well, there doesn’t seem to be any negatives. We had a Naval Crown here that we liked as well.

Going with fashion, the Chaldean foals were nice and I thought the Mostahdafs were nice horses.

JH: I think for El Caballo’s small fee, they sold well. Castle Star lacks in numbers but they were very nice foals.

I was pleasantly surprised by Shaquille’s foals, I was impressed by what I saw.

I’d be high on Minzaal at the minute. I bought quite a cheap filly by him.

PN: With the National Hunt, I can’t wait to see the Dee Ex Bees [turn three in 2026]. They’re big, good-looking horses. He came out of Mark Johnston’s sound after three years of racing.

Of the flat foals that were on the ground, I was very, very impressed with Little Big Bear’s. We bought one by him.

BH: When you’re looking at any stallion’s stock that haven’t raced yet, you’re only getting to see the physical attributes, so I don’t have any big take on stallions until they have runners. But Starman’s start was well above average. It’s not every year you get a horse that makes a start like that, it’s only every 10 years. Because he’s out of a Montjeu mare, I would assume that they’ll train on.

MM: Foal-wise, I was quite taken by those by Hurricane Lane and Eagles By Day. I think Maxios was probably the one that was the biggest mark-up profit wise, for most breeders, because of his results on the track.

Name one to watch for 2026 - human or equine.

JM: I hope Minzaal does well. I saw him in Flash Conroy’s as a yearling, and I liked him, and I was lucky to breed to him. Both of the horses have been lucky so far, so we’d hope they’d race on.

JH: I think 2026 could be a big year for Gleneagles. He’s great value at €20,000.

PN: Phil Polly is starting to become an important man in the National Hunt game, and he probably deserves a bit of respect. He’s got seven or eight horses training with Noel there. He’s only 40 years of age, and he’s probably going to take things a little bit further along this year.

There’s a very nice Coulsty horse I bought with Noel, called Madbadanddangerous. I think he’s one to watch out for next season, I think he could be a group horse.

He was third in the €120,000 Irish EBF Auction Series Race Final in Naas. He’s from a staying family and looks like another good horse we bought for not much money (€11,000 at Goffs Orby 2).

BH: I think a two-year-old in France will, hopefully, be Grove Stud’s next possible group horse. Take Me On, by Lope De Vega, won his maiden by five lengths for Pia Brandt and looks a nice horse. We sold him to Ross Doyle at Arqana earlier this year.

MM: I think fellow Corkman Jerry McGrath is making big inroads as an agent.