DAY one of the Goffs December National Hunt Sale saw a clearance rate of 78%.
A bigger catalogue resulted in a 49% year-on-year increase in turnover to €3,263,750, while the average grew by 3% to €16,158.
Coolmore have made no secret of their mission to buy some of the best colts by Walk In The Park, with the hope of making a stallion prospect out of at least one of them, and the operation’s Gerry Aherne swooped for a well-bred and good-looking son of the operation’s outstanding jumps sire who could fit the bill.
He signed at €100,000 for the Ballincurrig House Stud-consigned colt out of listed novice hurdle winner Annie G, a Getaway half-sister to classy chaser Westerner Point (Lot 37).
“He’s a very, very smart horse out of a good racemare,” reported Aherne. “I didn’t think I’d have to pay that much for him, but when these types of foals come on the market you have to stretch for them. I’m happy to have him but there are no firm plans for him yet. We’ll get him home and see how we go.”
Asked for an update on the Walk In The Park stallion son project, he added: “Not every horse suits that job. We’ll see how they develop, give them more time. We won’t have Walk In The Park forever, so we’re going to treat the stock with kid gloves and do the best by them. If they can be early, then all well and good, but if they need time we’ll give them time.”
Richard Frisby and son J.J. were underbidders on the lot, and would presumably have offered him for resale if they had been successful, and Aherne could understand the rationale.
“He’s a particularly nice horse,” said Aherne. “When those Walk In The Parks come back as stores all the big trainers want them – the Olly Murphys, Dan Skeltons, Paul Nicholls, Willie Mullins of this world – and you can get a lot of money for them, and rightly so.
“There were a lot of good judges for him. Ian Ferguson, Timmy Hillman and many more were on him too. When those good horses come in you’re never on your own.”
Envoi Allen family
Aherne later secured another Walk In The Park son with similarly good credentials, giving €80,000 for a colt out of an American Post half-sister to brilliant talent Envoi Allen from The Beeches Stud (Lot 278).
The €90,000 sale of a Doctor Dino half-brother to promising winners Just A Rose and Wonderful Everyday out of the Grade 3-placed Al Namix mare Daring Rose (Lot 181) was an all-British affair, with David Futter’s Yorton Farm in Powys purchasing the widely admired colt from Devon-based breeder Yeo Barton Bloodstock.
“We’ll take him home and make a plan,” said Futter. “We could go straight into training with him or he could always end up in our sale. He’s an exceptional foal who’s come from a good breeder. We know Doctor Dino well, he speaks for himself, and the mare’s two from two as well. It’s great to get him and it’s lovely to be back here. There’s a great selection of foals here so we’re enjoying ourselves.
“The team put a price on him and we had a figure in our head, but we’re fortunate that we don’t have to resell him, we can put him into training, so that makes things easier. We think we got value, though, and he’s a nice foal, so time will tell. That’s the fourth we’ve bought today and we’re staying for the next couple of days, but we’ll have probably run out of money by tomorrow afternoon!”
Yeo Barton Bloodstock’s Sarah Faulks said: “I’m delighted. This is the second time we’ve done well at this sale, as four years ago we sold a Saint Des Saints colt for the same sum. This colt is going to Yorton, which I’m glad about, as they’ll give him a good home.
“I bought the mare [Daring Rose] out of the Munir and Souede dispersal seven years ago. She was in foal to Saint Des Saints, which turned out to be Just A Rose, and then we bred an Authorized filly from her.
“Her next foal was Wonderful Everyday, who will get her black type, even if she did get seasick on the Irish Sea because she was travelling at such a bad time last time she ran. This colt was the mare’s fourth foal and he’s a beautiful specimen.
“Daring Rose really is the most lovely mare, and with a strong French pedigree.”
Mark Dwyer purchase
Mark Dwyer’s Oaks Farm Stables had the final say on the Newmarket House Stud-consigned Goliath Du Berlais colt who is the first foal out of Fairyhouse listed bumper winner Dorans Weir (Lot 199) with a bid of €85,000.
“We thought he was as good a foal as was here today,” reported Dwyer. “We’ve been following the sire closely as we have one or two by him at home. He’s progressive, and hopefully he’ll stay that way."
Clare-based consignor Tom Coughlan enjoyed a good day at the office, with his draft proving popular. The most expensive of the bunch was a colt by up-and-coming French sire Nirvana Du Berlais from the family of recent wide-margin 1965 Chase winner Jango Baie (Lot 73) who sold to Kevin Ross Bloodstock on behalf of Chris Jones’ Killeen Glebe for €75,000.
“I’m absolutely delighted,” said Coughlan. “We bought the dam in foal to Bathyrhon in France last year and we also have the dam’s full-sister All You Need. She was a very good racemare for Barry Connell and bred Cantico, a good bumper horse for Willie Mullins. We love mares by Crillon as he’s a very good damsire. I think he was a very underrated sire himself, too.
“I think Nirvana Du Berlais is going to be a top, top stallion, a serious force. We have two mares in foal to him again this year. I just liked his profile last year, as he was a very good racehorse by Martaline out of a Mansonnien mare. He’s commercial and massive value at his current fee.
“We’re based in Ennis. We concentrate on National Hunt and sell foals mainly. We’ve only been breeding for a few years but we’ve bred some nice foals in that short space of time. We look after them well and do our best to turn out a nice product each year.”
Anna Ross was appointed spokesperson for the purchasing team, and said: “He’s by a very good sire who’s progressing all the time. He looks like the next big thing and he had a great winner on Saturday in Lulamba.
“This is a lovely horse, with a lot of quality and good size. There’s not going to be a lot by the sire coming back to the sales, hopefully. The family is happening, there’s a recent point-to-point winner [Boultydoolin] who’s a full-brother to Cantico and he looks like a promising horse, while Jango Baie obviously speaks for himself. Hopefully there’s more to come further down the page too.
“He’s been bought for Chris for resale. You have to pay for the nice ones, and this one had a bit of rarity value being by Nirvana Du Berlais. You have to stick out and go the extra mile sometimes.”
Road Exile relation
Peter Molony’s Rathmore Stud gave €72,000 for a colt who was already one of the best-bred lots in the sale, being by Doctor Dino out of Another Walk, a Walk In The Park half-sister to Grade 1-winning chaser Joncol and smart pair Fine Article and Fine Theatre (Lot 41), but received another update on Saturday when close relation Road Exile scored in a competitive maiden hurdle at Navan.
Molony said: “I bought his half-brother last year, by No Risk At All. He’s at home and I absolutely love him. I love this horse as well. This horse might be a scopier type, but they are both wonderful movers.
“Obviously, the update under the second dam at the weekend with Road Exile made him even more attractive. He’s a nice horse.
“This is the first Doctor Dino I’ve had and I’ve wanted one for a long time. It’s good that he’s so closely related to Joncol, as he was a proper Grade 1 horse. He'll come back here for the Arkle Sale in a few years’ time hopefully.”
Jukebox Jury colt
Tally-Ho Stud was on the lookout for appealing trading prospects and their most expensive investment was a colt from the penultimate crop of the late Jukebox Jury out of Cool Grove, a Presenting half-sister to Grade 2-winning novice hurdler Up For Review from the family of Grade 2 scorer and Cheltenham Gold Cup third Turpin Green (Lot 156). He was bought for €68,000.
“The sire was the big attraction and they’re not making many more by him,” said Tally-Ho Stud’s Tony O’Callaghan. He’s a lovely, good-moving horse and he’ll come back to the store sales.”
The Jukebox Jury colt was bred by Colette O’Driscoll, as was the preceding lot in the ring, a Poet’s Word colt out of Cool Fortune, a Soldier Of Fortune half-sister to Cool Grove (Lot 155), who sold to Jerry McGrath for €30,000.
“My uncle Pat Leyden had the great-granddam Coolshamrock and bred from her Turpin Green, and my mum and dad had the granddam Coolsilver, who produced Up For Review,” said O’Driscoll. “We bred Coolsilver’s daughters Cool Grove and Cool Fortune and are continuing the line through them.
“It’s the fourth generation of the pedigree in our family. We’ve bred some lovely horses from it, it’s been incredible. We feel so lucky and so honoured.
“We’re from Clare and my good friend John Mulconroy of Out The Gap Farm in Tulla sold her. He’s a new consignor and did a great job. I’m glad Tally-Ho and Jerry McGrath bought them as they’re great judges and they’ll go to good homes.”
The sale continues on Tuesday with a full day of foals, while the sale concludes on Thursday with foals and breeding stock.