FOR only the second time in the sale's history, a yearling was sold for in excess of €300,000 on Wednesday during the second session of the Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale.
The two-day Part 1 sale ended with a clearance rate of 88% and the record turnover and average were each missed by just 2% - but both still almost 50% ahead of 2025. Some 33 lots sold for €100,000 or more, an increase of eight on 2025.
The only metric lower that last year was the median price of €30,000 (down 14%).
The sale's top lot was a Study Of Man colt from Tony Smurfit's Forenaghts Stud which sold for €330,000 to trainer Paddy Twomey, acting on behalf of Charlie Bonds's Bond Thoroughbreds.
The colt is out of the Dawn Approach mare Lucetia, a winner at three and dam of two winners from three runners, including recent two-year-old winner Minkaas (by Minzaal).
The result capped a great few days for Forenaghts, breeders of last Saturday's Group 2 Mill Reef Stakes winner Nabati.
"I’m a bit shocked! This has been a dream week,"said Caoimhe Doherty, manager of Forenaghts. "I’m so thrilled. Tony and his wife Sharon have been in the game a long time and have worked really hard at this. It’s so good for them that they’re finally being rewarded. I’m thrilled for the farm and all the team; we’re only a small team but everyone works so hard. I lost count after we had 200 views. The mare has been good to us.
“Tony really wanted to use Study Of Man, he’s a horse we followed for a while and we bought one [Mano Chicago] in training a few years ago and had a lot of fun with. Luceita, who we bought from the Godolphin draft a few years ago (for 90,000gns), has been nothing but good to us. We thought it was a good cross on paper and it’s worked. Then we got the update as well, everything just came together. "
When asked what she thought if the colt would make such a sum, she said: “Absolutely not! I thought he might make €100,000 and a little bit with it. Obviously I’m biased, I love all our yearlings, but it’s so nice when other people like them too. I hope he’s a star, I really do."
Record price for filly
Earlier in the day, a daughter of Sioux Nation became the most expensive filly ever sold at the sale when fetching €245,000.
The filly from Noel O'Callaghan's Mountarmstrong Stud became the subject of a bidding battle between agent Billy Jackson Stops, standing with trainer Archie Watson in the gangway, and Jono Mills, who was in the seats and taking instructions over the phone.
The pair traded blows until Mills' bid of €245,000 brought matters to a conclusion, and the buyer signed under the Rabbah Bloodstock banner.
"She is a lovely filly by a very good stallion and she has been bought for a current member of Rabbah," said Mills. "We will ship her to England and training will be decided in the future.
"Nice horses cost a lot of money, and she was a very nice horse from a very good farm. We've had a huge amount of success buying from the farm, but we haven't had anything directly from this family. She's out of a Starspangledbanner mare and by Sioux Nation, who has had a fantastic year, it just makes sense. Let's hope she is the next Sun Goddess!"
He continued: "There'll always be a little bit of residual for us in the long term, but let's hope she can run first. She comes from a great farm and that's the most important bit, buying off great consignors and great farms. She just looks a racehorse and that is what we are trying to do, buy racehorses."
The filly's dam Impeachd Alexander was a winner at two and this is her second foal. She is a granddaughter of Lady Alexander, winner of the Group 3 Molecomb Stakes. That mare is dam of the Queen Mary Stakes winner Anthem Alexander, who also finished second in the Cheveley Park Stakes and third in the Commonwealth Cup, and Dandy Man who won the Palace House Stakes and was third in the Nunthorpe Stakes.
Rob Tierney, manager of Mountarmstong, was understandably delighted and surprised with the result.
"We came here expecting to get maybe half of that, our target was €100,000, maybe €120,000. But to get two times that is unbelievable. We had people who just locked horns, which is what we always dream of," said Tierney.
"We've had a great week and all have sold. We have come here over the years with nice horses and got on well, and we just felt that this filly fitted the profile.
"This filly is a pure queen, she's so strong, athletic, and has a super mind, all the family have great minds. They are all really chilled out and easy to deal with. And they are fast, they don't do seven furlongs! I'd just like to wish the new owners the best of luck with her."
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Tuesday's top price of €210,000 was matched on Wednesday by a colt by No Nay Never from Lodge Park Stud. He was bought by agent Edgar Byrne who - acting for Scandinavian trainer Niels Petersen - outbid Willie Browne who was standing with Charles Shanahan and Mark Dwyer.
The colt is a half-brother to two two-year-old winners.
Petersen said: "It is a fair amount of money, but he is a beautiful horse and it is hard to get these horses. He has been bought for Ingermarie Due Nielsen and Thorkild Møller Nielsen who race as Elkær Stutter. They own Romanov (by Starspangledbanner), who is the best two-year-old in Scandinavia. We'll probably keep this colt pre-training in England, and then bring him back home in the spring. Hopefully he's going to make a hell of a horse for the future. If he is good enough we might try and go abroad."
Lodge Park’s Damien Burns said: "After this sale got so strong last year, we said we'd try and put a better horse in to support it. If you put better horses in the sale, you should have better racehorses, and then the sale should continue to improve. It's nice to have good sales in Ireland, that we are able to sell a good horse in. We obviously try to sell them everywhere.
"No Nay Never is one of the best stallions. We thought we were very smart, and that there might only be one by him – there were five of them! As an individual, this colt stood out anyway. We raced the mother with Clive Cox. She won over six furlongs at Goodwood. It's a family that's bred a Royal Ascot two-year-old. If he's good enough, hopefully he might spread his wings a little bit."
The leading purchaser over the two days was Michael Owen's Manor House Stables, assisted by the SackvilleDonald agency. They spent €777,000 on just eight horses.
Part 2 of the September Yearling Sale takes place on Thursday.