BOW Echo fuelled dreams of classic glory in 2026 when maintaining a perfect record in the Group 2 Royal Lodge Stakes last month and encouraged Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum to stretch to 800,000gns for another son of Night Of Thunder on the third and final day of Tattersalls Book 2.
Bought through Bow Echo’s trainer, George Boughey, New England Stud’s offering was the highest-priced colt of the three-day sale, with top lot honours retained by Tuesday’s Starspangledbanner filly from Islanmore Stud at 900,000gns.
The catalogue increased by 5% after last year’s record-breaking renewal and produced its own high, generating turnover of 69,657,500gns. The average price fell by 1% to 107,496gns while the median – generally considered the best measure of market health – was the highest in the sale’s history at 76,000gns. The clearance rate of 90% (91% in 2024) was another indicator of strong demand.
Despite the record figures, there was a tightening at the top of the market. Ten yearlings reached 500,000gns last year, but just six made the same bracket this week. The number of yearlings to fetch 300,000gns and over dropped by 10 to 32.
Dig deep
After outbidding Anthony Stroud for Wednesday’s top lot, George Boughey remarked: “We had to go a lot further than we thought we would. I had to pick up the phone twice to him because he was well over [budget] but he really wanted the horse and I think he might have known who he was taking on. It’s great to have him in the barn.
“He’s from a good family; the mare is a listed winner. I think he’s the type for the summer onwards.
“He looks very similar to Bow Echo. We’ve actually had three or four [by Night Of Thunder] and they’ve all won their maiden but he’s the first to go on to become a better horse.”
Wednesday’s session topper marks a perfect start, at least commercially, for Lady Derby and Lady Ritblat’s listed-winning Golden Horn mare Quenelle D’Or. The mile-and-a-half mare hails from the family of Ace Impact, Australia, Ouija Board and Teleprompter.
Ballyhimikin’s fine run rolls on
James Hanly’s Ballyhimikin Stud continued their love affair with Night Of Thunder when selling a grey daughter of the Kildangan Stud sire to Henry Lascelles for 700,000gns.
The Co Tipperary farm sold a colt by the same sire for 1,000,000gns last week – having paid 175,000gns for him – and got 370,000gns for one of his fillies. However, their greatest success story with the sire is Ombudsman, who seeks his third Group 1 win in Saturday’s Champion Stakes. As Jack Hanly commented after their 700,000gns sale: “The most important thing is that they do it on the track.”
As for Night Of Thunder, Hanly said: “He’s been an absolute revelation of a stallion and so fantastic for us, we’ve been so lucky with him. We’ve been on the bandwagon for a long time – we didn’t support him in his first season but we have since then. That’s really down to Anthony Stroud; he really knew from the start and really encouraged us to get behind him.”
The result further justified the €87,000 paid by Stroud Coleman for the filly’s Group 3-placed dam, Princess De Saba, whose first foal fetched 270,000gns last year. “She was just a very attractive mare and we loved her from the very beginning,” Hanly recalled. “I think when you’re buying them, you need the physical as well, which will hopefully carry on into their stock.”
Night Of Thunder ended Book 2 as leading sire by aggregate and average, his 17 yearlings generating 5,525,000gns and an average price of 325,000gns. Starman’s second crop realised the next best average price of 190,647gns. Territories’ two offerings proved a reminder of his loss to breeders, with yearlings bred off a fee of £10,000 averaging 132,500gns.
PINHOOKERS Nick Cope and David and Tom Brickley enjoyed the best result of their young careers to date when reselling a €80,000 colt for 475,000gns. The best could be yet to come, as Alex Elliott revealed that the son of Camelot is bound for Ballydoyle, having been bought on behalf of MV Magnier and White Birch Farm.
“This fella was the real deal,” Cope said after selling the bay through Stanley Lodge Stud, which he manages. “He’s been a real gentleman of a horse all year and never put in a bad show. He vetted really clean, had a great attitude and was just an unbelievably athletic, easy-moving horse.
“It’s amazing what can happen in this ring. You look around and everyone you’ve hoped would follow him in is there. When it works out it’s just unbelievable.”
The colt’s foal price, of course, looks excellent value now, but also at the time, as it came off the back of a standout season for the Coolmore Stud sire, when his colt foals averaged €285,461.
“Camelot had an amazing year last year,” Cope agreed. “Bluestocking won the Arc the week before Book 1 and then you had two million pound lots. It’s very easy to say we wanted a Camelot foal but finding them was harder to do because everyone was on him. We bought this guy off Baroda. I liked him the first time I saw him but you just hope he’s in range.”
It hasn’t always been plain sailing for the pinhooking partnership, which is comforting for any of their sales ring colleagues now nursing financial wounds. When asked whether €80,000 was the most the trio had spent on a foal, Cope explained: “To be totally honest, we have 150 for a colt from the first crop of Pinatubo. We had a bigger pool of investors then and we got stung on him.
“We brought it back down to earth in the hopes of buying Book 1 or Book 2 horses. We had the option of going to Book 1 with this lad but we thought we’d stand out in Book 2 and thank God it worked out.”
THE Fahy family’s Gerrardstown House Stud was another operation to enjoy a sale to remember when their homebred Starman colt brought 400,000gns from Amo Racing. Ever the entertainer, Kia Joorabchian kept onlookers guessing by bidding through agent Will Douglass, despite being stationed a distance away.
The colt’s return on a €15,000 covering fee came in the farm’s second season consigning under their own banner, having previously sold their stock through The Castlebridge Consignment. On whether Wednesday represented their best result to date, Gerrardstown’s Donie Fahy replied: “Oh, without a shadow of a doubt. We had our best sale two weeks ago in Goffs and then this lad has just trumped that big time.
“We all try so hard to breed horses like this and we’ve always loved him, so for it to all come off is huge for us. We’re a relatively young farm with 11 mares at home.”
On the decision to use Starman in what was a potentially risky year for the Tally-Ho Stud sire, Fahy commented: “Sometimes luck overrides judgement. Starman was such a beautiful horse, a fast horse and our mare’s a fast mare. It just fit and took a very big gamble that he would be leading first season sire. We didn’t think he’d be the amazing superstar he is, but thankfully he is, and thankfully we got it right.”
KEVIN Ryan’s 400,000gns bid for a Starspangledbanner filly from Manister House Stud brought the trainer’s total Book 2 spend to 1,680,000gns on five yearlings. On the half-sister to stakes performer Tamreer, Ryan commented: “She’s a lovely, athletic filly with a great temperament. I haven’t had many by Starspangledbanner – they’re hard to find but I’m delighted to get her. She looks a very racy filly and hopefully she turns out that way.”
Fierce demand for Starspangledbanner’s stock produced 11 six-figure yearlings by the Castlehyde Stud sire, including Islanmore Stud’s 900,000gns sales topper. His 21 yearlings sold at Book 2 yielded an average price of 158,762gns.
On the in-form stallion, Manister House Stud’s Luke Barry remarked: “Starspangledbanner is a fantastic stallion and we have huge faith in him. He breeds really sound, tough horses who want to try. This filly has been a pleasure to deal with and I’m delighted she’s gone to Kevin Ryan.”
Barry sold a No Nay Never half-sister to the filly 12 months ago, bringing 160,000gns from Ollie Sangster. The pair were bred by Newstead Breeding out of the Group 3-placed mare Reyaadah, picked up by Mags O’Toole for 52,000gns in 2020.