SEVEN horses made six-figure sums at Thursday's Tattersalls Ireland May Point-to-Point and Horses In Training Sale. Six of those were point-to-pointers and one was a bumper runner-up. Only two of the seven look likely to be trained in Ireland next season.
This is just the third edition of the one-day sale and this year's catalogue was trimmed by 20 lots to 90. Unsurprisingly the turnover dipped, but only by 9%, and the average went up 8% but the median price fell by 20%.
The day's clearance rate was 68%, down from 73% last year.
The day's top lot was Dan De Champ, a four-year-old gelding from the first crop of Glenview Stud sire Old Persian. A €15,000 foal, he was trained by Michael and Ashleigh Murphy to win first time out at Ballindenisk earlier this month. Ian Ferguson tried hard to buy him but lost out to agent Tom Morgan who paid €210,000 on behalf of Damien Tiernan, a Roscommon man whose horses in training include Dublin Racing Festival winner Saint Le Fort, with Philip Fenton.
Morgan said: "I have bought a few from Michael before, and I always told him that if he had a nice one to let me know. He had a couple at Cheltenham that we couldn't get to. I respect his judgement because he always buys a nice foal and works hard at it. I watched the video of this horse and liked what I saw; he jumped great. He will have a break now and we will look to the autumn.
"He is by a new kid on the block in Old Persian, and there looks to be more to come. He will go to Emmet Mullins."
Lucinda Russell later bought the horse who finished second to Dan De Champ at Ballindenisk. That was Saint De Gemix, owned and trained by Jim O'Neill. After paying €170,000 for the Gemix gelding, Russell said: "I loved the way he walked and how he went in his point-to-point. I have not got an owner for him as yet, though I have a couple in mind. He’ll have the summer off now and we will look to the autumn."
Donnchadh Doyle sold two horses for €120,000 each,both winners at Tattersalls Farm point-to-point last weekend. Naturalenergy was snapped up by agent Ryan Mahon - presumably on behalf of Dan Skelton - and Bingo Bus was bought by Dan Astbury to race in the USA.
Local trainer John McConnell got on the buyers' sheet when paying €100,000 for Kingside Lady, a mare by Kingston Hill and a six-length winner at Ballindenisk for Gearoid Doyle. She was bought on behalf of owner Derek Kierans and is likely to be aimed at a bumper this summer.
Sean Doyle, another member of the Monbeg Stables team, sold recent Ballinrobe bumper runner-up Power Steering for €100,000 to the David Crosse/Noel Fehily partnership. The Poet's Word gelding is a half-brother to the prolific winning chaser Battleoverdoyen.
Crosse and Fehily also paid €100,000 for Harzwood, yet another Ballindenisk winner, this one from Mark Scallan's yard.
Paul Nolan had three winners at Wexford on Wednesday and his brother James hopefully bought another one when paying €95,000 for Slade Harbour. This Mahler gelding finished second at Durrow in March for Pierce Power and was subsequently unsold at £78,000 at Tattersalls Cheltenham. Nolan said: "The last horse we tried to buy off Peaky [Pierce Power] was [Grade 1 winner] Slade Steel. He fancied this horse all year and said he was his nicest horse. We trust Peaky, and I liked him myself. He travelled like a winner at Durrow and, though he got beaten, he is only four and a nice quality horse. Hopefully, he will be lucky for whatever owner ends up with him."
Tattersalls Ireland CEO Simon Kerins said: “Following the success of the first two editions of this sale, once again there are plenty of positives to take from today’s trade. It was encouraging to see the heightened demand for graduates from the Irish point-to-point field. There was quality across both sections of the catalogue, and those that had the form horses were well rewarded.
“We’ve seen a record seven lots sell for €100,000 or more, a record top lot with Dan De Champ being sold for €210,000. And it is also encouraging to see the average rise to €40,145, an increase of 8% on 2025.
“We are grateful to our vendors for supporting the sale, and to our Irish and UK purchasers. The May-Point-to-Point & Horses in Training Sale has quickly established itself as an important addition to the National Hunt sales calendar, and it gives Irish vendors the opportunity to sell on home soil, at a key time of the year. We hope we can build on this progress made next year."