THE record price for a breeze up horse in Ireland was smashed on Friday when Yeomanstown Stud’s 100,000gns yearling purchase, a son of Night Of Thunder, sold for €580,000 to Anthony Stroud, acting for KHK Racing. The previous record, €520,000 for a Saxon Warrior filly, was established in 2022.
As the sale wound to a close on Friday evening, the aggregate went over €11 million, a record for the sale by some margin. The average price was over €55,000 and the media was €32,000.
Some 203 of the 231 lots offered were sold, making a clearance rate of almost 88%.
International buyers were present from all the European racing nations, the USA, Malaysia, all the Middle East racing nations, as well as Mongolia and Malaysia.
Anthony Stroud was seated to the right of auctioneer Alastair Pim as the sale-topper was in the ring, though he vacated the seat before the final hammer fell. His final bid of €580,000 saw off challenges from the eventual underbidder, a client of Hubie de Burgh, as well as Alex Elliott and Richard Brown of Blandford Bloodstock.
Stroud was continuing his near domination of the top lots on the European breeze-up circuit this year. He spent over two million guineas on just two horses at the Craven Sale for Godolphin. At Doncaster he gave over £2.8 million for six horses, three for Godolphin and three for KHK Racing. And in Deauville the Stroud Coleman agency spent €4.8 million acquiring four of the top five horses, again for Godolphin and KHK Racing.
Following his latest reocrd-breaking purchase, Stroud said: “That was difficult, I have to say, and was far more money than I anticipated. He is a very good individual, of course he is by Night Of Thunder, and in time he will be a nice horse. He comes from a farm that produces lots of good horses, and he has a very good way about him.”
David O’Callaghan added: “We are very fortunate that we had a very nice horse, the main buyers received him well, and we are very thankful to Anthony Stroud for buying him and the underbidders for their involvement. He is a beautiful horse by a very good stallion and he breezed well.” Asked about purchasing the horse, O’Callaghan added: “We went in and gave 100,000gns for him, but to be honest we thought that we were going to have to give more for him. We were delighted to get him at that price. It was a big throw, but he is a special horse, and he has not let us down.”
Stroud doubles up
Stroud, by some way the day’s leading purchaser, paid €475,000 for a son of Starspangledbanner from Cristiano Martins’ C.A.J. Stables.
The half-brother to four winners produced one of the fastest times at the breeze-up, was another purchased by the agent for KHK Racing. The colt’s half-brother Ghorgan was placed in both the German and Italian 2000 Guineas last year.
Simon Kerins opened the bidding at €100,000, and Alex Elliott, Mark McStay and Alessandro Marconi all showed an interest, but Stroud was never going to be beaten. “He did an excellent breeze and I think when you convert it to sterling it will look favourable to the earlier sales we have had this season,” the agent said.
Cristiano Martins said: “It is a fabulous result. He was bought at the Tattersalls December Sale for 37,000gns, and always has shown himself to be very smart; he has never put a foot wrong. Every day here he has pulled out well, and showed himself off.
“We were expecting him to sell well, but not to that level. He is a lovely strong horse. I don’t think he is fully developed yet, and the buyers could see as well that he is a horse for next year. He was just a lovely horse to have in the yard.”
Recording the second fastest breeze of the week, Beechlea Bloodstock’s No Nay Never half-brother to French Group 2 winner Duhail was the subject of a three-way bidding battle between Richard Ryan, Jono Mills and Anthony Stroud.
Mills eventually conceded to Stroud’s offer of €190,000, and the agent revealed that he was acting, via telephone instructions, for Alison Swinburn, and he will be trained by James Fanshawe.
RICHARD Brown of Blandford Bloodstock spent €340,000 for a daughter of the renowned Street Sense, and a half-sister to four winners. She was sold from Michael Fitzpatrick’s Kilminfoyle House Stud, and was purchased for just $40,000. One of her four successful siblings is the stakes-placed, four-time US winner Beef Winslow (Honor Code).
Brown, who usually buys on behalf of Wathnan Racing, said: “Physically she is a bit of a stand-out today, she is a gorgeous, big, scopey filly. She did a lovely breeze, not lightning quick in any way, but the style of the breeze and the way she galloped out were impressive. She is a back-end filly, she will go into a field now for three weeks and we will bring her back late summer. The stallion has done very well, and she is from a very good hotel. Michael sold the Group 1 winner Believing, and we bought a nice horse off him last year.”
Fitzpatrick spoke to the press back at the filly’s stable: “She is a very sweet filly, and been a pleasure to do anything with,” he said. “She is a scopey sort, was accepted at all the sales, and I brought her here because she is a scopey type and they tend to sell better a bit later on in the season.
“She breezed a bit better than I had thought she might; she has thrived in the last month. She is a very classy individual – over the last three weeks, I have been telling everyone at home to study her as she is such a well-put together sort.
“I wish the new purchaser and owners the best of luck, and I can’t thank my staff enough for all their hard work.”
Twomey bids online
One buyer who took advantage of the online bidding option was trainer Paddy Twomey. He bought a French-bred daughter of Sioux Nation for €185,000. Purchased at Arqana for €74,000, this half-sister to a pair of winners was consigned by Katie Walsh’s Greenhills Farm. Walsh has twice consigned the top lot at this sale.
Last year, she headed the sale with another daughter of Sioux Nation, receiving €370,000 from Avenue Bloodstock and Paddy Twomey. The filly, named City Of Memphis, lines-up on Sunday in the Tattersalls Irish 1000 Guineas at the Curragh.
Later in the day, prolific buyers Rabbah Bloodstock, represented by Jono Mills, spent €180,000 on Walsh’s Havana Grey half-sister to five winners. Their dam is the winning Compton Place mare Misscomplacent, a full-sister to leading Hong Kong runner Warden Complex.
AS we went to press at 6.30pm on Friday, Katie McGivern sold a Wootton Bassett colt for €320,000. McGivern has bought the colt for €70,000 at Goffs as a yearling.
"He goes to Richard Hughes," said Ger Morrin after signing for the colt in the name of Grand Ville Racing. "He is for Sean Mulryan, and he has had a bit of luck with Richard with Bracken's Laugh [BHA rated 110].
"We are going to give him some time, he is more of a three-year-old and a big scopey sort, we will look to give him one run at the backend. He is a very well-bred horse, he is by a sire that we really love."
The underbidders were Ted Durcan and Mark McStay.
140 times return
Shaikh Duaij Al Khalifa raced breeze up graduate Arabian Dusk, winner of a Group 2 last year, and he paid €165,000 for a daughter of Cotai Glory out of the twice-raced Distorted Humor mare Bourbon Edition. Anthony Stroud signed the purchase docket. Johnny Collins of Brown Island Stables was the vendor, and he multiplied last year’s €1,200 yearling almost 140 times.
Collins commented: “I guess I was just in the right place at the right time when I bought her. She was a very good-looking sort then, from a very good farm in Oghill House Stud. She has always been so straightforward, and, though we were hopeful of her breeze coming here, this is still a nice surprise.”
That price of €165,000 was matched by Alessandro Marconi’s purchase of Grove Stud’s Hard Spun filly, a handsome reward for Brendan Holland who gave $40,000 for her last year at Keeneland.
Williamson winner
At the Goffs Autum Sale last year, Norman Williamson of Oak Tree Stud gave €40,000 for a Starman colt, and he quadrupled that price when selling him for €160,000 to Anthony Stroud. He is a half-brother to three winners, and out of Elusive Gold (Elusive City), a winner over six furlongs. The dam is a half-sister to Group 2 Royal Ascot winner Duntle. Duntle’s only foal was the three-time Group 1 winner Circus Maximus.
A son of Mohaather out of a Rip Van Winkle half-sister to Queen’s Vase winner Dashing Willoughby was sold by George Peckham Racing for €180,000, a delightful profit on his yearling price of 27,000gns. “I came here with high expectations,” he said. “He didn’t let us down. He has been very professional, had eight vets on him, he’s hardly been in his box at all and showed brilliantly every time. The team at home has done a great job, and without them we wouldn’t be able to do it.” Successful purchaser Sean Quinn added: “We bought another Mohaather colt here last year, Magellan Cloud who is working out very well. This horse was one of our picks of the day.”
“He is a lovely moving horse. I saw him a couple of times, pre-breeze and then when breezing and here,” said Stephen Hillen after spending €170,000 on Woodlands Lodge’s colt by Harry Angel.
“He is a big striding horse; he got progressively quicker in his breeze and galloped out well. The stallion is underrated, and that has probably helped us have a chance buy him. He is a standout physical.”