WHILE Rabbah Bloodstock’s spend at this year’s Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale paled by comparison with a year ago, they nonetheless made a splash with their purchase of Mountarmstrong Stud’s daughter of Sioux Nation.

From a family long associated with Noel O’Callaghan, tracing to his good sprinter Sandhurst Goddess and containing Anthem Alexander, Dandy Man and Lady Alexander, the filly sold to Jono Mills for €245,000. Six daughters of Sioux Nation sold for €90,000 or more in the aftermath of Sun Goddess’s achievements this year.

Sixteen of the 17 yearlings by Sioux Nation in Part 1 sold for an average of €81,250 and a median of €69,000. Last year Rabbah Bloodstock spent just short of €2 million, but this year they were quieter. The Sioux Nation filly set a new record for her sex at the sale, and came down to a straight head-to-head between Billy Jackson-Stops, standing with Archie Watson, and Mills.

“She is a lovely filly by a very good stallion”, said Mills. “Nice horses cost a lot of money, and she was a very nice horse from a very good farm. We have had a huge amount of success buying from the farm; 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. Let’s hope she is the next Sun Goddess!

“She comes a great farm and that’s a most important factor, buying off great consignors and great farms. She looks a racehorse and that is what we are trying to do, buy racehorses. This is a fantastic sale, one that has grown.”

Rob Tierney

Mountarmstrong Stud manager Rob Tierney was thrilled with the result. “We came expecting to get half of that; our target was €100,000, maybe €120,000. To get two times that is unbelievable. We’ve had a great week. We have come here over the years with nice horses and got on well. This filly is a pure queen. All the family have great minds. They are chilled and easy to deal with, and are fast. They don’t do seven furlongs!”

This was a second six-figure sale for Mountarmstrong. Alan O’Keeffe spent €110,000 on a daughter of Starspangledbanner, the first foal of an Italian Listed winner Evina by Kodiac, who finished second in a Group 2.

New boy Chaldean makes a mark

STANDING at Banstead Manor Stud, Frankel’s son Chaldean who won the Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes and 2000 Guineas, was among the sires whose first crop were for sale, and one of his sons topped the first day’s trade.

He was the star of the Rathbarry Stud draft, and one of eight purchases by Michael Owen’s Manor House Stables and Ed Sackville. Their total outlay of €777,000 was headed by the son of Chaldean who set the team back €210,000. The new addition is the first produce of the winning two-year-old Amazing Show, a Showcasing full-sister to the group-placed stakes winner Sam Maximus.

“The three of us thought he is an incredibly nice colt,” said Sackville. “I think anytime you have what you perceive to be a nice horse you have to expect to pay”. Trainer Hugo Palmer added: “What excites me about Chaldean is that he, like Frankel, was champion two-year-old. This sale has been so good to me. My first stakes winner came from here; there has been Galileo Girl, Hawksmoor, Adaay Of Scarlett and Sale Shark”.

Paul Cashman was pleasantly surprised: “I didn’t see that coming! With the interest we thought he might make six-figures, but I didn’t think he’d make ‘double’ six figures! There were great people on him and I am delighted with where he is going. We bought the mare for 70,000gns and covered her with Chaldean. What a first foal and he has always been a strong individual. It is a lovely cross”.

Lodge Park

That first day sale-topper was one of four lots to beat last year’s best of €200,000. Another to join that group on the second day was Lodge Park Stud’s No Nay Never half-brother to a couple of winners, out of a mare the Burns family raced. She is Emerald Approach, a full-sister to the Royal Ascot winner Tha’ir, successful in the Listed Chesham Stakes. He sold to Edgar Byrne for €210,000.

Byrne was with Scandinavian champion trainer Niels Petersen, who revealed that the colt was for Ingermarie Due Nielsen and Thorkild Møller Nielsen who race as Elkær Stutter. Petersen said: “We’ll probably keep him 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.

“We thought we were very smart, and that there might only be one by [No Nay Never] – there were five of them! As an individual, this colt stood out anyway. If he’s good enough, hopefully he might spread his wings a little bit.”

Fillies to the fore among the sale’s best

THE list of 10 yearlings that brought €150,000 or more was equally split between fillies and colts. Daughters of Sea The Stars and Sioux Nation realised €160,000, a Starspangledbanner filly cost €155,000, while a Wootton Bassett got among them when selling for €150,000.

Bloodstock agent Alex Elliott acted for Valmont when spending €160,000 on the Sea The Stars. She is out of a Dubawi daughter of Group 2 Prix de Sandringham winner Laugh Out Loud, and was bred. She sold from Timmy Hillman’s Castledillon Stud.

“A Sea The Stars in this sale is going to stand out”, said Elliott. “I thought she was a very sweet filly, and the cross works well. She was at the top of where we had her. I don’t think we will be waiting all year for her.

“I need to have a conversation with Anthony [Ramsden] to see where she will go into training. We have a lot of trainers and not many yearlings bought; I wish it was the other way around!”

BBA Ireland’s Michael Donohoe parted with €160,000 for Charel Park Stud’s full-sister to multiple Italian Listed winner and classic-placed Estrosa. He said: “She was well produced by Vanessa Teehan and her team. She is going to ship straight to the Middle East. Sioux Nation is one of those unique sires whose progeny train especially well when they get sun on their back”.

Vanessa Teehan-Rouzier was almost lost for words, but managed: “We bought the mare eight years ago [62,000gns]. She’s been a dream, and thrown some very nice race fillies, but this one is a little bit special.

“We just breed away and hope for days like this. The filly was vetted 11 or 12 times and had 150 shows. It has been absolutely amazing. All the good judges were on her.”

An €82,000 foal, it was expected that Castledillon Stud’s daughter of Starspangledbanner and half-sister to Group 3 juvenile winner Sporting Chance would be a highlight. She will race in Ireland after her sale for €155,000 to Barry Lynch and Gary Bannon, assistant trainer to Bill Durkan. “She is a very nice filly by a top stallion and out of proven mare, and she looks fast,” said Lynch.

Breeze-up

The most expensive lot of the week purchased to go to the breeze-up sales was the €150,000 Wootton Bassett from The Castlebridge Consignment.

The filly is the second offspring of Grade3 Waya Stakes runner-up and three-time winner Capital Structure. The daughter of Lope De Vega is a full-sister to four stakes winners, three of them group winners. Ramzi Alghul, standing with Johnny Hassett, got her for €150,000. “I purchased her for a good client of mine, Mohamed Elhadi”, he said. “She will go to Johnny and be breezed, and will likely head to Arqana.

“We are looking for the complete package, sire, confirmation, the page - everything. When it comes to the breeze-up, then it is all about performance. Johnny is a big help - he’s our man to do the job. We have had a lot of success with him before, and so we are happy to continue. Is she value? Well, we think she is worth every penny we paid for her. She’s lovely, and yes, we think she is good value.”