AFTER two days of trade at the Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale which challenged those reporting on it to come up with superlatives that have not been overused, a smaller Part II catalogue brought the curtain down on proceedings.

With 114 fewer horses on offer than a year ago, expectations might have been more muted ahead of Thursday’s business, but the activity in the ring was no less feverish.

We might be talking about stock that was considered not good enough for the premier days but, with so many disappointed buyers still searching for yearlings, the value of the 145 lots that went through the ring in six hours was boosted enormously. Only 12 were unsold, and the company returned a set of figures that outstripped those of 12 months ago by huge percentages.

Most striking was the clearance rate of 92%. At this level of the market, that number is incredible, while the number of lots sold for €25,000 or more grew from six to 17.

The Part II sale record was beaten twice, and the new figure stands now at €105,000. Edmond Mahony sold the daughter of Starman to Jim McCartan and Willie Browne to breeze. “We saw her a couple of days ago and she was our pick by the sire,” said McCartan. “We wanted to buy a Starman; he looks like he could be an exceptional sire. She is a lovely athletic and strong individual. She could be one for the Craven Sale.”

Winner

The filly is out of the juvenile winner Bella Caelia, and from the family of the dual Group 1 winner Twilight Son. This represented a fantastic outcome for Brian Judge’s Mayo Farm Stud.

“I am a vet from Foxford, Co Mayo and I have a farm outside Navan,” he said. “We keep 15 mares; I keep an eye on their families and what’s happening in the pedigrees, and that helps me decide which ones to cover or not, so I don’t have a foal out of the mare at home. [The dam] could go back to Starman, I will have to talk to Tony and Anne [O’Callaghan]! He will be a lot more expensive than he was when I sent her to him.

“I’ve used Tally-Ho stallions since I started out; Tony and Anne have always been so good to me. We’ve had good results in the past, but this is the first time we’ve had a six-figure. We bought the mare for 7,000gns at Tattersalls in July. She’s by Showcasing and from a really fast family, so I thought she’d make a nice broodmare.”

Pedigree standout

The pedigree standout in Part II was bred by Juddmonte and offered in The Castlebridge Consignment. A daughter of Showcasing, whose daughters include Quiet Reflection and Dramatised, she established a short-lived sale record of €85,000, selling to Bailey’s Horse Feeds.

A half-sister to three winners, including the Group 2 Prix Niel-placed Frankel gelding Bravais, her dam Lucky Kristale won a pair of Group 2 contests as a juvenile, the Lowther Stakes and Duchess of Cambridge Stakes. Lucky Kristale is one of four stakes winners from Pivotal’s daughter Pikaboo. The best of these is Love, by Galileo, the best three-year-old filly in Europe in 2020 after winning four Group 1s at three, the 1000 Guineas and Oaks, Yorkshire Oaks and Prince of Wales’s Stakes, in addition to the Group 1 Moyglare Stud Stakes at two.

The Castlebridge Consignment’s Patrick Diamond said: “She comes from one of the greatest nurseries that has ever been, and it’s a privilege to be entrusted with selling theses horses for Juddmonte.

“Footfall has been incredible all the way through. We have been tracking our stats and this year has the highest number of views and shows we’ve done at this sale; it’s the busiest September Yearling Sale we can remember.

“ITM and the team at Tattersalls Ireland have worked so hard to get buyers here. There are lots of new faces coming, but they have also kept people coming back”

The filly was bought by Bailey’s Horse Feed’s Simon Venner, and he came to the sale just to buy this lot. He explained. “We had Gleam Of Light [third dam] and we bred Pikaboo [grandam] and we were very keen when we saw a filly come back on to the market. It was more than I thought we’d have to pay, but she is nice. She goes to Charlie Johnston, and he saw her yesterday and liked her, too.”

ON Tuesday and Wednesday Tally-Ho took 22 yearlings to the sale, and sold them all for €1,157,000. They also purchased colts by Naval Crown, Dubawi Legend and Sands Of Mali.

The O’Callaghans continued their search for potential breezers in Part II, spending €65,000 on a son of Ten Sovereigns from the Irish National Stud. He is the second offspring of seven-time winner Chitra, and the first is the two-year-old Awtaad filly Awtaad. She won on her debut, and was second in the Listed Champion Two-Year-Old Trophy at Ripon after the catalogue went to print.

A filly with stud value even if she never ran, a daughter of King Of Change was bought for €55,000 to race in Spain. Francisco Bernal of Outsider Bloodstock bought her from the Brickley’s Ard Erin Stud. Out of the stakes-placed Ares Choix, she is a half-sister to last year’s Group 3 Premio Regina Elena-Italian 1000 Guineas heroine Beenham, and current two-year-old Magny Cours. That Awtaad filly won in early June, was placed in a listed fillies’ race at Naas, and found just one too good for her in the Tattersalls Ireland Super Auction Sales Stakes.

Johnny Murtagh utilised the services of recently-qualified veterinary surgeon Caroline Murtagh, his daughter, to buy a Starman colt for €50,000. He was sold by Gary Davies’ Cappagh Beg Stud and is out of the Dansili mare Peppard, the dam of two winners. This colt is the mare’s best result in the sale ring. Caroline said. “I liked this horse, I just thought he is a gorgeous, scopey type, one that Dad will like. He has been bought on spec.”

THE Tattersalls Ireland team was still on a high on Thursday evening when company CEO Simon Kerins had the enjoyable task of scripting his end-of-sale statement.

“Today’s sale has sealed what has been a phenomenal week here at Tattersalls Ireland,” he said.

“The exceptional trade for Part I has continued into Part II and, for the first time we have sold a six-figure lot in this section, alongside remarkable growth in both the average and median. The sensational trade witnessed earlier in the week left purchasers with outstanding orders to fill, and that momentum has driven today’s strong results.

“We have seen an abundance of Part II graduates from last year’s edition win strong maidens this season, and buyers competed ferociously for horses today. It has been particularly encouraging to welcome new faces solely for Part II, with purchasers arriving in their droves last night and this morning, from Poland, Scandinavia, and Italy, underlining once again the international dimension to this sale and particularly this section.”