GOING into the second day of the Tattersalls Craven Breeze Up Sale, there was some glimmer of hope for improved trade, as Wednesday’s horses were said to have clocked quicker times at Monday’s breeze.

Unfortunately, it soon became apparent that the ‘holes’ in the market were gaping, and that ‘all duck, no dinner’ was the dish of the day once again. The tougher the lows, the more thrilling the highs, though, as was apparent in the relief and elation of Mark Flannery and Michael Gaffney following the sale of their Starspangledbanner filly for a sales-topping 900,000gns to Anthony Stroud.

This filly herself has had her shares of highs and lows, having been vendored as a foal and as a yearling, each time for 75,000gns, but that mattered little when she clocked the second fastest time on the Rowley Mile.

Adding to the special nature of Wednesday’s result was that the Flannerys’ Egmont Stud, who prepared and consigned her as a breezer, has a long histor with the Gaffney family’s Churchtown House Stud.

“The Gaffneys have been huge supporters of us,” Mark Flannery explained. “We’ve been very lucky that they’ve sent us very good horses like Castle Star, Wannabe Better, Fastnet Mist. When you’re getting horses off a farm like that, you have a serious chance of ending up with something special, and she’s always been exceptional.

On the latest star through his hands, Flannery commented: “Very straightforward filly from the word go. She’s hasn’t missed a beat all week; she’s been foot perfect since she came off the box.

“We always knew she had loads of ability, we just didn’t know how she’d compare to everyone else’s. It gives you confidence when she comes here and does that; it means you know what you have for the rest of the year. I think we have a few good chances later on, but it’ll be hard to find another one like her.”

On what Wednesday’s sale – the highest price Egmont Stud have achieved – meant to him, Flannery reflected: “It’s unbelievable to get something like that, it doesn’t happen often, it doesn’t happen to me anyway. It’s not just me, it’s my wife Jess, my sister Paula, our main man who rides them is Pierce Gallagher. I’m just the one who turns up here on the day.”

Feeling is mutual

Michael Gaffney mirrored Mark Flannery’s reaction, saying: “Absolutely over the moon. It’s a fantastic result, I’m so delighted for everybody – Mark, Jess, Paula, all the family and all the lads in the yard – they’ve all done a super job, as have my own team at home. Tom and I bred the filly and bred her dam as well.”

Wednesday’s top lot is the first foal out of Belicious, an unraced three-parts sister to two stakes winners, both of whom produced group winners. On why the daughter of Starspangledbanner failed to sell as a yearling, Gaffney reported: “She’s possibly a typical Starspangledbanner in that she doesn’t have a free-flowing walk but, my God, she can run.

“And that’s what we saw in the field at home – she could just glide. So, we stuck to our guns and didn’t want to give her away, and thankfully, Mark has proved us right.

“Mark is our neighbour, literally. I know four generations of the Flannery family – the Gaffneys and Flannerys have been very close for years and years, so this is brilliant. They’re our go-to people to get us out of trouble. It’s very, very special for Churchtown, so we are really thrilled.”

Vital input

Anthony Stroud later expressed his appreciation for Victorious Forever, for whom he purchased the filly, highlighting their continued involvement despite challenging times:

“It is fantastic that Victorious Forever is here,” he said. “There is so much going on in the world and it is to be hugely admired that they are participating. It shows how much they love their racing here.”

On the top lot, the agent commented: “She did a very good breeze, she comes from a very good farm that has had a lot of success. Shaikh Khalid takes a lot of interest in the breeze-up and has had enormous success with the likes of Vandeek and others, his input is so vital. It is a team effort picking them, but his involvement is huge and he makes up his own mind.

“I did not think she would make so much, but that is a horse sale for you. You always have to go the extra mile when you see one you really like.”

Blandford Bloodstock’s Richard Brown and the O’Callaghan family’s Tally-Ho Stud go way back too, having traded Group 1 winners like Dream Ahead and Perfect Power between them in the past, as relayed when the agent bought a Palace Pier colt from the family operation on Tuesday.

There was a sense of déjà vu as the press descended the back stairs to quiz Brown after the agent bought an expensive juvenile from same farm for 550,000gns on Wednesday evening. After securing the colt, a homebred son of Mehmas this time, Brown commented: “Again, it’s all about the breeze and he did an exceptional breeze.

“The first time I saw him, I thought he was quite a nice colt and the more I saw him, the more I liked him; I thought he put up a really cool show out there.

“Looks like he’s got a great temperament, looks a straightforward colt and he’s by a top sire who can get you a really early one. Like a lot of people buying here, the aim will be to try to get him to Ascot, but he’s not scopeless – there’s more to him than just that.

“We’ve been very lucky with Tally-Ho and we continue to buy off them – we’ve bought two so far tonight and they’ve both been off them. It’s somewhere I feel very confident shopping.”

Brown’s confidence will have also been buoyed by a successful afternoon at the races, as yearling purchase Damysus ran out an impressive winner of the Group 3 Earl Of Sefton Stakes, chased home by fellow Wathnan Racing representative King’s Gambit. However, it’s unknown as to whether the Mehmas colt was bought on behalf of Wathnan, nor did Brown reveal the colt’s future trainer.

Brown later went to 300,000gns to secure a daughter of the same sire, also bred and sold by Tally-Ho Stud. The second foal out of 52,000gns recruit Duchess Rose – a daughter of Brown and Tally-Ho’s Group 1-winning breezer Dream Ahead – reportedly clocked the quickest time at Monday’s gallop.

Egmont Stud’s Starspangledbanner filly and Tally-Ho Stud’s Mehmas colt were the only two to breach 500,000gns this week, compared to seven lots last year, with the number of 400,000gns plus lots dropping from seven to five.

However, the 11 lots realised 300,000gns or more, which was on par with last year’s record figure.

Following Wednesday's session, Tattersalls Managing Director Matthew Prior commented: “The Tattersalls Craven Breeze Up Sale is the first major European bloodstock sale to take place since the outbreak of war in the Middle East, which has created a degree of trepidation and uncertainty amongst bloodstock professionals heading into this week.

“Against this backdrop, we can only be pleased that the sale has returned turnover surpassed only once in its history. We have witnessed strong competition for the best breezers, with a record-equalling eleven lots realising 300,000gns or more.

“Whilst not reaching the heady heights of last year’s sale, nevertheless it is pleasing to see a clearance rate in excess of 80%. Demand has come from both domestic and international purchasers, including a significant number of buyers from the Middle East, Hong Kong, Australia and the USA, attracted by the consistently high-class results achieved year after year by the sale’s graduates.

“Once again, we must pay tribute to the professionalism of the breeze-up consignors whose horsemanship and dedication form the backbone of the sale and make it an unmissable fixture each year. That said, we acknowledge that the market has been selective, and that the sale has not been easy for all consignors.”

The final figures were somewhat helped by a large number of withdrawals, with 11 lots taken out on the day of the sale, ad had been the case at Tuesday’s session. From the same size catalogue as last year, three fewer lots actually went through the ring and the clearance rate dropped two points to 81%.

The median remained at last year’s figure of 100,000gns – the second highest in the sale’s history, but the average price fell by 13% to 136,730gns.

Rob Speers was determined to secure Grove Stud’s No Nay Never filly, the agent rounding bidding up from 375,000gns to 400,000gns with a twirl of his finger, and was delighted when the gavel fell in his favour, relegating Kerri Radcliffe to the role of underbidder.

Speers, standing by the rope, confirmed that the bay had been bought on behalf of Mr Araci’s Old Mill Stud, and would go into training with George Boughey. “We’ve had a lot of success over the years at the Craven Sale,” Speers continued. “Mr Araci is sad he can’t be here tonight.

“This is a family that we know well. Aktabantay stands out and we all know how good he was, but we also had another one out of Splashdown called Baydar who was rated 105.

“She put up a very nice breeze and looks like a filly we can get on with. But she also has a bit of scope for the future. Hopefully she’s one who can go on to join the broodmare band.”

The filly was bought by Summerhill in utero for $200,000 and was sold by Camas Park Stud to Blue Farm Bloodstock as a yearling for €130,000.

Reacting to Wednesday’s sale, Grove Stud’s Brendan Holland said: “It was a great result. All spring, she was a lovely filly and to end up with such a positive result, under difficult circumstances, was fantastic.

“You’re never sure where you’re going to end up when the market is restricted, but I was always confident it was going to be a good result because she was so nice and she qas popular and she breezed extremely well. I wasn’t confident about what she’d make but I was confident she’d sell well.”