A €520,000 daughter of Saxon Warrior, consigned by Katie Walsh, set an impressive new record for the Tattersalls Ireland Goresbridge Breeze-Up Sale on Thursday when selling to bloodstock agent Stephen Hillen. The filly will be trained by Kevin Ryan.

Four years ago Walsh sold a filly to the same connections at this sale for €315,000 and, named East, that filly went on to be placed in Group 1 company.

Today's sale-topper eclipsed the £410,000 mark which was reached when the sale relocated to Newmarket last year while it was also a long way ahead of the €315,000 record which was set when the final Goresbridge-based edition of this sale took place in 2018.

The new record for this sale was the clear highlight of a day which returned a level of trade that made for good reading. The aggregate of just over €6.5 million represented a marginal improvement on last year’s Newmarket-based edition while the average of €38,398 finished three points up on last year. A median of €22,000 was slightly behind the corresponding figure of €22,989 while the clearance dropped from 91% to 84%.

In all this represented a highly satisfactory set of returns for Ireland’s only breeze-up sale whose enduring popularity and capacity to produce box office lots was again in evidence over the course of the day.

"Almost freakish"

Returning to the sale-topper, Stephen Hillen said the Saxon Warrior filly reminded him of East when she breezed.

“She is a completely different shape to East, but she kind of reminded me of her breeze, it was almost freakish. This filly is bred to go a mile-plus or 10 furlongs. She is a big, raw filly and should not be able to do what she is doing,” said Hillen.

“It is not really the pedigree, it is the style of the breeze. I think the good ones I have bought from the breeze ups are the ones that don't look like they are going quick. If they are big striding, which she is, and doing it with less energy, I think they are the ones to buy.

“I am hoping she is a freak and, when she is able to go a mile, her speed could be massive. I’ve bought her for a new client to go to Kevin Ryan,” added Hillen.

The sale topper, who was being sold on behalf of breeder James Hanly, is a half-sister to three winners including a listed-placed runner in Italy. The grandam is the Group 1-winning Ask For The Moon who went on produce the Epsom Derby third Astrology.

Popular filly

Later in the day Joe Foley outlasted Paddy Twomey for an especially popular daughter of Night Of Thunder who cost €270,000. This Grove Stud offering is out of a half-sister to the listed-winning and Epsom Oaks third Lady Of Dubai.

“She’s a lovely filly. I stood beside David Ryan when he bought her as a foal and I’ve regretted not buying her since then,” stated Foley. “She did a very good breeze and she’s from that excellent Night Of Thunder-Green Desert cross. I’ve bought her for Clipper [Logistics] and she will be going into training with Karl Burke.”

Andrew Balding and owner Michael Blencowe, who will be represented by Imperial Fighter in the Irish 2000 Guineas on Saturday, will take charge of a €260,000 son of Exceed And Excel who was sold by Tally-Ho Stud. He numbers the classy French pair of Dibajj and Black Sea amongst his siblings. The colt was bought by agent Billy Jackson-Stops.

Another major late purchase came when Blandford Bloodstock’s Richard Brown forked out €210,000 for a daughter of Gleneagles from Hyde Park Stud whose price represented a spectacular return on the 12,500gns she cost at Book 3 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale just eight months ago.

Dubai purchases

Over the course of the day a number of horses were purchased to head to Dubai and among those who will begin their careers in the Middle East is a €160,000 son of the late Bernardini whom Jono Mills purchased on behalf of Rabbah Bloodstock.

This colt was sold by Thomond O’Mara’s Knockanglass Stables and was showing a terrific return on the $20,000 he cost in America last October. Mills also went to €130,000 for a daughter of Super Saver from Hyde Park Stud who cost $12,000 as a yearling. This filly will also head straight to Dubai.

Also destined for Dubai is a daughter of the American sire Cairo Prince who cost trainer Bhupat Seemar €125,000. This filly is out of the Moyglare Stakes third Beyond Our Reach and her family goes back to El Prado.

“She’s a lovely filly, very good looking and light on her feet and she ticked all the right boxes. She’s also out of a Group 1-placed mare so she will have good residual value after her racing career concludes,” declared Seemar whose other spending took in an €80,000 Caravaggio half-brother to the stakes-winning juvenile Sirici.

O'Leary sale

One of the best breezes in the sale belonged to a son of the Candy Ride horse Mastery and this colt, who was offered by Eddie O’Leary’s Lynn Lodge Stud, cost Ross Doyle €100,000.

“He’s been bought for an existing client although it has to be decided where he will go into training. He’s a good moving colt who breezed very nicely and he had a lot going for him. He’s a very good first foal and we’ve been lucky in the past buying first foals,” reflected Doyle.

Also reaching €100,000 was filly from the first crop of US Navy Flag and this 11,000gns yearling purchase from Tradewinds Stud was bought by agent Jamie Lloyd to go into training with Henry Spiller. She was purchased on behalf of Jonathan Sarkar and his family.

Trainer Alice Haynes, acting for Amo Racing, forked out €100,000 for a son of Oasis Dream while Richard Brown went to €130,000 for a Sioux Nation colt offered by Folistown Farm.

COMPARATIVE FIGURES

YEAR CAT OFF SOLD AGGREGATE AVERAGE MEDIAN

2022 237 204 171 €6,566,000 €38,398 €22,000

2021 243 193 176 €6,539,427 €37,156 €22,989

2020 254 147 125 €3,816,490 €30,532 €21,978

2019 225 196 179 €5,010,500 €27,922 €18,000