THE end of year stallion rankings, both from Hippomundo and the WBSHF, are always useful tools for serious breeders, and demand for the top-rated sires is justifiably strong.

What is less documented however, and for the smaller breeder possibly more relevant, are the stallions that appear with frequency at the head of the Irish sales returns.

As we examine these further, it become evident that a stallion’s success as a sale-topping sire is not always based on its own performance records or indeed that of its progeny, but in many cases on the immediate commercial attributes that it lends to its offspring in tandem with promising potential.

The one sector that bucks this trend is that of the show jumping foals, where it is proven that a high-ranked sire, matched with a well-related mare pays dividends.

Foals aside however, what is also fascinating is that the two market leading sires in 2021 hail from completely differing bloodlines.

First up was Padraig Howley’s Sligo Candy Boy, an Irish Sport Horse stallion who was topping the rankings for the fourth consecutive year. Appealing to both the event and the jumping markets, Sligo Candy Boy is a prepotent stallion who consistently stamps his stock with an elegance that slightly belies his pedigree.

His progeny are invariably eye-catching individuals, and one such example was a home-bred three-year-old filly MBF Starburst (out of the thoroughbred mare Monalease by Terimon) who headed last year’s figures for a staggering €82,000.

Adding another string to his bow, Sligo Candy Boy appeared in every single age group table (older stock, four-year-old, three-year-olds and foals), to deliver an improved average from the previous year– albeit with a big outlier of €19,825 (€10,942 without the outlier).

Family owned and bred, the 13-year-old is a lightly competed son of the great Balou De Rouet out of the good jumping mare Sligo Candy Girl by the Holstein sire Conley.

“I picked him out as a having stallion potential as a two-year-old,” comments his enthusiastic owner/breeder Padraig Howley. “Ideally, he suits a blood mare (as the sale-topper proves), but he also injects quality into a plainer one and puts movement into a moderate mover.”

At 10 years old, his oldest stock are heading into their prime, and among the most prominent are the international event horse Sligo Candy Cane (CCI3*-L), ridden by Bill Levitt and Gemma Tattersall’s brilliant show jumping mare MGH Candy Girl.

Thoroughbred

Slyguff Stud’s American-bred thoroughbred sire Pointilliste has been consistent among the sale toppers in recent years, and last year creditably averaged €9,669. By Giant’s Causeway out of Peinture Bleue (Alydar), he ran 21 times, winning on five occasions, and he has been in Ireland for 10 years. Mainly attracting the eventing fraternity, his many successful progeny include Sam Ecroyd’s highly rated FMSH Highway and the Ian Cassell-ridden advanced horse Master Point.

Popular among the foal pinhookers, he has, according to Barbara Hatton, “super conformation, great movement and a great temperament. He really suits the traditional half-bred Irish Sport Horse mares, but also those with quality continental breeding.”

The end of year tables are divided into sectors for thoroughbreds, continental sires and Irish Sport Horses. The sale-topping sires for the older stock is varied, but featuring on multiple occasions are the now deceased Tolan R, the evergreen OBOS Quality and up-and-coming Dignified Van’t Zorgvliet.

Carerra VDL was also prominent, as was Cruising who sired the overall top price. The thoroughbred leader at €10,400 was the little-used Luan Cincise who, by Rock of Gibralter, stands in Co Galway.

Younger horses

Looking in more depth at the younger horses, the top four-year-old price of the year at €79,000 went to an imported son of Emir M (Colman x Rupert R x Volatiare). A well-related individual whose semen is available in Ireland, Emir R enjoyed a good career (1.60m) under Rolf Goran Bengtssen, and the success of his progeny in competition is notable.

MBF Major Lazer K, by Emir M, was the highest priced four-year-old sold at public auction in 2021 \ Laurence Dunne

At €13,000, the top thoroughbred award in this group went to the proven event sire Chinook Eclipse.

The ISH sector was headed by the Irish Army’s now deceased show jumping campaigner Bonmahon Master Blue (Mister Blue). A sad loss to the industry, the popular stallion is notable for siring numerous performers including the 2021 Le Lion D’Angers bronze medallist Bonmahon Chelsea.

Sligo Candy Boy aside, there were further exceptional prices paid for the three-year-olds. The ever-popular Je T’Aime Flamenco returned prices of €48,000 and €35,000 respectively (one to go show jumping and the other aimed for the event track), while Dignified Van’t Zorgvliet (BWP), by Clinton, stands out with two of the top 10 lots. In a real boost to the Tullabeg Stud, his stablemate, the Irish Sport Horse sire Tullabeg Fusion (by Remington Clover (dam by Errigal Flight) also features.

The top priced three-year-old by a thoroughbred sire fell to a son of the versatile Greenan Fort at €32,000. An unraced stallion with a little show jumping form, Greenan Fort (by Seabrook) is also known as a sire of show horses. Others to feature in multiples (as they have done in previous years) were the popular Emperor Augustus, Golden Master and Pointilliste.

Foal auctions

The Irish foal auctions were unsurprisingly dominated by the foals by high ranking jumping sires. Both the elite and general sale recorded record returns and two fillies– one from the former and one the latter shared the year’s top price of €35,000.

Both were by highly commercial sires out of well-related mares, and first up was the Cavan sale of Creevyquin Evangelia a filly by Tangelo Van’t Zuuthoeve out of the good broodmare Boraya VD (Argentinus).

Unusually, this price was equalled at the end of the year when Patrick Connolly’s half-sister to the top jumper CSF James Kann Cruz (1.50m) by Zirocco Blue topped a general foal sale in Goresbridge.

Another popular stallion to feature was the consistent Emerald Van’t Ruysterhof who was represented by three of the top-priced lots.

Not to be discounted, considering the substantially less costs involved, the thoroughbred ranks improved yet again, and were headed at €7,400 (€4,500 in 2020) by a colt by the Co Wexford-based newcomer Jack The Robin (by Robin de la Maison) out of Ballyquirke Quality (OBOS Quality). Ann Lambert’s young stallion, who is out of a well-bred mare by Gothland, creditably filled the top two spots in the returns.

At €3,300, the accolade for the top-priced filly in this sector at fell to the smart Lucarelli who, together with Rosier, and the newly imported Sir Lando, is one of three thoroughbreds to stand at the Drumhowan Stud in Co Monaghan.

Although the ISH table weakened in 2021, it was well headed at €6,000 by a filly by the newcomer Castlefield Kingston.

Only a seven-year-old, Castlefield Kingston stands with international show jumper Ger O’Neill in Co Kilkenny and is an Oldenburg sire by Cinsey (1.60m) who features Cascari, Caretino and Capitol in his pedigree.