'He looks fast!' - Tasleet colt tops Tattersalls Ireland November Flat Sale

Breeze-up consignors were the busiest buyers during the yearling section of the Tattersalls Ireland November Flat Sale with the Shadwell draft particularly popular as a potential source of stars for next year’s two-year-old sales.

Thomond O’Mara struck the winning bid at €29,000 for a colt from the first crop of Shadwell’s Duke of York Stakes winner Tasleet, who was also runner-up in three Group 1 sprints over six furlongs as a four-year-old.

“He looks fast!” smiled O’Mara after signing for the yearling, who is out of the Listed Dragon Stakes second Ejaazah. “The sire could be exciting, I’ve had luck with the grandsire Showcasing before and this is a decent pedigree.”

The pedigree O’Mara refers to includes the colt’s second dam English Ballet, who won the Sweet Solera Stakes and was third in the Fillies’ Mile. English Ballet is a Danehill Dancer half-sister to Star Of Seville who won the Prix de Diane for John Gosden and Lady Bamford.

Trainers and owners were also on hand to vie for the choicest offerings from the Shadwell draft through Lumville Farm and Willie McCreery picked up a filly by Derrinstown’s Group 1 sire Tamayuz for €21,000.

"She is a lovely filly, a great walker. She comes back to me now and could be for a syndicate," said McCreery of his purchase.

The April-born filly is out of Abhajat, a Lope De Vega half-sister to Park Express Stakes third Starbright and to The Giving Tree, dam of Astra Stakes winner Quick. Deeply buried in the family is Crystal Ocean whose first crop of foals sold like hot cakes here earlier this week.

Yuesheng Zhang is a strong supporter of Irish racing through his Yulong Investments and agent Michael Donohoe of BBA Ireland purchased an Exceed And Excel colt from Lumville Farm to run in Yulong’s green and white silks next season.

"He is a fine colt, I think he has been well bought. He is by a good sire, from a good farm and looks an early type,” remarked Donohoe, who went to €16,000 for Lot 1332.

His dam Nozhar has a perfect strike rate with two winners from her first two foals and is in turn an unraced Iffraaj half-sister to Grade 3 winner Pasar Silbano, the dam of Australian Group 2 winner and Group 1-placed Zousain.

Willie Browne was another famous face from the breeze-ups hunting for value at Fairyhouse and he purchased a daughter of Holy Roman Emperor out of the unraced Lope De Vega mare Spanish Berry for €25,000. Consigned by Hart Livery Farm and Stud, she reminded Browne very strongly of her broodmare sire.

“She has size and scope, she can go to any sale, she is all Lope De Vega and I thought she was good value,” said Browne.

Spanish Berry has already produced a winner with her first runner and the reverse of this cross has already produced Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies’ Turf winner Newspaperofrecord.

Hyde Park Stud’s graduates from the breeze-up class of 2021 include homebred Cachet who was third in the Fillies’ Mile and fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies’ Turf, and Pearl Glory, runner-up in the Dick Poole Fillies’ Stakes while the previous year saw them sell this season’s Oaks second Mystery Angel.

Hart Livery Farm and Stud's Holy Roman Emperor filly out of the unraced Lope De Vega mare Spanish Berry sells to Willie Browne for €25,000Credit: Pat Healy

The team was at Tattersalls Ireland to search for more juvenile stars and settled on the only yearling offered from the first crop of Kessaar.

Consigned by Millford Stud as lot 1393, he is the second foal out of Love Note by Elusive Quality; her first the Elzaam two-year-old Wonder Years has been sold to race in Hong Kong while her second cost Hyde Park Stud €23,000.

The team from Ballincurrig House Stud had little time to celebrate finishing the Tattersalls Ireland November National Hunt Sale as leading consignors, they were straight back into the action with a single yearling for the Flat sale.

Lot 1347 is from the first crop of Mill Reef Stakes winner James Garfield and is out of an Acclamation half-sister to Prix de Ris-Orangis winner Presto Shinko. He is another for next year’s breeze-up sales as he was purchased for €21,000 by the husband and wife team of Andrew and Riona Lynch.

The Kelly family of Ballybin Stud and their foals are currently starring in a video produced by Irish Thoroughbred Marketing and they were the stars of the foal session of the November Foal Sale.

Ballybin is just minutes away from the sales ground so the day’s most expensive foal did not have far to travel and will only be going as far as neighbouring Westmeath after his purchase for €24,000 by Tally-Ho Stud’s Tony O'Callaghan.

He is from the first crop of Inns Of Court, the son of Invincible Spirit who stands at Tally-Ho and won the Prix du Gros-Chene for Andre Fabre and Godolphin.

The colt is out of the unraced Footstepsinthesand mare Dover Vision and is a grandson of the dual Listed winner Deauville Vision. He was sold to the Tally-Ho patriarch for €24,000.

The sale posted improved results across the board with the aggregate increasing by 29 per cent to €567,000 from €439,700. Saturday’s average was up by 13 per cent to €6,915 from €6,107 while the median leaped 83 per cent to €5,500 from €3,000. The clearance rate was also higher than last year at 58 per cent, up from 53 per cent in 2020.

Statement

Tattersalls Ireland CEO Simon Kerins said: "We concluded our sales calendar today with the November Flat Sale and it was great to see so many European buyers back on the ground. The gains we achieved across all our sales this year continued apace today with increases across the board.

"We extend our sincere thanks to every vendor and each purchaser for their support, as well as the team at Irish Thoroughbred Marketing for their assistance in getting so many overseas buyers on the ground."

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