‘Lovely’ Lady joins powerful Bowe team after topping Tattersalls Ireland at €45,000

The term circular economy could have been coined for trade at Tattersalls Ireland on Thursday, when the buyers' list at the May Store Sale, the first of the Irish season, was dominated by point-to-point handlers who signed for the overwhelming majority of the horses offered, particularly at what had to be deemed the upper levels in the context of the day's subdued prices.

The effect of the various schemes, such as the ITBA's one, introduced to enhance the attraction of fillies to owners and trainers, was also very clear, with fillies comprising a significant proportion (60 per cent) of the sale's most expensive lots including those bought with the intention of competing in the pointing sphere initially.

At this sale two years ago, John Bleahen sold a gelding by Tiger Groom for €30,000 and, named Jango Baie, he went on to win the Grade 1 Formby Novices' Hurdle last season for Nicky Henderson.

On Thursday, Pa Doyle's Gabertstown Stables offered Lady Blackmore, out of Pennsylvanie, who is a winning half-sister to Jango Baie's dam, and she made €45,000 to the combination of James Kenny and Colin Bowe.

"I love her," enthused Kenny. "She has a very good temperament with a lovely way of going, walks well and has a lovely presence. Her sire has not done a whole lot wrong. She will go to Colin's and, hopefully, we will see her out in the point-to-point field."

Lady Blackmore is a half-sister to Voyage A New York, a multiple winner over fences by Kapgarde, and was sourced at auction in France as a yearling from Haras du Mesnil at a cost of €9,000.

The stallion that Kenny referred to is Bathyrhon, a son of Monsun who stands at Haras de la Hetraie for €6,000. When trained by Pia Brandt he won the Group 2 Prix Vicomtesse Vigier and the Group 3 Prix Gladiateur, with a runner-up finish in the Group 1 Prix du Cadran. He is the sire of Italian Grade 1 winner Isatis De L'Ecu and the French Graded winners Guarana and Bathyscaphe from his first four crops.

Bleahen brothers to the fore once more

As is the norm at the store sales, representatives of the Bleahen brothers featured among the day's more expensive lots, with John's Lakefield Farm the vendors of a Jack Hobbs gelding who made €42,000 to Sean Doyle, while Niall's Liss House sold a €40,000 son of Affinisea to the Crawford brothers.

John's son of Irish Derby winner Jack Hobbs caught the eye of several of Ireland's leading pointing practitioners, with Doyle fending off Warren Ewing and Mick Goff to land the handsome chestnut out of Penelope Pips, a bumper winner by Presenting.

Lot 187 at the Tattersalls Ireland May Store Sale looked quite like his broodmare sire PresentingCredit: www.healyracing.ie

The successful vendor said: "I paid £10,500 for him as a foal and he was then as he was today; he just walked. However much a fan I am of Jack Hobbs, there is a lot of Presenting in him and the mare won at four, which does it for me. I had some shrewd men on him, they have been lucky with our horses in the past and it is all about repeat business."  

He added: "I thought he might be a bit of a standout here, which he was. There is an adjustment in the market at present, and we adjust with the market; we have crops coming behind and we have to keep moving forwards."

Penelope Pips' second foal will be the first Jack Hobbs in the Doyle collection in Wexford but, as with the vendor, previous experiences with the offspring of Presenting mares have been extremely positive for the Monbeg team.

"He is a big, strong horse, and very good mover, I looked at him three times today and he stood out every time I saw him," commented Doyle. "I am delighted to have him on the team now. 

"He comes from a good farm and we have had luck with them before and hopefully he will go on and do something. I love to buy horses out of Presenting mares."

He was one of 15 horses purchased by the Monbeg Stables team during the course of the day for a total of €300,500. Included in that number were three of the ten most expensive lots; the others being the Night Wish filly offered by Clonmult Farm and Clonamery's Telescope gelding, who both made €30,000.

Last May, Niall Bleahen's Liss House consigned the two most expensive horses at the sale, both French-bred, but his best-seller this time round was sourced in this very ring as a foal.

James Kenny teamed up with Colin Bowe to buy the sale-topping Lady BlackmoreCredit: www.healyracing.ie

The gelding was bought for €11,000 from breeder Ronnie O'Neill, who stands his sire Affinisea at Whytemount Stud, and the first three generations of his pedigree have the imprint of the Kells, County Kilkenny farm all over them.

He is the first foal of Phantom Queen, an unraced daughter of Salutino, who was one of Affinisea's predecessors at Whytemount. Bred by the O'Neills, Phantom Queen is out of Lady Warrior, by Whytemount's late phenomenon Stowaway.

Lady Warrior is a full-sister to Rory O'Moore, who was bred by Debbie O'Neill, trained by Ronnie and ridden by John O'Neill to win the Grade 3 Blackwater Handicap Hurdle, and to Champagne James, who was placed at Grade 2 level in bumpers and over fences.

Niall Bleahen said: "I wanted to bring another good horse to the sale again. I thought he deserved it, it was good to see him get over the line. He is a very nice horse and has a very good attitude, I think he'll  make up into a four-year-old."

The brown gelding was the subject of a tussle between Stuart Crawford and Sean Doyle and it was Crawford who won out at €40,000, with the bumper route a more likely one than pointing for the March-born gelding, who was Crawford's sole purchase of the day.

Liss House's Affinisea gelding drew the buyers to the ring at the May Store SaleCredit: www.healyracing.ie

Crawford said: "We will get him home and get him broken in. He might be a bit more of a bumper horse, but he is a nice type. There have been two or three Affiniseas in today and they have all been very athletic and nice horses. We have had a few by the stallion in the past and they have been tight, hardy horses."

Like his brother, Niall was keen to emphasise the importance of repeat business and customer satisfaction over making massive profits.

"He has gone to a good customer who has been back a few times to buy," he said. "I recommended this horse to him and to  Sean Doyle as well. They took me at my word and I am delighted to see that, those clients are good to us. Whether you lose money or gain it, you have to do right by the clients and the horses."

Bleahen ended the sale as the leading consignor by aggregate and average, selling four lots for a total of €102,000 at an average price of €25,500. His brother John took second place on average and third on total sales with returns of €73,000 for three sold, which averages out at €24,333.

Eoin McDonagh's Shanaville Stables recorded the second highest total sales at €80,000.

Two of the day's ten most expensive horses were sons of Affinisea, a winning Sea The Stars three-parts brother to Soldier Of Fortune. Ewing went to €31,000 to buy Ballywoodan House Stud's gelding, whose second dam, Je T'Aime, is a Flemensfirth half-sister to Willie Mullins' Grade 1 Dr PJ Moriarty Chase winner J'Y Vole.

Days like these

Van Morrison could have composed the soundtrack to the O'Keeffe family's Thursday at Tattersalls Ireland as first-crop fillies by their stallion Success Days were the hottest of commodities for a large chunk of the day.

Two daughters of the gorgeous grey, who beat Mondialiste to win the Group 2 York Stakes for Robert Ng and Ken Condon, were popular with the large group of point-to-point handlers looking to restock their barns for next season and so taken was Matty Flynn O'Connor with the progeny of the Group 1 Tattersalls Gold Cup third, that he was involved in purchasing both of the Success Days fillies in the sale.

It was Rob James who signed for Cnoc na gCapall's striking grey daughter of the winning King's Theatre mare Hayes Princess, who has produced Mylesfromwicklow, twice a winner over fences last season for Dan Skelton. A winning pointer, his younger half-sister will also be going down that route following her sale for €37,000.

"As soon as I saw her I had to have her," said James. "She has size and scope and strength; she looks like a gelding! Success Days is obviously by the good late sire Jeremy. She will be one we will look to get going with early."

Fachtna Twomey's Success Days filly in the ring at Tattersalls IrelandCredit: www.healyracing.ie

Her vendor, Fachtna Twomey from County Clare, confirmed the filly had always displayed that strength and scope from her early days.

"I bought her as a foal out of a field and she was always a cracker, always a big, strong filly and straightforward to handle," said Twomey. "I buy a couple of foals every year and keep turning them over." 

The filly's second dam, Celtic Angel, is a Bob Back three-parts sister to David Nicholson's 1995 Sun Alliance Hurdle winner Putty Road. Third dam Mills Pride won over hurdles at Naas for Aidan O'Brien and is a Posen full-sister to Thats Luck, the unraced dam of Willie Mullins' Grade 1 Punchestown Champion Novice Hurdle and Grande Course de Haies d'Auteuil winner Nobody Told Me. 

Mills Pride is also a half-sister to Quilted, who won the Princess of Wales's Stakes and was fourth to Shareef Dancer in the Irish Derby.

Flynn O'Connor himself signed for Moyfinn Stud's Success Days filly at €36,000 and she is the third foal out of Koubba, a placed Peintre Celebre half-sister to Dewcup, who was second in the Celebration Hurdle and third in the Listed Future Champions' Bumper for his owner-breeder Michael Ryan and Ted Walsh.

"It is the second I have bought by Success Days today," Flynn O'Connor, who will train the filly, informed the press. "This is a lovely lady and these are the first by the sire I've bought. It is not easy to get the good ones, but we will keep trying."

Rob James (left) and team try to spot their opposition while bidding for Lot 85Credit: www.healyracing.ie

Her dam is also a half-sister to Harzand mare Gaoth Chuil, who won the Pertemps qualifier at the last Leopardstown Christmas festival and was second in the Listed Brown Lad Handicap Hurdle earlier in the season for Ryan and Walsh.

Second dam Elyaadi was third in the Grabel Mares' Hurdle at Punchestown for Ryan and John Queally, and comes from a classy family of dual-purpose performers. She is a Singspiel half-sister to the Auteuil Listed winner Autocrat, out of Prix de Royallieu third Abyaan, an Ela-Mana-Mou half-sister to Grade 1 Punchestown Champion Novice Hurdle winner Sadlers Wings. Coincidentally, fourth dam Anna Comnena is by Shareef Dancer.

Joshua Tree, the only horse to win three runnings of the Grade 1 Canadian International, spent just two seasons in Ireland, but they were in Waterford at the O'Keeffe's Kilbarry Lodge and a gelding by the son of Montjeu, from one of Kilbarry's best families was another to attract the attention and bids of the point-to-point contingent.

The chestnut gelding was another to come from a nursery in the Banner County, in this instance Adrian Costello's Clenagh Castle Stud, and he is heading to Tipperary and Suirview Stables.

Moyfinn Stud's Success Days filly in the ring at Tattersalls IrelandCredit: www.healyracing.ie

Costello bought the son of Kilbarry Cushty in this ring as a foal from his breeder Kilbarry Lodge for €16,500 and was pleased with both the price and the purchaser.

"He's a lovely, big, chasing type of horse and I think he deserved to make a fair price," commented Costello. "Hopefully he will work out for his new owners. If he wins his point-to-point I think he will be very valuable.  

"I sold one to Pat [Doyle] before and he is a great man to train a pointer; he just wants a bit of luck and hopefully he will be lucky for him."

Costello added: "He has a lovely pedigree, from one of Kilbarry's good families. Joshua Tree is a very good sire in France and one I like. I think he is a good and proven stallion already, with the likes of Irish Point [Grade 1 winner over hurdles]."

The black type in that pedigree stems from third dam All Set, the dam of Racing Demon, who had a distinctive galloping style and won two renewals of the Peterborough Chase and posted a victory in the Henry VIII Novices' Chase for Henrietta Knight. Bred by Con O'Keeffe, the son of Old Vic was third in three separate Grade 1 contests to Kauto Star.

All Set is also the dam of All The Roses and the Roselier mare is the dam of Leinster National winner Abolitionist, who was placed in the Irish Grand National and Troytown Chase for Ellmarie Holden.

All The Roses is also the dam of Grade 2-winning hurdler and Grade 3-winning chaser Askanna, who in turn has produced Grade 1 winner Minella Cocooner. Another of All Set's daughters, Kilbarry Demon, is the dam of Grade 2 winners Journey With Me and Silent Approach. 

Kilbarry Gem, a daughter of All Set and Bob's Return, is the dam of Kilbarry Chloe, who won the Grade 3 Shannon Spray Mares' Novice Hurdle, and of Kilbarry Cushty, dam of this gelding.

Lot 109 by Joshua Tree out of Kilbarry Cushty made €32,000 at the May Store SaleCredit: www.healyracing.ie

Costello has already got this Joshua Tree gelding jumping in a loose school, with the video footage proving his athleticism and talent, something that was appreciated by Jack Doyle, who was on purchasing duties.

"He is a gorgeous horse, he is as nice a horse as is here today, from a good family and he looks a big athlete so we are delighted to get him," said Doyle. 

"We had one by the sire before, he went well and we liked him and he had a lot of ability. This horse is from a good farm and they are always done well. We watched the online video of him loose schooling – he can certainly jump!"

A total of 169 horses were sold out of the 238 offered, resulting in a clearance rate of 71 per cent and that generated turnover of €2,165,500. The sale averaged €12,815, with the median at €10,500.

Related story

'I loved him in his point-to-point' - €180,000 sale-topper off to Willie Mullins