Anxiety and opportunity arise as Gigginstown depart sales ring scene

On the very day that the store sale season got under way at Tattersalls Ireland, National Hunt breeders, vendors and auction houses across Europe were blindsided by the news that Michael O'Leary will wind down his Gigginstown House Stud racing empire.

The decision means Gigginstown will no longer be active in sourcing stores or other young horses at public auction, a move that is certain to give rise to anxiety among all tiers of the jumps sale sector.

The operation – managed by O'Leary's brother and Gigginstown racing manager Eddie – has been an ever-present force at a variety of auctions in recent times.

The results of those sales ring raids have contributed to wide-scale success, with Gigginstown House Stud being crowned champion National Hunt owner in Ireland on seven occasions, including the last five seasons in succession.

Achieving that high standing has not come cheaply though, and among the outfit's more notable acquisitions are Samcro, the £335,000 top lot at the 2016 Goffs UK Aintree Sale, the £235,000 purchase Battleoverdoyen and Dortmund Park, who fetched €230,000 at Arqana in July 2017.

Gordon Elliott and Gigginstown House Stud racing manager Eddie O'Leary at the Tattersalls Cheltenham Festival SaleCredit: Patrick McCann

However, O'Leary has been far from alone in his pursuit of the brightest National Hunt prospects, and it should be remembered that for every pricey purchase secured on his behalf, there was an underbidder just one step behind.

While his operation's withdrawal from the sales circuit will undoubtedly have an impact on the top of the market, it seems unlikely to lead to catastrophic consequences for breeders and vendors.

Indeed, the top of the National Hunt market looks capable of absorbing such a significant loss, boasting a strength in depth its Flat counterpart can only dream of, with trainers without Gigginstown patronage – such as Colin Tizzard, Dan Skelton, Nicky Henderson, Paul Nicholls, Evan Williams and Willie Mullins, among others – continuing to spend headline sums on behalf of their owners.

And, moreover, Gigginstown's departure from the sales scene may just tempt other buyers to dig a little deeper knowing that they will no longer be locking horns with the owner of Europe's biggest budget airline, who has a net worth of €1 billion according to Forbes magazine.

However, Gigginstown was not afraid of playing below the uppermost tier of National Hunt trade, and it is the middle and lower markets that will likely suffer most from the loss of such a major spending force.

Chief among the success stories who joined the Gigginstown ranks for less than six figures is dual Grand National hero Tiger Roll, a £80,000 acquisition at Cheltenham in 2013, while other relatively bargain buys include the €50,000 Shattered Love, the £46,000 Lieutenant Colonel and the €29,000 Felix Desjy.

Of course, the horses mentioned above are a small sample of Gigginstown's public auction purchases who have won major races, and make up only a fraction of the operation's string.

Bloodstock agent Mags O'Toole (left) receives the award for Horse of the Year award for Tiger RollCredit: Edward Whitaker

The full extent of Gigginstown Stud's spending is not straightforward to measure, as O'Leary relied on Gigginstown trainers and a variety of bloodstock agents, Mags O'Toole and Aidan O'Ryan being two of the operation's more regular talent spotters, to source and sign for stock.

But, having had 225 individual horses run for six different trainers last year alone, it is clear that Gigginstown have purchased bloodstock in quantities rivalled only by JP McManus in recent years.

While there are plenty of other owners prepared to spend as much on a promising point-to-pointer or a well-credentialed store, there are few willing to buy the sheer volume of horses O'Leary has in recent times.

At a time when attracting new owners is among the sport's biggest challenges, losing an investor whose expenditure will have sustained so many is a bitter pill for the industry to swallow.

Related stories:

Gigginstown stun racing world with plan to wind down famous operation

Four-star Cheltenham hero Tiger Roll continues to prove the ultimate bargain