Blue Thursday for Yorton Sale with stallion's final British-bred crop

Even the youngest graduates of the Goffs UK Yorton Sale are still in the early stages of their career but Thursday’s fourth renewal of the auction of two-year-old National Hunt stock already has a flag-bearer to advertise to visitors.

Redemption Day was offered at the inaugural 2019 show when bought for £40,000 by Donnchadh Doyle and he was to head straight into the Willie Mullins stable, winning on his debut at last year’s Leopardstown Christmas meeting.

The Blue Bresil gelding, bred by Will Kinsey and Yorton’s Dave Futter, was beaten a length and a quarter by his stablemate and the season’s leading bumper performer Facile Vega at Punchestown.

Redemption Day’s sire is appropriate as he is responsible for a third of the catalogue, with 16 of his two-year-olds entered from what was his final British-bred crop at Yorton before he departed for Glenview Stud in Ireland.

They include a half-sister to French Graded-placed chaser The Saint James from the family of Balko (lot 20), a half-brother to Listed winner and Cheltenham Mares’ Hurdle runner-up Midnight Tour (44) and the first colt foal out of Midnight Tour herself (35).

The lots on offer, which were either bred through Yorton or purchased as foals, feature a host of other stallion progeny from at home or abroad. A Kapgarde half-brother to Hermine Des Obeaux, recently runner-up in an AQPS Grade 3 (23) and a Malinas sibling of Welsh National runner-up The Two Amigos and several other winners (30) are two particular names of note.

George Stanners, who became Yorton’s bloodstock manager last year, said: "It’s my first year following them all the way though, it’s about 10-week prep with the loose schooling and so on and the team have been working really hard getting everything set up.

"It’s just a case of fighting the weather now but the team have done a great job with them

"Certainly 71 per cent of the runners from the first three sales have either won or been placed and there’s a lot still to run, we know the National Hunt can be a patient game, but we’ve had great success in France as well."

Stanners believes that a range of incentives should embolden buyers.

"With the new junior hurdles series in the UK, the UK guys have got a clear target to aim horses at and we like to think the ones we’re offering are a select bunch which have had loads of education, we can recommend them," he said.

"The Great British Bonus is obviously a huge thing, we’ve paid the three stages of registration so for the next person that buys, we are saving them some cost and the horses are ready to go to try to win 20 grand.

"We’re also aware of the increased costs and energy and Yorton are funding an export incentive that we’ll cover the export paperwork and costs of any horses that are going to be travelling to France and Ireland."

George Stanners - 'You can look through the catalogue and pick the pedigree but often it’s all about the individual.'Credit: Sarah Farnsworth

Stanners feels that a surprise package could come from anywhere in the sale, which gets underway at 1pm in the Welsh borders.

"There are some proven stallions and exciting young sires such Choeur Du Nord and Seahenge, with some of the home crew of Gentlewave, Masterstroke, Arrigo and Pether's Moon, with a lovely Linda's Lad filly in there as well," he said.

"You can look through the catalogue and pick the pedigree but often it’s all about the individual. It's probably true of the Isfahan who topped the sale last year [at £80,000].

"I don’t think he was on anyone’s radar walking into the yard but once they’d seen him everybody wanted to buy him and he made a lot more than I think anybody thought. I believe he’s at Marcus Foley's and due to go to Ben Pauling soon."

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