Euphoria in Doncaster as Tasleet colt tops Goffs UK Breeze-Up Sale at £230,000

There were some stunning pinhooking success stories at the Goffs UK Breeze-Up Sale in Doncaster on Thursday, but none could match the result that Bushypark Stables achieved with the son of Tasleet who led the market at £230,000 to the bid of Blandford Bloodstock.

Bushypark's Matt Whyte paid just £14,000 for the colt out of Silent Music when he was offered at the Premier Yearling Sale, but a scintillating pre-sale breeze saw the youngster fetch more than 16 times that initial outlay.

"Euphoria!" was Whyte's response when asked for his emotions after the six-figure transaction, before he explained the sale represented a marked change in fortunes. "I'll be honest, I got badly broken up in January, I fractured vertebrae and facets, the whole shebang.

"So I rang up a couple of friends to spread my seven horses around and one of them was Michael Byrne of Knockgraffon Stables. He prepped this horse for me so he deserves all the credit. I was getting weekly videos and got down to see him when I was back on my feet. We all worked together as friends but today is Michael's day because I owe him. It hasn't set in yet. I'm sure it will but we'll enjoy it."

Matt Whyte: 'We all worked together as friends but today is Michael's day'Credit: Sarah Farnsworth

Explaining how he came to pick up such a bargain at the yearling sales, Whyte said: "He was up in the top corner of the yard here and the consignors [Manor House Farm Stud] had done a lovely job with him, he was just very immature and a little on the raw side. I was hoping there was potential there and the fact that Tasleet has had a winner, it all fell into place."

After signing the sales-topping docket Blandford Bloodstock's Richard Brown said the colt was set to represent the same connections as the catalogue's cover star Perfect Power.

"I've bought him for Sheikh Rashid [Dalmook Al Maktoum] and he'll be trained by Richard Fahey," said Brown. "We're at a breeze-up sale and for me this colt did an outstanding breeze. He went fast, and that's particularly important for a horse who's bred like he is, but he also showed a great action and a great attitude, which we place a lot of emphasis on.

Richard Brown of Blandford Bloodstock: 'He went fast, and that's particularly important for a horse who's bred like he is'Credit: Sarah Farnsworth

"We bought Perfect Power for Sheikh Rashid from this sale last year and he was keen to try and find another very nice colt. Hopefully I've done that for him. We've only ever bought one horse from Matt before and that was Far Above. He was an extremely talented colt and is now at stud and has some pretty exceptional foals in his first crop."

Shadwell's Nunnery Stud resident Tasleet boasts a 100 per cent record at stud, with his first runner, Carmela, scoring impressively at Yarmouth.

Brown added: "Tasleet had his first winner at Yarmouth and he was a tough and talented horse. Last year we decided to go strong on a first-season sire and that was Ardad. History shows that was the right thing to do so let's hope we've made the right move again."

Records were set across the board as all market indices showed year-on-year gains. Turnover was up four per cent at £6,467,500, the average rose by two per cent to £49,750 and the median was up six per cent at £36,000.

The clearance rate was 82 per cent as 130 of 158 offered lots found a buyer. There was also a record number of six-figure lots as 17 two-year-olds fetched £100,000 or more.

Munnings makes his mark

The second top lot came late in the day when Colm Sharkey got the better of Jono Mills at £205,000 to secure the Munnings colt out of the Scat Daddy mare Drunk Philosophy offered by Ballinahulla Stables.

"He's the only horse I wanted to buy so I've waited all day for him," said Sharkey. "He's got a nice pedigree and did a nice, even breeze and vetted well. My client was keen to have him so he'll head to Dubai now. Hopefully he'll race at the back end once they get going in October or November."

Lot 177: the son of Munnings brings £205,000Credit: Sarah Farnsworth

The striking grey was pinhooked from the Fasig-Tipton October Sale, where Shamington Farms signed the ticket at just $32,000.

"It was a gamble coming here as they wanted him for Dubai," said Ballinahulla's Tadgh Ryan. "But it worked out and he ended up being the only Munnings breezer for sale in Europe this year. I’d have to say I think he’s a very good horse as he loves the game.

"He was a gorgeous horse when he came off the box and he has a great mind and constitution. I’m very glad Colm bought him as we have him right up there with the best judges and he was on him from day one."

Tally-Ho in clover again

A red-hot run of form for Tally-Ho Stud continued on Thursday when the O'Callaghan family's operation sold the Mehmas colt out of She's Different to Michael O'Callaghan for £200,000. Bred by Tony Killoran, the colt is the first out of the daughter of Epaulette who won once from six starts with Nigel Tinkler.

"He's a lovely colt who did one of the best breezes of the day," said O'Callaghan. "Visually he was very impressive and he's by Mehmas, who's conquering all before him. We bought him from a hotel that we've been very lucky with before.

Michael O'Callaghan: 'Visually he was very impressive and he's by Mehmas, who's conquering all before him'Credit: Sarah Farnsworth

"We bought Twilight Jet [for £210,000] off Tally-Ho last year and Now Or Never came from this sale as well. He came highly recommended so hopefully he can make into an Ascot type. He's a fast-looking horse but he's got enough size and power as well so he's not just an early horse."

Tally-Ho were also responsible for the Kodiac colt out of She Bu bought by Blandford Bloodstock at £160,000. The unraced She Bu is a sibling to nine winners, including Listed scorer Ruby Rocket, dam of Prix de l'Abbaye victor Maarek, and the Group 3-winning Alexander Alliance. Another sibling, Good Clodora, is best known as the dam of another Doncaster breeze-up graduate in Ardad, who is also by Kodiac.

"He's a very close relation to Ardad and comes from the same consignor," said Richard Brown. "He's a different horse to Ardad, he's a May foal and he's more backward so I think he's going to take a bit of time. I would be keen to put a line through Ascot personally but it's not my job anymore, that's up to whoever is going to train him, although that hasn't been decided yet. I've bought him for Sheikh Hamed."

Tally-Ho Stud's Roger O'CallaghanCredit: Sarah Farnsworth

As was the case at the Tattersalls Craven Sale, Tally-Ho topped the consignors' charts with 12 sold for receipts totalling £735,000.

A busy afternoon for Brown also saw the Blandford man go to £125,000 for the Profitable brother to Queen Mary Stakes winner Quick Suzy, who was offered by Oak Tree Farm having been pinhooked for €80,000.

"He's been bought for Saeed Al Qassimi, who's great friends with the Dalmook brothers and has absolutely no idea he's bought this horse because I couldn't get him on the phone!" said Brown. "Hopefully he'll be okay with it. I'm sure he will because he's a great guy, and a very lucky owner already. He owns the horse who was second in the Prix Sigy yesterday, Caturra, who Clive Cox rates highly."

Royal ambitions for audacious Australian venture

There is an awfully long distance between Woollahra in New South Wales and Doncaster in South Yorkshire, but that didn't stop the leading Australian-based agent and syndicator James Harron making a big impact during the early stages at Goffs UK.

Harron hatched an ambitious plan to source a Royal Ascot runner and enlisted Stuart Boman of Blandford Bloodstock and Martin Buick of De Burgh Equine to help turn his vision into reality.

Boman threw in an audacious opening bid of £125,000 when Star Bloodstock's Kessaar colt out of Lady Lizabeth came on the market, and after a brief exchange with an online bidder the hammer fell in their favour at £160,000.

Explaining the backstory to the six-figure purchase, Boman said: "This is something a bit different as the horse has been purchased for James Harron Bloodstock. James got in touch with Martin and myself just before the Craven with a view to trying to buy a Royal Ascot horse.

"Like every Australian, he's got an opportunity to leave Australia and he's going to take it! The bidding tactics are something that's very much done in Australia and James wanted to try and disrupt things."

On the colt, the second out of the half-sister to the Listed-placed Mighty Empire, Boman added: "He did the quickest time for a colt in the sale; time isn't everything, but in this instance, when you're trying to buy a five furlong horse, it matters.

Lot 26: the £160,000 Kessaar colt bought for James Harron BloodstockCredit: Sarah Farnsworth

"He's very physically mature and has been very well prepared. He's a horse that Martin and myself liked a lot physically, he vetted very thoroughly and he looks like the sort of horse who can just go straight to the races. He'll be trained by Richard Hannon.

"This is the first purchase in partnership with James. He used to work with Hubie de Burgh before moving to Australia, James and I are old mates so it's great to get the friendship back together. Hopefully we're lucky."

The transaction represented a good bit of business for Star Bloodstock, whose Byron Rogers signed for the youngster at £25,000 when he was offered at the Premier Yearling Sale by Tally-Ho Stud. Star has a strong track record of offering high-class talents in Doncaster, having previously sold the likes of A'Ali, Abel Handy and Malavath, and the operation's Matt Eves was hoping the Kessaar colt will follow in those illustrious footsteps.

"We've had so much success buying from Tally-Ho, bringing them back to this place and selling them," said Eves. "We bought A'Ali and Malavath from Tally-Ho and it's just such a great source. At home this horse has just been fast so hopefully he can go and win the Norfolk as racetrack results are what matters most to us. I'm delighted he's been bought by Blandford, they're great buyers and support the breeze-ups really well."

He added: "We have 12 horses under Star this year and they all go to Diego Dias on the Curragh to be prepped. We had a shocker at the Craven so we were in the get out of jail stakes here! This helped though."

Tally-Ho resident Kessaar opened his account at stud when Tajalla made a striking winning debut at Newmarket.

Blandford Bloodstock's Stuart Boman and Byron Rogers of Star BloodstockCredit: Sarah Farnsworth

The Harron-Boman-Buick axis was back in action later in the sale when they secured the Zoustar filly out of the Group 3-winning and Group 1-placed Ainippe from Longways Stables at £150,000.

Boman said: "She's a sharp filly and went very quick, she was in the top five times. She's a filly with a pedigree and has some residual value and you don't need to explain what a Zoustar is to the Australians as he's a leading stallion down there. We'd expect her to be early and hopefully she'll get to Ascot."

The Longways team of Mick Murphy and wife Sarah pinhooked the filly for just £26,000 at last year's Premier Sale, and they enjoyed another good result later on when the Zoustar colt out of Always A Drama, a £44,000 pinhook, went the way of Bryan Smart at £130,000.

Kessaar in demand

First-season sire Kessaar had another big result later in the session when Fawzi Nass went to £160,000 for the colt out of Tisa River offered by Bansha House Stables, whose Con Marnane pinhooked the youngster for £20,000.

"He's going to go to Roger Varian and hopefully he'll be racing very soon," said Nass. "He's the type that could make it to Royal Ascot, hopefully. I liked him and he's a proper two-year-old type. He's well put together and can obviously breeze with a nice stride."

Con Marnane: a fan of first-season sire KessaarCredit: Sarah Farnsworth

The colt is the first foal out of Tisa River, a placed daughter of Equiano bred by Aidan and Anne Marie O'Brien's Whisperview Trading. The eight-year-old, a 400,000gns purchase by Blue Diamond Stud in 2020, is a sibling to five winners, most notably the top-flight scorers Iridessa, Order Of Australia and Santa Barbara.

Marnane said: "He's a gorgeous colt who did very well all winter. I've always loved him. He's got a gorgeous temperament and I've sent five mares to Kessaar off the back of him."

Team Fahey double up

The Richard Fahey stable gained a couple of new recruits on the day, as the top lot will be joined by the Sioux Nation colt out of Top Chain, who was knocked down to the trainer's assistant Robin O'Ryan at £130,000.

Offered by Gaybrook Lodge, the €45,000 pinhook is from the family of speedy types such as Art Power and Penny Pepper.

"He was still a bit green in his breeze but we'd had him well recommended before he came here and we like the horse," said O'Ryan.

"He looks racy, they're all still Royal Ascot horses at the moment but we like him. We've got two by Sioux Nation in the yard and we like them. This horse has been bought for an existing owner in the yard."

Knockgraffon strike Gold

As well as having a big hand in the sales-topper, Knockgraffon Stables enjoyed a fine pinhooking success of their own when the Havana Gold filly out of Liberty Lady was knocked down to Anthony Stroud of Stroud Coleman Bloodstock at £120,000.

The filly had been picked up by Knockgraffon and Donovan Bloodstock for just £22,000 at the Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale and had enhanced her value by putting in a sizzling pre-sale breeze.

Lot 94: the Mehmas colt who made £200,000 to Michael O'CallaghanCredit: Sarah Farnsworth

"My father has had results like this before but this is my first breezer to go over the £100,000 mark so I'm fairly buzzing!," said Knockgraffon's Stephen Byrne. "I loved her as soon as I saw her at the sales. She had a big, round, scopey action and she's been a queen ever since we got her home.

"She did exactly what I thought she'd do here so I'm delighted. She's done everything so easily at home. Havana Gold had a great year last year and he's had a couple of good winners recently, hopefully he can get going again and this filly will be one of his good ones."

Expanding on the Knockgraffon set-up, Byrne said: "It's a family operation as it's myself, my dad [Michael snr] and my brother [Michael] running the show and my mother, Kitty, is the backbone of the whole thing. Evan Dwan rides out and is a huge help to us too. It's a small operation but we get the job done. We pretrain 15 and breeze around ten."

Kent hails record trade

In his end-of-sale address, Goffs UK's managing director Tim Kent said: "As ever with a breeze-up sale, vendors can only expect to be paid for those that perform their very best when galloping prior to sale and those that ticked all the boxes sold very well today. A record breaking 17 horses sold for £100,000 or more, with three making more than £200,000, which helped to return a record average price that was just shy of £50,000 for the first time in the sale's history.

"These highlights also included a phenomenal pinhook for Bushypark Stud with a £14,000 Premier Yearling realising £230,000 to top today’s sale – an incredible result for connections and congratulations to the Bushypark team.

"These were the highlights of a fantastic few days in sunny Donny and, as ever, we would like to thank our loyal band of vendors who again prepared some truly exceptional horses to showcase their talents on Town Moor.

"Much of the talk during the last few days has been the search for Royal Ascot runners as this sale has an unrivalled record of success at the Royal meeting. This fact was not lost on James Harron and his team who will be donning their top hat and tails in just eight weeks' time after buying two potential runners for new connections in partnership with Stuart Boman and Hubie De Burgh.

"It is always great to welcome new buyers to Doncaster and we wish them and others the very best of luck with their runners. We are sure that they will be following in the footsteps of Perfect Power and others at Ascot in June and we look forward to being there to cheer them home."

More breeze-up sale news:

Meet the Californians whose cunning plan has them in league with William Jarvis (£)

Craven Sale a buoyant breeze-up opening salvo but not a licence to print money

Royal Ascot prospect with lightning fast sectionals fetches 460,000gns

Kodiac colt fuels dreams for Loughnane after 525,000gns Craven Sale transfer