Sire power gives vendors plenty to toast at Tattersalls Ireland

Tattersalls Ireland assembled a bumper catalogue for their February National Hunt sale which returned after the 2021 hiatus with a bang on St Brigid's Day and vendors and breeders who supported one sire in particular will have raised a glass or two in celebration on the feast of the patron saint of brewers.

Walk In The Park's first Irish crop have set race tracks alight after four years in which the Coolmore sire's progeny have produced a similar effect on sales rings. With Grade 1 winner Ginto and record-breaker Jonbon flying the flag for his final French crops, his five-year-old Irish-bred daughter Mullenbeg added Saturday's Listed bumper at Cheltenham to his success list, keeping the Derby runner-up to the forefront of buyers' minds.

That rich run of form, allied to youngsters with eye-catching pedigrees ensured the son of Montjeu was hot property on a cold February day. Seven offspring of the Grange Stud resident sold out of nine offered, earning an average of €26,286 which is more than double the sale's average price.

Lot 78 by Walk In The Park out of Myztique made €60,000Credit: Pat Healy

The most expensive lot by Walk In The Park on Tuesday was the weanling colt out of the Grade 3 Shannon Spray Mares' Novice Hurdle second Myztique. Offered by Ardrums House Stud, the June foal is from the family of last season's Grade 1 Top Novices' Hurdle winner Belfast Banter. He was purchased for €60,000 by Jason Higgins, who is accomplished in a range of equestrian disciplines.

The Grand Prix showjumper and eventer, who produces sports horses as well as thoroughbreds, said of his latest purchase: "He is a lovely loose-moving colt by a very popular sire and I could not fault him. We will see how it goes with him but options are open - he could come back for resale or we could send him pointing."

For the colt's breeder Maggie McKenna it was a special result as she had also bred and raced his dam Myztique by High Chaparral and out of Lady Rene, an unraced sister to Thyestes Chase winner Dun Doire.

"I bought his granddam from a friend of mine Cathy O'Leary," revealed McKenna. "We didn't race Lady Rene as we didn't want to risk it but we raced Myztique and she was a good mare for us. We kept her and started breeding from her."

Myztique is the dam of four foals; three of them by Walk In The Park, with another by Mahler. Both she and Lady Rene are in foal to Prince of Wales's Stakes winner Crystal Ocean. Lady Rene has produced three winning daughters, with her King's Theatre mare Annie Angel earning blacktype over fences at Market Rasen for Dan Skelton.

This particular Walk In The Park foal had star quality from the moment he was born near Rathmolyon in County Meath.

Eileen Ryan and her gelding by Walk In The ParkCredit: Healy

"We really liked him, he's very light on his feet and we did think he would sell well," said McKenna. "We are over the moon with him, absolutely delighted. Walk In The Park is a smashing horse, we've had a few in the family by him and we like going back to him as he gives us such lovely foals."

Wendy Fox McGarvey of Ardrums House Stud put the finishing touches on the colt and consigned him for his breeder and he was the star of the five youngsters in her draft on Tuesday, including this colt's two-year-old full sister who McKenna is bringing home, having failed to reach her valuation. Sire power, according to the consignor, was a driving force in the colt's success.

"Walk In The Park is the horse to be by at the moment, he is on fire and the bumper winner at Cheltenham put the name up in lights for him again before this sale," she added.

The stallion was responsible for half of the young horses to make at least €50,000 on Tuesday with Eileen Ryan's homebred two-year-old gelding out of the winning Oscar mare Kalico Kalista selling for that figure exactly to Richard Frisby. He is the third foal of the sister to the Grade 2-placed pair of Coverholder and Not Many Left, out of a half-sister to Drinmore Chase winner Harbour Pilot.

It's No Risk At All for Ballincurrig House

Ballincurrig House Stud's No Risk At All coltCredit: Healy

No Risk At All is one of the most exciting National Hunt stallions around and when noted nurseries like Ballincurrig House Stud bring a youngster by the Haras du Montaigu resident to the sales, then it is worth paying attention.

Lot 104 is already named Perfect Ball and he had a pretty perfect pedigree as the fourth foal out of the Grade 2 winner and Grade 1 fourth Princesse Kap, a Kapgarde half-sister to the Listed winning chaser Prince Pretender from the family of Champion Chase hero Politologue. The only colt by the sire of Allaho and Epatante in the catalogue, he was bought by Kieran Shields for €62,000 which was the most spent on a foal during the day.

Michael Moore of Ballincurrig House bought Perfect Ball as a foal in France with a friend who spotted him in a Normandy stud and contacted Moore.

"No Risk At All is a brilliant stallion and she was a good race mare but has to go on and produce now. The sire is very sought after and his offspring sold well in the autumn so we thought we would chance our arm and come here," Moore added.

Joey Logan went to €25,000 for Lady Aquarelle, the only filly by the sire in the sale, offered by Aspen Bloodstock.

Robin De Carlow leads the way

Michael Moore turned purchaser for the day's top lot, the Grade 3 winning hurdler and chaser Robin De Carlow.

Michael Moore consigned the highest-priced foal and bought Robin De Carlow at Tattersalls IrelandCredit: Pat Healy/Tattersalls Ireland

Bidding on behalf of an English breeder and client of his Cork farm, Moore went into battle for the daughter of Robin Des Champs who was trained by Willie Mullins to win eight of her 15 starts. The nine-year-old mare was only twice out of the first three in her 13 completed races and was last seen when pulled up by Rachael Blackmore in the 2021 Irish Grand National.

Moore said of his client's plans for the granddaughter of Presenting: "She is a quality mare and the plan is to breed from her and race the foals."

Her second dam is the Grade 1 winner Nas Na Riogh and Robin De Carlow was making her third trip around the Tattersalls Ireland Sales ring. She was sold as a foal by Mill House Stud to Walshtown Stables for €16,000 as a foal and that purchaser resold her to Willie Mullins and Harold Kirk for €40,000 at the 2016 Derby Sale.

Rathbarry's Blue Bresil is red hot

Blue Bresil's first crop of foals conceived at Rathbarry Stud were eye-catchers at the sales in late 2021 and that trend continued into 2022 with 12 of the 14 offered on Tuesday selling for an average of €24,892 which is almost double the sale average.

Clonmult Farm consigned this Blue Bresil colt, bought by Richard FrisbyCredit: Pat Healy/Tattersalls Ireland

Richard Frisby, who along with son JJ, was busy picking up horses for the Glenwood Stud store sale consignments in 2024 snared the Blue Bresil colt consigned by Clonmult Farm.

Out of Aisance, a Saint Des Saints sister to Wait For Me who was third in the Champion Bumper for Philip Hobbs, he was the most expensive weanling by Blue Bresil making €48,000.

Ian Ferguson went to €46,000 to secure the Blue Bresil half-brother to Dipper Novice Chase third Lieutenant Rocco and Condesa, who was third in a Listed bumper at Fairyhouse. Consigned by the O'Connor family's Lough Na Sollis Stud he is out of Five Star Present, a Presenting sister to the triple Grade 1 winner First Lieutenant, also bred by the family.

Milan colt is definitely appreciated by Doyle

Appreciate It was one of the most exciting novice hurdlers in training and Willie Mullins' three-time Grade 1 winner could make his seasonal reappearance in Sunday's Irish Champion Hurdle, following the setback which postponed his novice chasing career.

Milan colt out of a half-sister to Appreciate It made €54,000Credit: Pat Healy/Tattersalls Ireland

Point-to-point handler James Doyle will be hopeful that the Jeremy gelding can add to his glittering CV when he makes that comeback as he bought the first foal out of Ballincard Saint, an unraced Fame And Glory half-sister to the Supreme Novices' winner.

Sold by Ballincard Farm, the Milan colt is also related to Grade 3 winner Bingo Bell and Doyle was playing the long game when signing for the April-born foal at €54,000..

"He is a really nice colt who stood out a mile and if you were to buy him as a store, he would cost double that," was his frank response. "He is an eye-catching colt with presence and strength. He has a great pedigree and we have been lucky with Milan in the past."

Rathkenty Stud sells colt with Gold Cup pedigree

The Lalor family's Carrigeen prefix will forever be associated with the 2021 Gold Cup winner Minella Indo but in Lot 218 they have a colt who could add further glory to the family.

Sholokhov has already sired one Gold Cup winner in Don Cossack and has the current chasing stars Shishkin and Bob Olinger keeping his name in lights; Rathbarry Stud's son of Sadler's Wells could well have another in the future, in the shape of his son out of the winning chaser Carrigeen Lechuga.

Rathkenty Stud's Sholokov colt out of a half-sister to Minella IndoCredit: Pat Healy/Tattersalls Ireland

She is a Beneficial sister to Grade 2 Noel Novices' Chase winner and Marsh Novices' Chase third Benatar and a half-sister to Minella Indo, whose Gold Cup triumph in the hands of Jack Kennedy was his second Grade 1 victory at the Cheltenham Festival.

Gearoid O'Loughlin bought the colt of €50,000 and plans for his future remain fluid.

"He is a beautiful colt, an absolute belter and he will go home to the family farm in County Clare. I don't know what route we will take with him yet - he could come back for resale or we could go pointing ourselves with him," commented the successful vendor.

The sale's average was the highest in 20 years at €13,064 which was an increase of 14 per cent on the 2020 figure of €11,482. There was a slight dip of three points in the median from €9,250 in 2020 to €9,000 on Tuesday but the aggregate grew by 13 percent to €2,181,750 which is the highest total recorded at the sale since the heady days of 2008. The clearance rate on Tuesday was 60 per cent.

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