Society success sending sale upmarket

Freshly boosted by the Group 1 success of Unfortunately, a €24,000 bargain at last year's sale, the Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale gets underway today with an international collection of agents and trainers seeking another in the same mould as the Prix Morny winner; or indeed another Galileo Gold, or another Lethal Force, to name just two others who feature among the auction's recent graduates.

Karl Burke, who picked out Unfortunately, was back at Fairyhouse on Monday casting an eye over prospective recruits. Perhaps the trainer took in a visit to Lot 577, who surfaces in Thursday's Part II, as a Morpheus colt out of a half-sister to Unfortunately.

Society Rock: late Tally Ho sire's second crop will be in demandCredit: John Grossick

But his consignors, Tally-Ho Stud, will have much else to offer before then. Unfortunately, of course, is a son of their ill-fated Society Rock – whose excellent first crop has made his death, last year, so much harder to bear. It was the O'Callaghan family’s Westmeath farm that bred Unfortunately, and there should at least be some redress for the young stallion's loss in likely demand for the five members of his second crop they send to Part I.

Speedy

These include Lot 284, a colt out of an Invincible Spirit mare from the family of Sholokhov, Intense Focus and Soldier Of Fortune. Another, Lot 328, is a half-sister to Italian Classic-placed Eternity Star descending from the Grade 1 Spinaway Stakes winner Share The Fantasy; while Lot 190 is favoured with a conspicuously speedy pedigree as a half-brother to Molecomb and Horris Hill runner-up Bonnie Charlie out of a mare whose own dam is a half-sister to the very classy sprinter Averti.

The scarcity value of Society Rock's progeny is only one reason why many on the grounds were on Monday anticipating a strong sale.

"We have experienced a lot of traffic through the yard and again Tattersalls Ireland seems to have done a great job attracting a wide spread of buyers," said Luke Barry of Manister House Stud. "Everyone here is working hard and now it is up to the horses to do the talking. It is a very progressive sale: I am not surprised to see the increase in buyers given the sale's reputation, and am anticipating trade will be good this week."

Money

"This is a sale where you have a chance of finding a good horse without having to spend an awful lot of money," reasoned Matt Coleman of Stroud Coleman Bloodstock. "There are a lot of good horses here, and some big buyers who have not been here before, so I am expecting trade to be strong."

Matt Coleman: has noticed international buyers new to Fairyhouse

Consignor and agent Peter Nolan had also noted the breadth of interest. "Traffic through the barn is high, with a lot of international buyers,” he said, and Dermot Cantillon described himself as "very optimistic."

Positive

"Footfall has been great over the last two days," added the Tinnakill House man. "There are nice horses here, and the weather has been good, too, which helps a lot when you're trying to sell horses. There is a really positive feeling around the place."

Others to note include Lot 345, a half-sister to Viren's Army, who topped Part I in 2014 at €115,000 before being sold on, as a Dee Stakes winner, for £700,000. This filly, likewise offered by the Castlebridge Consignment, is from the first crop of Darley sire Slade Power.

The juvenile stakes success this season of her first foal, Sirici, meanwhile boosts the appeal of Mironica's colt from the first crop of No Nay Never, listed as Lot 81. Other rookies represented include dual Derby winner Australia, both Lots 225 and 318 being out of American mares, and Charm Spirit, not least through Lot 144, out of a half-sister to Walk In The Park.

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