Fame takes all the Glory at inaugural May Store Sale

Fame And Glory's reputation continues to grow despite his untimely death last year at the age of 11, and that made the offspring from his second crop offered at Tattersalls Ireland’s May Store Sale in Fairyhouse on Tuesday in high demand.

Peter Nolan Bloodstock consigned a bay gelding by the Gold Cup and Coronation Cup victor and the chatter before the sale was all about him. Out of the Flying Legend mare Flying Flame, he is from the family of Fortria Chase winner Arctic Weather and the black-type Flat winners Lady Lahar, Jallota, Classic Legend and Miss Lahar.

The bids flew in from all sides of the sales ring and eventually it came down to Aiden Murphy and Aidan O’Ryan with the latter winning out at €65,000.

“He's a lovely athletic horse and I think he's the best horse in the sale – he made his money!” remarked the agent. “I have bought a few by Fame And Glory and I really like them, the sire is flying as well and that always seems to be the way when they die young. This horse is for an existing client and will be trained in Ireland.”

It was an excellent result for Rob James who bought the gelding as a foal for €8,500 at the Tattersalls Ireland November National Hunt Sale.

Peter Nolan (grey jumper) sold the sale-topping son of Fame And Glory for €65,000Credit: Pat Healy/Tattersalls Ireland

Fame And Glory had three of the top ten lots as the sale neared a conclusion, with Murphy enjoying better luck in his pursuit of the first offspring of the son of Montjeu through the ring.

Offered by Ballybrennan Stables, on behalf of Sheilstown Stud, Murphy secured the son of the Kahyasi mare Winter Shadows for €40,000.

Murphy said: “He's for Kim Bailey and I bought him on spec. The sire is flying at the moment and this is a lovely horse.”

A winner on the Flat at three, Winter Shadows is a half-sister to Listed-winning hurdler Pussigny, and boasts Europe’s joint-champion three-year-old filly of 2010 Lily Of The Valley - and her Grade 1 Awesome Again Stakes-winning half-brother Mubtaahij - among her relatives.

Agent Kevin Ross and trainer Nick Gifford were busy throughout the day, buying two of the sale’s choice offerings. First up was Liss House Stud’s son of Westerner out of the winning Oscar mare Baladiva from the family of Grade 1 Stayers’ Hurdle hero Cole Harden who was knocked down to the duo for €30,000.

Later in the day they purchased a Shirocco gelding consigned by Castledillon Stud for €42,000. The three-year-old is out of Gli Gli, a winning hurdler and Listed-placed over fences. Her dam, Three Upper, is a half-sister to Jenny Pitman’s Cheltenham Gold Cup and Sun Alliance Chase winning history maker Garrison Savannah.

“He's a lovely, athletic horse with plenty of scope and he comes from a very nice family,” Ross said after the €42,000 transaction.

Shirocco was the most successful of the active sires with eight representatives sold on Tuesday for an average of €20,150 and two of the horses to make at least €40,000 were sons of the Glenview resident.

Paul Cashman bought Gatterstown Stud’s striking chestnut gelding, the first foal out of his winning Flemensfirth dam Flemens Pride, for €40,000. The dam is a daughter of Pennys Pride, a half-sister to multiple Grade 1-winning two-mile chaser Direct Route who was a short-head second to Edredon Bleu in the thrilling 2000 renewal of the Champion Chase.

“I liked him a lot,” Cashman said. “He's a lovely model and a really good looker. He's out of a winning Flemensfirth mare and it’s the family of Grade 1 winners Direct Route and Joe Mac.”

Changing hats

Cashman later turned vendor successfully, selling another chestnut gelding by Shirocco to Monbeg Stables for €31,000. Out of the Presenting mare Mrs Dempsey, he is a half-brother to African Gold, who was second in the Grade 1 Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle in 2013. Mrs Dempsey is a half-sister to Frickley and their dam Shallow Run is a half-sister to Queenie Kelly, the dam of Calling Brave and Ottawa.

The Monbeg team were the successful bidders on Smurphy Enki, the only horse catalogued by Blue Bresil, who moved to Yorton Farm Stud in 2016, and this year sired his first Grade 1 winner. Mick Jazz won the Ryanair Hurdle at Leopardstown over Christmas and was subsequently third in the Champion Hurdle for Gordon Elliott.

Consigned by Liss House Stud, he is a half-brother to three winners including the Listed-placed mare Lady Needles and the family traces to Grade 1 Stayers’ Hurdle winner More Of That. Eamon Doyle of Monbeg signed for Smurphy Enki at €40,000 and he is the first progeny of Blue Bresil to join the Doyles’ academy.

“He looks a very racy horse who is sharp and hopefully he should be an early four-year-old for us,” Doyle said.

Tau Ceti, bred by the Niarchos Family and a half-brother to Breeders’ Cup winner Domedriver, stands at Eamonn Hogan’s Rosshill Stud outside Galway City and has sired two runners over jumps so far with one of them – Powerful Action – successful for Philip Hobbs.

The sole offering from his 2015 crop, the first conceived at Rosshill, was offered at Tattersalls Ireland by Larchgrove Stud on behalf of John Kearney and the good-looking gelding was purchased by Shane Hassett for €30,000.

Brilliant page

Out of the unraced Presenting mare Presenting Mary, he was sold by Rosshill as a foal in this ring for €3,500 and reoffered as a yearling 12 months later by Old Town Stud when he was purchased for €9,500 by James Mernagh.

Presenting Mary is a half-sister to Banasan, by Marju, who won the Kerry National and they come from one of the Aga Khan’s great families as their dam, Banaja, is a half-sister to his champion three-year-old filly Behera, victorious in the Group One Prix Saint-Alary.

She is the dam of Behkara and granddam of Group 1 Grand Prix de Paris winner Behkabad and 2,000 Guineas runner-up Vital Equine. Behera is also the dam of Behrajan, who won the Grade 1 Tolworth Hurdle and was second in the Hennessy Gold Cup at Leopardstown and she is the second dam of Grade 1 Punchestown Champion 4yo Hurdle winner Barizan.

Hassett purchased the tough, talented and brave Ms Parfois, who was second in the Grade 1 Mildmay Novice Chase at Aintree last month after a close second in Cheltenham’s National Hunt Chase, as a store at Tattersalls Ireland’s August Sale in 2014.

The inaugural Tattersalls Ireland May Store Sale recorded total sales of €2,246,000 with a clearance rate of 76 per cent. Tuesday’s average price was €15,180 while the median was just €2,000 lower at €13,000.

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