First flush of stallions sends buyers into a tizzy at the Sapphire Sale

First-foal fever hit Tattersalls Ireland on Thursday, with the first progeny of two young sires adding some sparkle to the Sapphire Sale.

There was one foal on everyone's lips at Fairyhouse, with Kildallan Stud's colt by the July Stakes and Brocklesby winner Persian Force being the horse everyone had a word about.

Sure enough as the strong bay colt walked around the back ring, every pinhooker in the place gathered, but it was a three-way tussle between Ryan McElligott of Amo Racing, who campaigned the son of Mehmas for his single season on the track, Tattersalls Ireland's Mary Lanigan, who was taking instructions over the phone, and Nigel O'Hare to secure the prized foal.

When O'Hare made the bid of €50,000, McElligott bowed out and the foal will be joining Sam Maguire in spending the winter in the Orchard County.

O'Hare has another colt foal at home so this youngster won't lack for company and nor will he lack options.

"We will see how he goes and think about resale but we generally like to race all our horses," remarked O'Hare, whose string is divided between Natalia Lupini, Gavin Cromwell and Ado McGuinness.

The foal's Mehmas three-parts brother Musical Touch won a 6f handicap at Wolverhampton in late October for Richard Fahey.

They are out of Ray Of Light, a winning Canford Cliffs half-sister to Cairde Go Deo, who won the Listed Yeats Stakes and the King George V Cup and was third to Magical Lagoon and Toy in the Irish Oaks for Ger Lyons and Mark Dobbin.

Second dam Elusive Galaxy, by Elusive City, was placed in the Group 2 Debutante Stakes and Listed Balanchine Stakes.

Amo Racing's Ryan McElligott was underbidder on the Persian Force coltCredit: www.healyracing.ie

O'Hare said: "He has a lovely walk, he is strong-boned and he has come well recommended by a few good judges, including one who has just walked past [Roger O'Callaghan of Tally-Ho Stud, where Persian Force stands] and he has a bit of size about him."

The foal was O'Hare's second purchase of the day, having snapped up a Time Test filly on spec for €2,500 from Cooneen Stud. 

O'Hare added: "It has been difficult to buy yearlings this year, so we are looking at foals too."

Bred by the Lacy family, Persian Force was placed three times at the highest level, including in the Middle Park and Prix Morny. He was retired to stand alongside his sire Mehmas, who earlier this week broke the record for the number of two-year-old winners sired in a calendar year. He took the record from another Tally-Ho sire in Kodiac.

Space set for lift-off

Both first-crop sires who caught buyers' eyes on Thursday reside in County Westmeath, with Jersey Stakes winner Space Traveller relocating to Micheal Orlandi's Starfield Stud in March as part of the fallout from the parting of ways between Steve Parkin and Joe Foley, which is the subject of legal action.

The first foal in the ring was Castledillon Stud's Space Traveller colt and he made quite the impression. Orlandi and his wife Sile recently welcomed the arrival of their second child, a daughter named Isabella, and the Starfield Stud owner was swapping nappy changes for foal inspections.

He had to go to €43,000 to see off the competition for the chestnut colt, who is inbred 3x3 to Galileo and features three lines of Danehill in his first five generations.

"I am delighted to buy him for Steve Parkin, who is very keen to support the stallion," Orlandi said after signing for the first foal of the Frankel mare Frankelstein.

He also indicated that Parkin is keen to strongly support the progeny of Space Traveller, a son of Bated Breath who provided Parkin with a win the Boomerang Stakes at Leopardstown at the Irish Champions Festival, a race that was formerly sponsored by Parkin's Clipper Logistics.

"The foal will go to Rathbride Stud and then possibly on to Branton Court Stud," added the successful purchaser. 

"Steve is hoping to buy a number by the sire this winter and I came here looking for the best of them, and this is it. He is out of a Frankel mare from a fast pedigree and comes from Castledillon Stud, Timmy Hillman's good nursery, and the mare is back in foal to the stallion."

Timmy Hillman (left) with Roger O'CallaghanCredit: www.healyracing.ie

Grade 1-placed in America, Space Traveller has coped well with his relocation and Orlandi is clearly taken with the stallion.

"He's a good-looking horse who came to us in super condition," he said. "He is a lovely stallion, he is a really kind horse and has a huge personality, I think that is the Galileo coming through in him, and he is a super stallion to cover."

The team behind Space Traveller are optimistic that the market verdict on his first foals will be as positive as the one returned by breeders, who have been impressed with their stock, and Orlandi indicated that Parkin is keen to support the stallion in the ring.

"We are hoping numbers will pick up this year on the back of his foals selling well, and he is in great form; he has a great chance as a Group 1 performer, out of a Galileo mare and Steve will be with him the whole way through," he said.

"The reports are very positive about the foals, we looking forward to buying some more. He will probably be kept to race. At the end of the day, Steve is an end-user. He is definitely going to have a number of the Space babies in training."

A Book 1 pedigree

The highlight of the yearling session was JD Moore's purchase of the Gleneagles colt with a massive pedigree from Kilmacoliver Stud for €32,000. 

An early June foal, he is a half-brother to Group 3 Easter Cup winner and Arctic Tack Stud sire Jet Away and closely related to Onesto, by Sea The Stars. 

Onshore is the dam of the Group 1 Grand Prix de Paris winner Onesto, a son of Frankel who was placed in the Irish Champion Stakes and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. Standing at Haras d'Etreham, his first foals are due in January.

The foal's Kahyasi dam Kalima is a full-sister to the Listed winner and Juddmonte blue hen Hasili, dam of five individual Group/Grade 1 winners and the Group 2 winner and Group 1-placed Dansili, who became a top-class sire.

Kalima is also a full-sister to Arrive, dam of the Group 1 Pretty Polly Stakes winner Promising Lead.

The Gleneagles colt who Donnacha O'Brien will trainCredit: www.healyracing.ie

Moore, who was operating on behalf of Donnacha O'Brien, remarked on the strength of the pedigree.

"It's a Book 1 page," he said. "Gleneagles has had a very good year with two new Group 1 winners and with Calandagan to look forward to, and this yearling is a good enough size for his birth date.

"It could look a very good bit of business in a couple of years," he said of the €32,000 price tag. "Donnacha [O'Brien, who will train him] knows plenty about Group 1 horses and this is a Group 1 page."

Katie Walsh added a couple to her team for the breeze-up sales next season with the leading consignor buying Clonbonny Stud's filly from the first crop of Lope Y Fernandez for €20,000 and a Bungle Inthejungle colt from Rathasker Stud for €18,000.

Of the filly, who is the first foal of the winning Cape Cross mare Perfect Number, Walsh commented: "She is a sweet filly who has been very well produced."

Walsh has sold the sales-topper at the last two Tattersalls Ireland Breeze-Up Sales and she will aim the Bungle Inthejungle colt at the 2025 sale in May.

Walsh added: "Hopefully he will come back here. Bungle Inthejungle is a decent sire and this colt has a good, fast pedigree. He is out of a black-type mare who has already produced a 91-rated horse."

Clifton Dancer earned her black type with victory in the Listed Eternal Stakes at Warwick and the Fraam mare has produced six winners from eight runners, with Aleezdancer, who is trained by Kevin Ryan, the best of them so far. Successful in six of his 31 starts, the five-year-old has a peak Racing Post Rating of 105.

Trainer Gavin Cromwell bought the wildcard entry from the first crop of Norfolk Stakes winner A'Ali who stands at Newsells Park Stud.

This son of A'Ali was purchased by Gavin Cromwell at the Sapphire SaleCredit: www.healyracing.ie

Offered by Nenthorne Farm, the chestnut made €20,000 to Cromwell and he is out of Maajmeh Dawn, a Dawn Approach half-sister to the Listed Dee Stakes winner Viren's Army.

His second dam, Blue Angel, was twice placed at Listed level; in Ascot's October Stakes and the Sceptre Stakes at Doncaster, and is an Oratorio half-sister to the Leopardstown 1,000 Guineas Trial winner Empowering, dam of the Royal Lodge and Meld Stakes winner Mohawk.

Blue Angel is a daughter of the Listed Prix Imprudence winner and Group 1 Prix Marcel Boussac third Blue Cloud, a half-sister to the quadruple Group 1-winning miler Bigstone.

Statistics

A total of 108 horses – foals, yearlings and a handful of mares – were offered at the Sapphire Sale, with 48 of them, or 44 per cent, selling. They generated turnover of €325,200, which was a drop of 41 per cent on last year's total, when 79 horses sold for receipts of €533,100.

This time around the average price was €6,567, which was a dip of three per cent year-on-year, while the median, at €2,750, declined by 31 per cent from last year.

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