'I loved him in his point-to-point' - €180,000 sale-topper off to Willie Mullins

A quick glance at the sires of the top two lots at the Tattersalls Ireland May Point-to-Point and Horses-in-Training Sale would have confused the casual observer as the stallions in question are more familiar for producing sales-toppers at Europe's best Flat auctions.

However, the four-year-olds by Wootton Bassett and Zarak, who were the sole six-figure transactions among the 23 horses to come under the hammer at Fairyhouse on Wednesday evening, had proven last weekend that they have both talent and an aptitude for jumping.

All the vibes around the sales venue on Wednesday afternoon suggested that there were three horses that everyone wanted to be on and, sure enough, that interpretation was the correct one.

Richard Black's four-year-old gelding Arslan had been second on his debut at Tralee on Saturday and the handsome son of Wootton Bassett possessed the looks to accompany that potential – and an interesting pedigree too.

With all that combined, there was a four-way tussle in the ring between Harold Kirk, Tom Malone and Tattersalls Ireland's Timmy Hillman and Niamh Spiller for the gelding, who is out of Grade 1 American Oaks and Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup winner Harmonious, by Dynaformer, who is also the broodmare sire of Munster National winner Sadler's Risk.

It was Kirk, bidding on behalf of Willie Mullins, who had the largest supply of funds and he signed for Arslan at €180,000 having completed thorough due diligence on his latest acquisition.

He said: "This is a beautiful horse, by a fantastic sire and with a good pedigree. I spoke to [trainer] Francis-Henri Graffard, who had him in France, and he said the horse was just big and backward, and he did not really train him."

Mullins has shown an inclination towards horses with the ability to be high-class dual-purpose performers, and Kirk saw the potential in Arslan to excel in that sort of role.

Dippedinmoonlight and Josh Berry, who was also in the saddle when the Zarak mare won at InchydoneyCredit: www.healyracing.ie

"I loved him in his point-to-point," he remarked. "He could be a two-miler, he could be a mile-and-a-half horse or he could be a good hurdler; he could do two jobs and we are hoping he will make a good dual-purpose horse. 

"He is a beautiful individual by one of the best sires in the world. He has shown he can jump and there is just loads of class in his pedigree, and in his race he showed loads of class."

Black was beaming in the barn after the sale, although it's not the best result that the Wexford-based handler has achieved in the sales ring. That came seven years ago at the Cheltenham Festival, where he sold Maire Banrigh for £320,000 having purchased her for £40,000. The daughter of King's Theatre went on to be a Listed winner for John Hales and Dan Skelton.

Arslan was sourced at auction in France last summer for €28,000, so the profit in less than a year was not inconsiderable.

"He had been in training in France and came recommended, he has not done much," said the delighted vendor. "We built him up slowly and he did a couple of good bits of work lately. He was still green when he ran and there is still a good bit of improvement in him. I am delighted with where he is going. He is a beautiful animal in every way."

With the early spring having been so miserably wet, there was a flurry of late activity in the point-to-point sphere and those late-season maiden winners and promising performers needed a sales outlet, which this auction provided, as Black explained. 

"It has been brilliant this sale has been put on, we have been looked after to the best here by a top class team," he said. "This sale has been massive for us."

Although Kirk was the one spending the money, he agreed with Black's sentiments.

"If this sale was not here, that horse and that sale wouldn't have happened," he said. "It is well done to Tattersalls for doing this – they are always thinking ahead. It has suited everyone and got all the horses here in the one place."

Moonlight shines brightly on Berry family

Black's fellow Wexford handler Darragh Berry had Dippedinmoonlight in his yard for an even shorter period of time, with less than four months elapsing from her purchase in February to her sale on Wednesday evening, and Berry and Darren O'Dwyer's eye for a bargain was rewarded in spectacular fashion as Emmet Mullins went to €130,000 to secure the daughter of Zarak with an outstanding pedigree.

Berry and O'Dwyer bought Dippedinmoonlight for just €9,500 in February, which looks an even greater bargain in light of both her eyecatching victory at Inchydoney on Sunday and her pedigree.

The four-year-old is out of Born Again, a Cape Cross half-sister to the outstanding champion Goldikova and Prix Vermeille winner Galikova, as well as four further Group 3 winners, including Prix Jacques le Marois runner-up and sire Anodin.

Dippedinmoonlight poses for photos after her €130,000 sale at Tattersalls IrelandCredit: www.healyracing.ie

Berry said: "The pedigree and the page were just brilliant and the timing was right. I had just moved a horse so I had room for one in the yard, but I didn't think I'd get her. 

"I wouldn't have got her only for Darren O'Dwyer, he did a great job and he's looked after me since. He does a brilliant job and Darren would be getting most of the credit for that."

The vendor's nephew Josh led up the filly having been in the saddle for her success on Sunday, a fact that made the win even more special for Berry.

"My nephew Josh has only just started out and it was great having him win," he said. "I nearly enjoyed that more than anything."

There were just under 16 weeks from purchase to sale but it is not the first time Berry has attempted and succeeded in such an audacious pinhooking strategy.

He said: "I had a Flat mare called Northern Beau a few years ago and she worked out well for me, and an Australia filly that worked out well; she was second in her point-to-point, and now there's this filly. I look for a nice Flat filly to bring along and I ride them out myself."

So nice a filly was Dippedinmoonlight, and being by a sire who is solidifying his reputation as one of the best young stallions in Europe, Berry had his doubts that their budget would stretch to buy her at the sale back in February.

"You don't often get a Zarak mare with her pedigree for that money," he admitted. "I was lucky to get her and Darren was a big help."

As with Black who has three or four horses at any one time, Berry keeps a small string of six at his base near the Lingstown point-to-point track. However, the wet spring prevented him from schooling her as the ground was too soft until relatively recently, but when he did get Dippedinmoonlight out schooling, Berry knew he had an exciting filly on his hands.

"Being a Zarak she would love better ground," he said. "It wasn't that soft at the weekend but she didn't seem to mind it, she went through it very well. She basically did it all herself, we just guided her along a bit and she started to shine. 

"The ground was too soft to school her on grass so we waited and waited with her, and when we got a bit of nice ground we started schooling her and she really took to it and loved it."

Uncle and nephew Darragh and Josh Berry were delighted with the sale of Dippedinmoonlight at Tattersalls IrelandCredit: www.healyracing.ie

Despite winning by 40 lengths on her debut at the Cork track last weekend, Berry feels that Dippedinmoonlight has more to come.

"There's a good bit more in her and she's only coming to herself, it's only in the last three weeks that the penny dropped with her," he said. "She hadn't galloped in a bunch of horses before she ran but she didn't mind, she wasn't in the bunch for too long.

"It's great that she is going to Emmet Mullins, we were quietly confident on Sunday but what she did was a bit special so I hope she goes on and proves it for the lads."

Mullins, who was standing beside his long-time friend and collaborator Paul Byrne, believes that Dippedinmoonlight, like Arslan, has the potential to excel on the Flat and as a National Hunt mare

Mullins said: "She has a fantastic pedigree, it was a brilliant performance and fingers crossed she can be a nice filly for the future. We will get her home and she has had a busy spring so we will give her some time off and see what she is like then. She ought to be a nice dual-purpose filly."

Zarak has sired two Grade 3 winners over hurdles and two Grade 1-placed juvenile hurdlers, so his offspring are proving adaptable and versatile.

"He had the Galway Hurdle winner [Zarak The Brave, trained by Willie Mullins] last year," said Mullins, "and he has been flying on the Flat, too, with the French Guineas winner [Metropolitan] this month. You have the sire and the dam line, it is all there as well as the performance."

Best of the rest

The other horse who had generated plenty of pre-sale talk was The Great Nudie, who won a Ballingarry maiden by 18 lengths on her debut for Colin Bowe last Saturday. From the first Irish-bred crop of Derby winner Wings Of Eagles, she was led out unsold at €145,000.

Arslan and Dippedinmoonlight were the only horses to attain a price above €50,000 on Wednesday evening.

Dance Rules made €48,000 at the Tattersalls Ireland May Point-to-Point and Horses-in-Training SaleCredit: www.healyracing.ie

The next best was Eleanor Broderick's homebred five-year-old Dansant gelding Dance Rules, who made €48,000 to Webb Hill. Out of the winning King's Theatre mare Offside Rule, Dance Rules was second on his debut at Ballindenisk earlier this month.

There were two sales of €40,000; first was Ultimate Survivor, a four-year-old Court Cave half-brother to Born Survivor, who was successful in Listed handicap chases at Ayr and Wetherby for Dan Skelton.

Ultimate Survivor won the four-year-old geldings' maiden at Stradbally in mid-May for Sean Doyle, who sold him to Mel Smith Bloodstock and Sarah Sands.  

That price was matched by Rebecca Menzies and James Griffin, who swooped for Bartlemy mares' maiden winner Parisian Fashion.

The five-year-old daughter of Champs Elysees is the second foal out of the Listed Aintree mares' bumper winner Legacy Gold and was sold by Nicky Stokes.

In total, 16 of the 23 horses offered for sale changed hands on Wednesday evening, generating turnover of €718,500, which produced an average price of €44,906. The median for the sale came in at €32,500, with the clearance rate at 70 per cent.

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