'We didn't think we would have to go to €180,000 but we were not going to leave her behind' - Mehmas filly tops September Sale

The purchasing power of Rabbah Bloodstock was very evident during the Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale, with Jaber Abdullah ending the auction as the leading buyer, as well as the purchaser of the sale's most expensive yearling.

Abdullah, whose Haydock Sprint Cup and Diamond Jubilee Stakes winner Hello Youmzain is one of Europe's leading first season sires with two Group 3 winners, attended the sale in person with his nephew Mohamad Al Kaabi and David Ryan, who manages Kilfrush Stud which was purchased by Abdullah almost five years ago.

From a cosy corner office, the trio were heavily involved in most of the day's biggest trades and with the green-jacketed Al Kaabi silhouetted in the doorway, and his uncle enthusiastically instructing him from his seat, they fended off all-comers headed by Amanda Skiffington to land the Mehmas filly who was consigned by Timmy Hillman's Castledillon Stud at €180,000.

A half-sister to American Lady, who was second in the Listed Land O'Burns Fillies Stakes, she is out of the unraced Showcasing mare Show Me Off and the broodmare sire recently recorded his first Group 1 winner in that capacity when Lake Victoria won the Moyglare Stud Stakes at the Curragh during the Irish Champions' Festival.

It is another two-year-old filly, already in the Abdullah ownership, who this yearling reminded her new owners of.

Ryan explained: "Mr Jaber has a lovely two-year-old filly by Mehmas who won the Listed Harry Rosebery Stakes at Ayr last Friday and broke the track record doing so.

"She is a super filly and we have big plans for her, we really think a lot of her. This filly is one of the nicest in the sale and we hope she can be another like Star Of Mehmas."

That filly is Star Of Mehmas, trained by Richard Hughes. The winner of her three most recent starts, which have all been over five furlongs, she earned a Racing Post Rating (RPR) of 98 for her success under Billy Loughnane.

Star Of Mehmas was a 30,000gns buy at Book 3 but the Abdullah team knew they would have to dig much deeper into their resources to buy this filly, who is a homebred of Hillman's Castledillon Stud.

"We thought that she would make between €120,000 and €150,000 so we had to go a bit higher than expected to get her but she vetted very well and she really stood out; she is a beautiful filly," Ryan remarked.

"We didn't think we would have to go to €180,000 to get her but we were not going to leave her behind. She has to go and do it on the track now to justify her price."

That sum was more than Hillman had anticipated despite the filly's evident popularity with prospective purchasers.

"She's a picture; she was a standout really," he said. "She had about nine vets, and all the people you would want to be there. We thought she would make €80,000 or €100,000 because she was so popular, but we could never have imagined that."

Hillman bought her dam, an unraced half-sister to the Group 2 Oettingen-Rennen and Group 3 Supreme Stakes winner Lovelace, for 140,000gns at the 2021 Tattersalls December Mare Sale, carrying a full-sister to American Lady. She has more than repaid her purchase price. 

Hillman elaborated: "We got 105,000gns for the filly she was carrying last year, and now this. We're delighted she is going to race for such a good owner, too. The mare is in foal to Shaquille."

The sale-topping Mehmas filly who made €180,000 will carry the famous blue and white Jaber Abdullah silks

The same owner will also race the €120,000 filly from the first crop of Starman, a stud mate of Mehmas at Tally Ho.

Consigned by Baroda Stud, on behalf of breeder China Horse Club, the filly is a half-sister to Perotto who was third in the Group 3 Sovereign Stakes and the Listed Midsummer Stakes.

Al Kaabi said of the filly: "We like the pedigree and she had clean scopes and x-rays, she vetted very well. Starman is an exciting new sire and his yearlings look very promising. Her two-year-old half-sister looks to be a nice filly and that was a good update to get."

The pedigree improvement in question is the success of her two-year-old Australia half-sister Cercene earlier this month. 

One of the best horses to ever carry Abdullah's blue and white silks was Youmzain, who was bred by the late Frank Dunne just down the road from Fairyhouse at Hamwood Stud, and the owner, who has experienced success on a global scale, pointed to that triple Arc runner-up and Queen's Logic,  the unbeaten European champion-two-year-old filly of 2001 as the highlights of his illustrious owning career to date.

After more than four decades in racing, his passion for the sport and breeding has not waned and he was one of the leading purchasers during the sale, remaining active right till the end of the session.

The Irish National Stud's Invincible Spirit full-brother to Tattersalls Ireland Super Auction Race winner Spirit D'Or made €100,000 on Wednesday

Although five purchases on Wednesday were all fillies, Ryan said that their search was not exclusively focused on breeding prospects.

"We have bought a lot of fillies but we are looking for racehorses, so if a horse is nice and looks like it could be good, we will buy it. Mr Jaber wants to have fun and go racing."

Also from Baroda, they bought a Zarak filly out of the Listed Prix Volterra winner Adorable for €37,000 and added a Too Darn Hot three-parts sister to the Group 2 Prix Penelope winner and 2022 Prix de Diane fourth Agave. Consigned by Castlebridge, the €47,000 filly is out of Contribution, who was placed at Group 2 and Group 3 level in France and is a Champs Elysees half-sister to the champion Enable.

Marnane still bonus hunting

Progeny from the third crop of Too Darn Hot were on the shopping list of Con Marnane, who was extolling the virtues of Irish Thoroughbred Marketing's incentive scheme which will go some way towards the purchase price of the €115,000 colt.

"We have three bonuses won this year in Ireland, worth €30,000, so that will help to break the back of it. You have to take your hat off to Horse Racing Ireland [HRI] and Irish Thoroughbred Marketing [ITM] for supporting the industry so well with this scheme - it is unbelievable," Marnane said.

"We thought he was the nicest horse in the sale, and he will go to the breeze-up sales. If he doesn't sell, we can always race him." 

Consigned by Gerry Ross of Limekiln Stud, the April-born bay is out of the unraced New Approach mare Biblic and was a 40,000gns purchase from Newsells Park as a foal.

Biblic is a half-sister to three black-type winners, all by Dubawi, including the Celebration Mile winner Dubawi Gold who was placed in the 2,000 Guineas, Lockinge Stakes and Irish 2,000 Guineas. 

Unsurprisingly, her first three foals are all by sons of Darley's brilliant sire. Biblic's three-year-old filly, Radar Ahead, is by Postponed and has been placed on both of her starts this season for Joseph O'Brien.

Biblic also has a two-year-old Night Of Thunder filly named Storm Creation.

Ross, who has enjoyed many successful days in this ring, particularly with National Hunt horses was effusive in his praise of the bay colt.

Amy, Liv and Con Marnane were reinvesting some of their bonus money at the Tattersalls Ireland September Sale

"He was always a lovely horse," he said. "When we bought him as a foal his walk really attracted us, alongside the pedigree which is all Dubawi. He has been straightforward all the way through and one of those you would not know was in the place. He has gone to a great home and Con will do the best by him."

Sales race success at the Curragh just ten days' ago was the perfect shop window for the Irish National Stud's colt by their brilliant Invincible Spirit as the yearling's full-sister travelled back to the land of her birth to win the Tattersalls Ireland Super Auction Stakes for Gavin Hernon who, although Irish, trains in Chantilly.

Spirit d'Or was another to be unraced when the catalogue went to print but by the time her younger brother shipped from Tully to Fairyhouse, she was a dual winner and fourth in the Listed Prix de la Vallee d'Auge.

That update, and her brother's own promising physique, attracted plenty of attention and there was quite the duel in the ring with Cormac O'Flynn and Joey Logan, positioned at opposite sides of the upper level, the main protagonists in the drawn-out battle. 

O'Flynn's bid of €95,000 pushed the colt towards the six-figure barrier and Logan initially declined the chance to break it but, turning to those around him and engaging in a quick discussion, they decided to push on and countered with €100,000. That broke O'Flynn's resistance and the colt was knocked down to Logan and the Harte brothers; Alan and Roderick. 

"He is by the right sire and his full-sister was very good up The Curragh last week, I thought she was very impressive," reported Logan. 

"He is a beautiful, attractive colt who was very well prepared by the Irish National Stud and had the big update. If he is as good as his sister we will be happy. It is a lovely family with Dubawi as the broodmare sire and Invincible Spirit can do no more."

The pair is the first offspring of Across The Sea, who was bred by Rabbah Bloodstock and won twice at two for Saeed Manana and James Tate. As mentioned, she is by Dubawi and her dam is the Group 3 Oh So Sharp Stakes winner and UAE Oaks third Alsindi. 

Across The Sea has an Invincible Spirit half-sister name Invincible Gal who was second in the Grade 3 Soaring Softly Stakes at Belmont Park for Graham Motion so the mating with Invincible Spirit made perfect sense.

Joey Logan and Anthony Bromley are in good spirits at the Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale

"We are absolutely delighted with that," smiled Cathal Beale, CEO of the Irish National Stud.

"She has produced a very good filly in Spirit D'Or, and now another one to Invincible Spirit for €100,000. We bought her really to try the Dubawi - Invincible Spirit cross, so it has worked out well. "

"He has gone to a very good home, and is going to get every chance to progress the mare. We have a lovely Phoenix Of Spain colt foal out of her at home who will go to the foal sale in November, and the mare is back in foal to that horse."

Final figures

Two days of trade saw nine six-figure lots, which was more than double the total of last year when four yearlings achieved sales that broke that significant psychological barrier.

However the increase in those headline lots was not enough to offset the lower clearance rate than 12 months previously. Wednesday's trade returned a sold rate of 80 per cent compared to 83 per cent last year but from a larger catalogue with 17 more horses sold than in 2024.

A total of 210 yearlings generated receipts of €5,869,500 which was slightly up on last year's gross of €5,727,000. There was a five per cent drop in the average in that time with Wednesday's figure at €27,950 while the median declined by 15 points to €22,000.

Taken together the sale produced turnover of €12,433,500 which is the third-highest figure in the sale's history. The 2024 average of €28,871 was down from last year, which was the second-best achieved by the sale while there was a drop of 14 per cent in the median to €24,000 although the 2023 figure was a record for the sale.

Tattersalls Ireland CEO Simon Kerins commented: “The trade at the September Yearling Sale over the last two days has been excellent, reflected in a strong clearance rate of 84 per cent and an impressive turnover of €12,433,500. 

"This sale has once again proven itself as a progressive and popular sale, with buyers at every level engaging in competition not witnessed anywhere else this year. Recording a clearance rate of over 80 per cent is a testament to the quality on offer. 

“The profile of the September Yearling Sale has grown significantly in recent years, with graduates making their mark on the track which has further strengthened buyer confidence.

Officials were happy with overall trade during the two daysCredit: Jason Bax/Tattersalls Ireland

"This year’s key indicators remain strong, nine lots sold for six figures, and a record number of 40 lots sold for over €60,000 highlights the remarkable strength of the middle market. Surpassing the strong 2023 figures is a real achievement for us.

 “We’ve welcomed clients from all over the world and to witness the footfall on site this week has been phenomenal to say the least. The level of competition from our UK, Irish and European buyers has been tremendous and there has been a real positive feel to this sale from the weekend through to the sale. 

"Flat racing is a sport of international appeal, and seeing significant sums spent on yearlings destined for top European jurisdictions speaks volumes. Credit must go to the team at Tattersalls Ireland, our overseas agents and to Irish Thoroughbred Marketing, whose efforts have been essential to the success of this sale.

 “I would like to extend my thanks to the vendors, and without their support it would not have been possible to compile a catalogue of such depth and quality. Their confidence has been key to the success of this sale."

The single session Part Two of the September Yearling Sale takes place from 10am today.

More from Tattersalls Ireland

'There's a great buzz about the place' - Bleahen's €75,000 Hello Youmzain colt sets the pace at Tattersalls Ireland 

Plan comes together as €130,000 Sea The Stars colt seals the top spot