'We're delighted to get him' - Malone and Nicholls bounce back with €175,000 son of Jeu St Eloi

You can't keep a good man down, or in this case two men, and just minutes after losing out to Willie Mullins in a photo-finish for the €250,000 Galiway gelding, Tom Malone and Paul Nicholls bounced back in style, landing a son of rising star Jeu St Eloi for €175,000.

Five lots after the sale-topper came Krocodile Rock, a striking black grandson of Saint Des Saints, who is creating an impressive legacy as a sire and broodmare sire. His son Jeu St Eloi, who stands at Haras de Cercy, has impressed with his first three crops, siring the Grade 3 winners Kargese and Idefixe Du Moulin, so it is little wonder that Irish and British pinhookers and trainers took note. 

He started to make inroads in these parts last season and one of his impressive bumper winners is Inthewaterside, who is unbeaten in both his starts for Nicholls. So taken has the team at Ditcheat been by the five-year-old that Malone referenced him when elaborating on their reasons for targeting Krocodile Rock.

"Inthewaterside is potentially a very good horse and we like him a lot," offered Malone after signing for the stallion's most expensive representative of the week.

Having a nice horse by the stallion in the yard is one thing, but that alone is not enough to prompt champion trainers to spend six-figures on an untried horse, and Krocodile Rock had pedigree, presence and athleticism to add to his sire power.

Tom Malone in fine form at the Goffs Arkle Sale, where he was one of the busiest buyersCredit: SARAH FARNSWORTH

Malone confirmed: "This horse really stood out for us, we loved him when we saw him and are delighted to get him. He is for an existing owner in the yard."

Krocodile Rock was offered jointly by Ballyreddin and Busherstown Studs, a new venture by John Dwan and Katie Rudd, who have pooled their extensive knowledge and resources, particularly of French bloodstock, to consign their best stores under the one banner. 

Rudd said: "We decided to come together because of what we do in France; it made sense for us to work together. This is the first sale where we have consigned our horses together and trade has exceeded expectations."

Krocodile Rock was a private purchase by Dwan and is a half-brother to the Listed-placed pair of Gage De Reussite and Just Nelsa, out of the Listed Prix Hubert D'Aillieres and Prix Dominique Sartini Hurdle winner Joly Nesa.

The daughter of Brier Creek has produced those two black-type horses and is a half-sister to the dam of Listed Grand Steeple Chase de Craon winner Joly Risk

Rudd said: "Krocodile Rock is a beautiful horse and he caught everybody's eye. He was never in the box and it was a real pleasure to go up to the ring and see him sell so well. Jeu St Eloi is flying along now and this has been a really good way to start for us."

Earlier in the day, the operation had sold Rudd's homebred Doctor Dino half-brother to Grade 1 Top Novices' Hurdle winner Lalor to none other than Harold Kirk and Mullins for €80,000.

Just what the Doctor ordered

State Man is just the most recent advertisement for the best qualities of Haras du Mesnil's leading sire Doctor Dino, with four brilliant victories in Grade 1 hurdles last season including a defeat of Honeysuckle in the Irish Champion Hurdle and of Vauban in Punchestown's Champion Hurdle. The winner of five top-level contests is one of a septet of Grade 1 winners sired by the son of Muhtathir, who won back-to-back runnings of the Hong Kong Vase and was also successful in the Grade 1 Man o'War Stakes.

With a record like that, the chestnut is not only one of the most expensive National Hunt stallions with an advertised fee, he is also one of the most sought-after in the sales ring and his 13 stores offered during Part One of the Goffs Arkle Sale produced the second-best price of the session and an average figure of €75,000 for 12 sold.

Tom Whitehead is no stranger to pinhooking success, whether on the Flat or with his National Hunt store purchases and, trading under the Altenbach Bloodstock banner, he offered the most expensive of the Doctor Dino dozen.

The Doctor Dino gelding sold by Altenbach Bloodstock for €185,000Credit: SARAH FARNSWORTH

The triumvirate of Gordon Elliott, Aidan O'Ryan and Eddie O'Leary were clustered together when bidding for Lacaduv, the second foal out of Gargotiere, who was a talented performer on the Flat for Henri-Francois Devin. She was third in the Listed Prix Thiberville and fourth in the Group 3 Prix Cleopatre and this March-born gelding is the second foal she has produced, and her own Doctor Dino half-brother Montgeoffroy earned black type in a Listed hurdle.

While O'Leary appeared to do the bidding, Elliott was left to field media inquiries and this season's Goffs Defender Bumper was mentioned as a potential target for the €185,000 purchase.

"He is a very nice horse and was one of the picks of the sale for us," said Elliott. "He looks a sharp type so maybe he could be one for the bumper."

That combination of sharpness and sire power drew Whitehead's attention at auction in France, where his laid out €40,000 for Lacaduv as a yearling.

"He was always a lovely horse and has a really good temperament, he's just a really good horse to do anything with," he said of the chestnut.

"Doctor Dino is on a different level as a sire and this horse was off his feet all week, he has barely been in his box the last few days."

It was also a pleasing result for Haras de Colleville, whose stallions are connected directly with the top two lots of the Goffs Arkle Sale - Galiway sired the sale-topper while Kendargent is the broodmare sire of this gelding.

Sibling power to the fore 

There is an Irish proverb which translated into English means 'a good start is half the work' and DAR Bloodstock, another new name on the consignors' list for the Goffs Arkle Sale, have definitely taken that to heart.

Limerick brothers Derry and Robert White offered four stores during Part One of the sale, with the headline act a beautiful daughter of Affinisea out of a half-sister to the Champion Hurdle heroine and all-round brilliant racemare Annie Power, whose first foal Mystical Power made a winner debut at Ballinrobe last month.

Highflyer Bloodstock, acting on behalf of trainer Ben Pauling, struck the winning bid of €70,000 for the filly, whose dam is also a Lend A Hand full-sister to black type-winning hurdler Head Waiter. 

The filly's third dam is the outstanding broodmare Anna Paola, whose descendants include Flat Group 1 winners Billesdon Brook, National Defense, Helmet and Epaulette, while Annie Power isn't the only Grade 1 winner on the page as the Champion Novice Hurdle victor Sadlers Wings, a Listed winner on the Flat, is out of a half-sister to this filly's second dam, the Group 3 winner Anno Luce.

The White brothers bought the filly privately as a foal from her breeder Ronnie O'Neill, who stands Affinisea at Whytemount Stud in Kilkenny.

"It was when the sales were postponed because of Covid, we decided to buy foals privately and we went to Ronnie's to have a look at the foals there - we saw her and loved her," explained Derry.

The beautiful Affinisea filly out of a half-sister to Annie Power strikes a pose at GoffsCredit: SARAH FARNSWORTH

Horses have always been a part of the brothers' lives but they became involved in pinhooking only about four years ago, mainly with pointers but they also decided to expand their interests to foals and this crop is the result of that first venture.

"We sold our first horse as DAR Bloodstock at Goffs UK last month and we had four for Part One and another one for tomorrow that we like," continued Derry. "We bought a few foals and it rolled on from there. With the foals there is always something coming down the line - we have ten at home for next year, and seven yearlings at the moment."

His brother Robert added: "The first crop is always the longest as you have to wait for them and there's nothing coming along, so now we have got the ball rolling."

Earlier in the session they sold a Blue Bresil gelding out of a half-sister to Grade 2 Rising Stars Novices' Chase winner Junction Fourteen to Charlie and Francesca Poste for €45,000. During Tuesday's opening day of trade their Blue Bresil filly out of Aisance, a Saint Des Saints full-sister to the Champion Bumper third Wait For Me, made €50,000.

Their Part Two gelding is a son of Choeur Du Nord who is a grandson of the Group 3 Prix du Pin winner Coupe De Champe from the family of Vodka Bleu and he is Lot 493.

Facts and figures

The gains made across key areas during the opening day of the sale were consolidated during the second session, although the clearance rate of 86 per cent couldn't match that of Tuesday. 

A total of 186 stores were sold during Wednesday, which resulted in turnover of €9,539,000, so on a par with the same day last year. The day-two average of €51,825 was up by a single per cent on 2022's figure of €51,016, but the median of €45,000 grew by seven per cent, once again indicating that trade was sustained at all levels of the market, not just by the headline figures.

Eddie O'Leary and Tom Whitehead shake hands after the former bought the Doctor Dino gelding offered by WhiteheadCredit: SARAH FARNSWORTH

In all, 24 horses sold for six figure sums across the two days, which was down from last year's record high of 41, but the demand for horses in the €50,000 - €100,000 bracket reached record highs. 

At €20,466,500, it was the highest-grossing store sale in Goffs' history, with 392 of the 441 horses on offer changing hands, equalling a clearance rate of 89 per cent. The two-day average of €52,210 was a modest gain of one point on last year's record figure, while the median of €48,000 was an increase of seven per cent on 2022, which had been the previous high.

In his end-of-sale statement, group chief executive Henry Beeby expressed his satisfaction at how the first edition of the sale under the new Arkle name - rebranded from the Land Rover - managed to build on the record-breaking edition of last year.

"The Arkle Sale may have a new name this year but there was nothing new about the hunger for top class National Hunt prospects at Goffs in June," he said. "For the last number of years this sale has enjoyed a meteoric rise as so many National Hunt vendors have sent a larger and larger share of their best to us, and we cannot thank them enough for we are nothing without their horses.

"Last year the sale grew by 25 per cent so we are delighted to have consolidated those results, and it is especially pleasing to see an average and median so close as that points to a sale of true consistency, with the latter important figure growing by another seven per cent."

Part Two of the Goffs Arkle Sale is a single session which begins at 10am on Thursday.

Read more from the Goffs Arkle Sale

Elvis the King for Treannahow Stables as Mullins sees off Nicholls for €250,000 stunner 

'He's beautiful and sharp with a pedigree to go with it' - Nicholls and Malone win battle for €160,000 sale-topper Zamek 

'He was bought by a very good judge' - €95,000 Blue Bresil gelding gets new consigning operation off to great start