Super sales returns
Eleven horses went for over £2 million
IT WAS another remarkable night for Wexford bloodstock at the Tattersalls Ireland sale after racing at the Cheltenham Festival on Thursday evening - 14 of the 27 horses on sale were recent pointto-point runners from Wexford yards, and eleven of them were sold for £1.835m (€2,077,000), and the other three were left unsold despite combined offers of £220,000k.
Donnchadh Doyle of Monbeg Stables, Ballindaggin, who had eight points winners in three days the weekend before last, may not have had any runners at the Cheltenham festival, but he was one of the biggest Irish winners of the week, selling three horses for £745k and taking two home after refusing £220k.
He achieved joint highest price of the sale for Feel My Pulse, a four-year-old gelding by Stowaway which won by 15 lengths under Rob James at Lismore on March 10 - this one went to Gordon Elliott Racing for £330k.
His Brewers Project, a four-yearold gelding by Aizavoski, was a five-length winner at Ballyarthur the next day and this was knocked down to Tom Malone for top trainer Paul Nicholls for £185k. Both were ridden by Rob James.
That same Sunday, he sent out The Big Getaway, a gelding by Getaway, to win by a distance at Ballyarthur under Harley Dunne Harold Kirk went to £230k for this one for Willie Mullins.
Doyle won with Thatsy, a fouryear-old Martaline gelding, at Lingstown last Sunday week under James Walsh, but he would not part with him for £145k, and he also took home Beyondapproach, a four-year-old mare by Jeremy, which won at Tinahely last month, refusing £75k for her.
His brother, Seán Thomas, also part of the Monbeg set-up, won at Lingstown with five-years-old Bubbles of Gold by Goldwell, ridden by Jamie Scallan, and this one went to Olly Murphy Racing for £80k.
Remarkably, the horse that was second to Thatsy at Lingstown The Captains Inn - a Flemensfirth gelding ridden by Jamie Codd and owned and trained by Denis Murphy at his Ballyboy, The Ballagh yard, sold for £220k, £75k more than offered for the winner.
Murphy also sold another second-placed horse for a big price - Ontheropes, a gelding by Presenting, ridden by Harley Dunne, was pipped by a head by Madiba Passion at Punchestown on February 18, and Harold Kirk paid out £240k for him for Willie Mullins - a total of £460k for two horses placed second on debut.
Colin Bowe’s Milestone operation from Kiltealy had four fouryear-old maiden winners on the list and sold three:
The Hollow Chap, a gelding by Beat Hollow, won at Fairwood, Tinahely last month - went to Gerry Hogan Bloodstock for £140k;
Long After Dark, a gelding by Flemensfirth, a winner at Kirkistown, Co. Down, on March 10 - £120k to Kevin Ross Bloodstock;
The Glancing Queen, a mare by Jeremy, winner at Horse and Jockey on March 11, went to Highflyer Bloodstock for trainer Alan King for £80k. These three were all ridden by Barry O’Neill.
Unsold at £75k was First Account, a gelding by Malinas, ridden to a six-length victory by Jimmy O’Rourke at Belclare, Galway, on March 11.
Richard Black from Beechmount Stables, Bunclody, achieved a world record price for a mare at this sale last year when he sold Maire Banrigh, owned by John Paul Murphy, for £320k just four days after she had won at Lingstown under Barry O’Neill. This easily eclipsed the previous record of £200k.
Black did well again this year with another mare - he sent out Sinoria, a five-year-old by Oscar, to win for Austin Fanning at Borris on March 9 under Barry O’Neill and she was sold to Rathmore Stud for £130k.
Michael and Caitríona Goff of Clondaw Stables, Ferns, sold their Sams Profile, a gelding by Black Sam Bellamy which won at Cragmore on February 18 under Shane Fitzgerald, to Margaret O’Toole for £80k.