Half-brother to Carefully Selected tops third and final day

Knockamullen Girl has made a flying start to her broodmare career as the daughter of Alderbrook is the dam of Carefully Selected, her first runner, who was placed in both the Cheltenham and Punchestown Grade 1 bumpers earlier this season for Willie Mullins.

Her Rule Of Law three-year-old gelding was the main attraction on the third and final day of the Tattersalls Ireland August National Hunt Sale on Thursday. He will be settling into his new surroundings of the famed Greystoke yard after Gerry Griffin purchased him for €28,000 on behalf of Nicky Richards.

“I’ve been waiting all day for this one horse,” commented Griffin after the successful conclusion to his vigil. “It’s not a bad price as I think if he were in yesterday he would have cost a lot more. He is a nice horse and the mare has made a great beginning with Carefully Selected.”

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She has a four-year-old Well Chosen gelding who was purchased at this sale last year for €17,000 by Bobby O’Ryan and Joseph O’Brien before Carefully Selected, who cost £100,000 at the Tattersalls Ireland Cheltenham May Sale in 2017, began his track career.

Knockamullen Girl is a half-sister to the dam of Lord Sam, third in the Sun Alliance Novice Hurdle at Cheltenham and a Grade 2 winner over fences. His half-sister Lady Sam produced the multiple Graded hurdle and chase-winning filly Misty Lady.

It is also the family of Irish Cesarewitch winner Potato Merchant and Slaney Hurdle winner Stag Hill as well as Stroll Home, who won the Galway Plate and his half-brother, the Grade 3 victor Can’t Buy Time.

Even later in proceedings came the day’s most expensive filly, a daughter of Arcadio and the first foal of a winning full-sister to Outlander. Consigned by her breeder Rita Loughney, she was secured for €20,000 by Tattersalls’ Ireland’s Harry Fowler taking instructions on the phone from David Minton.

“She is for a client of Highflyer and will be going to Phil Rowley to be broken-in before any decisions are made about trainers,” reported Fowler. “She is a lovely long-term prospect as a broodmare.”

Her dam, a daughter of Stowaway, is a full-sister to four black-type winners headed by the three-time Grade 1 chase winner Outlander. Grade 2- winning hurdlers Western Leader and Ice Cold Soul are also full-brothers as is the Listed chase winner Mart Lane – all bred by Ronnie O’Neill. Their four-year-old full-sister Dona Katherina, a €70,000 purchase by Bobby O’Ryan at the 2017 Derby Sale, is entered in bumpers at Tramore for trainer Gordon Elliott on Sunday and Tuesday.

Western Whisper has a three-year-old filly from the last crop of Stowaway while Lough Roe Lady has a yearling full-brother to Thursday’s €20,000 filly.

That was the second purchase Fowler made on Thursday for Minton, the first a Cloudings gelding out of a half-sister to the dam of Grade 1-winning hurdler Cole Harden. Consigned by Cappaneale House Stud, the gelding was bought on behalf of Trevor Hemmings for €12,000. Hemmings has owned the three best horses on Racing Post Ratings by the son of Sadlers’ Wells, including the Grand National hero Many Clouds.

Reflecting on the presence of so many British buyers in Fairyhouse over the past three days Fowler commented: “We had the best turnover of British buyers at this sale for five years and we are very happy that the catalogue has attracted so many buyers this week.”

Clonaltra Stables’ Court Cave gelding, purchased by Brandon View Stud for €18,000, led the way for much of the sale. The two-year-old followed his year-older full-brother into the ring, and the elder of the pair made €5,000 to John Heard, from the same vendor.

They are the first two foals out of an unraced Alderbrook half-sister to Noble Emperor, a son of Spadoun who was trained by Tony Martin for JP McManus. Noble Emperor was promoted to first place in the Grade 2 Ten Up Novice Chase at Navan in 2015.

Trade was at a lesser level than the previous two days with the average for Thursday coming in at €5,161 while the median figure was €3,800. The aggregate for the day’s trading was €562,550 with a clearance rate of 61 per cent.

Comparisons with last year’s sale are coloured slightly by the larger nature of the 2018 catalogue which saw 791 horses entered over three days as opposed to 672 for the 2017 two-day version.

Overall 620 horses were offered during the last three days, up 14 percent on last year’s figure of 545. Of those offered this week. 422 changed hands which was a ten per cent improvement on last year’s total of 383.

The aggregate grew by five per cent from €3,768,300 in 2017 to €3,964,600 this week from 39 more horses sold than last year which gave a clearance rate of 68 per cent, a slight drop from the 70 per cent recorded last year.

Both the median and average figures decreased from those of 2017 with the median recording the biggest drop, down 15 points to €5,500 from last year’s figure of €6,500. The average dipped by a smaller amount – five percent – from €9,839 12 months’ ago, which was the highest average figure at the sale for over a decade, to €9,395 this week. It was still the third highest average at this sale since 2007.

Day two Shattered Love half-brother does not disappoint

Day one Fame And Glory gelding tops opener at €80,000