Shattered Love half-brother does not disappoint on second day of August NH Sale

A half-brother to last season’s star novice chaser Shattered Love was the star of the show on the second day of the Tattersalls Ireland August National Hunt Sale.

The wildcard entry, who was withdrawn from the company’s Derby Sale in June, was expected to steal the headlines as the standout lot of the day and he did not disappoint. A son of Derby winner Pour Moi, the sire of 2017 Derby hero Wings Of Eagles, the three-year-old made his entrance into the sales ring midway through proceedings and he attracted a large crowd.

Gearoid Costelloe, who was involved with another of this gelding’s siblings in Grade 2 Charlie Hall Chase winner Irish Cavalier, was the successful buyer at €65,000.

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“This horse is very similar to Irish Cavalier and is by a Derby winner in Pour Moi, so what’s not to like about that? He will go to Denis Murphy to be broken in and trained to hopefully win his point-to-point and then be sold on,” said Costelloe.

Shattered Love, a daughter of four-time Ascot Gold Cup winner Yeats, won the Grade 1 JLT Novice Chase at the Cheltenham festival in March and the Grade 1 Neville Hotels Novice Chase at Leopardstown over Christmas. Another half-brother, the Hernando gelding Make A Track, won the Grade 2 Monksfield Novice Hurdle at Navan while their Definite Article half-sister You Take Care is the dam of Keeper Hill, who won the Grade 2 December Novices’ Chase at Doncaster last season.

Their dam is the unraced Bustino mare Tracker, who is a half-sister to Martin Pipe and AP McCoy’s Champion Hurdle hero Make A Stand.

The two most expensive horses of the day represented the Montjeu branch of the Sadler’s Wells sire line, with Fame And Glory responsible for the second highest priced lot, a gelding from Kildallan Farm who was purchased by Paurick O’Connor and Robert Tyner for €46,000.

The pair have enjoyed spectacular success with their storehorse purchases in the last couple of years, most notably with Vision Des Flos who was second in two Grade 1 novice hurdles last season.

Their latest acquisition is a grandson of Mistinguett who won the Grade 1 Cleeve Hurdle at Cheltenham and is the dam of Grade 2 hurdle winner Rimsky and Minsternando, a Listed winner on the flat who was also placed in the Goodwood Cup. Mistinguett is a half-sister to the dam of 2000’s European champion Sinndar, who was victorious in the Derby, Irish Derby and Arc for the Aga Khan, John Oxx and Johnny Murtagh.

Quality offspring of another sire who died at a young age - the Danehill Dancer stallion Jeremy, the sire of Grade 1-winning hurdler Our Conor - were in demand with the point-to-point fraternity on Wednesday.

The Monbeg team, who are top purchasers so far alongside Tom Malone with eight horses bought, went to €38,000 to secure Adrian Sutton’s gelding consigned by Sunnyhill Stud. Out of the unraced Luso mare Cadia’s Lady, the May-born gelding is a half-brother to Jamessaintpatrick who won his five-year-old maiden point-to-point at Durrow in March. The family is that of Grade 1 Christmas Hurdle winner, and Ascot Chase runner-up, Geos and leading French-based National Hunt sire Kapgarde.

Late in the day, the Crawford brothers purchased another Jeremy gelding, this one from Lambertstown Stud and costing €30,000.

His winning dam, Louis’s Teffia, is a daughter of Presenting and has already produced two winners, both by Court Cave. It is the further family of Stayers’ Hurdle heroine Rose Ravine, who is the dam of Sefton Novices’ Hurdle winner Cardinal Red and Ringaroses, a Grade 3 winner for Henrietta Knight.

The Milan gelding consigned by Ballincurrig House Stud will be aimed at the Tattersalls Ireland Cheltenham December Sale’s breeze-up section by purchasers David Phelan and Patrick Leahy. A grandson of the Grade 1 placed Boro Bow, from the family of Drinmore winner Boro Smackeroo and Penny Hall, he was knocked down to the duo for €35,000.

“He is a nice model of a horse and by a very good sire,” said Phelan. “He is for an existing client. We will train him for the breeze-up sale and hope to sell him on there.”

Gerry Griffin was back among the buyers again on Wednesday and he purchased a son of Califet consigned by Mount Brown Stud for €35,000, bringing his total over the two days to five. The third foal of his dam, he is a half-brother to Le Braye, a winning son of another Boardsmill Stud resident in Court Cave, from a good French family. Their dam Salsaparilla is a half-sister to the Listed Prix Wild Monarch Fillies’ Hurdle winner Salsita who is the dam of two winners herself.

Figures for the second session dipped on those recorded at last year’s sale, which was held over two days, whereas this year the format returned to that of a three-day sale. From 37 fewer horses sold on Wednesday compared with the second day of the 2017 edition, the aggregate dropped 21 per cent to €1,377,950. The median figure also dipped, from €6,000 last year to €5,400 on Wednesday, a decrease of 10 per cent. The average was also down slightly, from €9,120 in 2017 to €8,890 a slip of just three percent. Wednesday’s clearance rate was up by a single point on last year’s figure to 70 per cent.

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