'He's a beautiful, beautiful horse' - Malone captivated by €185,000 Harzand relation to Long Run at Derby Sale

The matinee idol of the 50th Tattersalls Ireland Derby Sale was undoubtedly the sale-topping Doctor Dino gelding but the supporting cast was studded with superb performers and none more so than Mark Dwyer's Harzand gelding who was also blessed with leading man good looks.

Although he had to act as the warm-up act for the €350,000 top lot who succeeded him into the ring, the half-brother to three black-type performers possessed enough star wattage of his own to entice the main players to sharpen their bidding elbows and battle it out to secure the services of the handsome bay gelding for their patrons.

It was Tom Malone, acting on behalf of Paul Nicholls, who struck the winning bid of €185,000 which was, very briefly, the highest price of the day.

Malone said: "He's a beautiful, beautiful horse, and his half-brother won at Aintree, it is just a happening pedigree. I saw him last year in France as a two-year-old and liked him a lot."

The half-brother to whom Malone referred is Arizona Cardinal who was successful in this year's Grade 3 Topham Chase for Stuart Edmunds on his most recent run. 

An early February foal, the dark bay is also a half-brother to the Grade 2-placed hurdlers Destroytheevidence and Lilly Pedlar out of Mathine, a Malinas half-sister to the Waley-Cohens' Gold Cup and dual King George winner Long Run and the Grade 3-winning mare Liberthine. The Grade 1 Dr P J Moriarty Novice Chase winner J'Y Vole and Charlie Stout, successful in the Dan Moore Handicap Chase at Fairyhouse, are among the family members found under this gelding's third dam Full Of Pep.

This was the third trip to the sales of the gelding's young life and he has returned a profit for his vendors on each visit; as a foal he was sold for €50,000 at the November National Hunt Sale by Mill House Stud to Lulsley Bloodstock and last July, made €80,000 bought from Ballyreddin and Busherstown at auction in France.

"He has done nothing but improve since we bought him last year, and the pedigree has improved as well," said Mark Dwyer, who partnered one of the Derby Sale's seven Gold Cup winners - Jodami - during his riding career. 

"His younger half-brother Serious Chat was second in a bumper at the start of this month and the whole package worked well. We're in tough times at the minute and the market is hard so it's great to have a nice horse like him who sells well. We have other horses that don't make it, so it's nice to get a good one," Dwyer added.

Harzand, who won the Derby and Irish Derby in 2016, is coming to the end of his second season at Kilbarry Lodge Stud, having begun his stallion career at the Aga Khan's Gilltown Stud. The son of Sea The Stars has proven popular with National Hunt breeders and Malone is another to be impressed by what he has seen of Harzand's limited jumps-oriented progeny.

"I bought a very nice 25-length point-to-point winner by him for Brocade Racing called Gentleman Toboot, at the May Store Sale last year. I like the stallion and until I'm proved wrong I'm going to support him."

Malone's ode to a stallion

There is another young stallion whose stock have captured the imagination of Malone in a way that no sire has done previously and that is the Group 1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth and Prince Of Wales's Stakes winner Poet's Word.

The Poet's Word half-brother to JPR One who had Tom Malone enthusing about the Boardsmill Stud sireCredit: www.healyracing.ie

He began his stallion career at Shadwell's Nunnery Stud but after a year in Norfolk he transferred to the Flood family's Boardsmill Stud near Trim, County Meath and his oldest Irish-bred crop are just three. They have wowed Malone however.

"In the 15 years I have been doing this, Poet's Word is the one stallion who has absolutely blown me away before he has had a runner," enthused the agent after purchasing Galbertstown Stables' half-brother to last season's Grade 2 Lightning Novices' Chase winner and Grade 1 Henry VIII Novices' Chase third JPR One for €120,000.

"That spoke volumes for me. I never went out looking for a Poet's Word but my shortlist at the last sale had nine on it, and I went 'Woah, ok!' I don't look at that until the shortlist is done, and it made me think I have got to study this lad a bit more! He is throwing beautiful stock and they just have to run fast."

Malone added of the gelding, who was one of six stores he bought for Paul Nicholls on Thursday: "He is typical of our type, a big chasing horse. He will take a bit of time, but he is a beautiful animal and has seriously light action for his size. We both fell in love with him and wanted to take him home."

JPR One has been a good horse and I had another half-brother in Truckers Pass [Kalanisi], unfortunately he got a leg but he was a decent animal as well. This horse made perfect sense to us." 

The brown gelding only celebrated his third birthday earlier this month, making him quite young, and Malone admitted his June birth date had been a slight concern but that any worries were negated by the gelding's easy action.

"His late birth date was something that put him on and off the list as he is a big boy, but his movement is so light, that switched us on and kept us on."

The sale was a successful pinhook; he was sold by Ennel Bloodstock at the 2022 Tattersalls Ireland February Sale to Gerry Hogan for €20,000.

Malone also secured Perfect Ball for Ditcheat, going to €130,000 for the fourth foal of Grade 2 Prix des Drags and Grade 3 Prix Morgex Chase winner Princesse Kap, who was also fourth in the Grade 1 Prix La Haye Jousselin Chase.

The Kapgarde mare is two from two with her first foals and one of them, the winning chaser Princes Des Fichaux, is a No Risk At All full-brother to Malone's acquisition.

From the family of Louisa Carberry's dual Grade 1 Grande Steeplechase de Paris hero Docteur De Ballon and Nicholls' own Champion Chase winner Politologue, he was pinhooked by Kieran Shields who purchased him at the Tattersalls Ireland's February Sale in 2022 for €62,000.

Afternoon rush 

During a 20 minute spell early in the afternoon, the three most expensive horses of the session came under the hammer and the first of them to exercise the bidders was Kilminfoyle House Stud's Goliath Du Berlais gelding, who is the third foal out of Grade 3 Prix Andre Michel Hurdle winner Martalette.

The beautiful Goliath Du Berlais gelding out of Grade 3 winner Martalette who made €160,000 at the Derby SaleCredit: www.healyracing.ie

A March foal, he made €68,000 in this ring as foal when he was consigned by Burgage Stud and purchased by JC Bloodstock. Since that sale in November 2021, his five-year-old Kapgarde half-sister Marta Kap has won two of her three starts for Gabriel Leenders. 

Ger Morrin, who signed for the gelding as Grandville Racing, said of his €160,000 purchase on behalf of Sean and Bernadine Mulryan: "We planned to come up and buy a nice horse, and we loved the horse. Martin [Brassil, who will train him] loved the horse, and Paddy Aspell liked him, too and he has a lovely pedigree."

A son of leading stallion Saint Des Saints, Goliath Du Berlais was unbeaten as a four-year-old and triumphed in the Grade 1 Prix Ferdinand Dufaure before joining his sire on Haras d'Etreham's National Hunt stallion roster. 

His oldest crop are just three but already in France he has sired five winners, including Sobriquette, who was placed in the Grade 3 Prix Sagan and Listed Prix Girofla on her most recent runs. Another of his winning daughters, Entourloupe, was second in the Listed Prix d'Iena at Auteuil earlier this month.

Ger Morrin signs for Kilminfoyle House Stud's Goliath Du Berlais gelding at €160,000Credit: www.healyracing.ie

A fortnight ago, Morrin purchased another store from the first crop of Goliath Du Berlais for the Mulryans and a family connection in France was what alerted him to the sire and his stock.

He explained: "A brother-in-law of mine in France says this sire is very good, and well regarded. This fella won't take too long, he's not a horse who will take forever. He will be a bumper and hurdle sort, and can go on to jump a fence, too."

His Martaline dam could jump a fence. She was fourth in the Grade 3 Prix Sytaj Mares Chase at Auteuil for trainer Yannick Fouin and is a half-sister to Listed Prix d'Iena Hurdle winner Cutting Edge.

Tunis all the rage

Amidst the familiar stallions, particularly those who stand in France, who dominated the Derby Sale there was one lesser known name whose results were eye-catching. 

Grade 2 Prix Amadou Hurdle winner Tunis had three progeny in the sale and the grey returned the second-best average of any stallion with more than one horse sold over the two days of the Derby Sale. Only Doctor Dino, sire of the €350,000 top lot, bettered the €90,000 average recorded by the trio of Tunis geldings in the sale, all of whom were catalogued on Thursday.

Tunis, who stands at Haras de Cercy and was bred in Poland, before finding his way to France and the yard of Guillaume Macaire as a three-year-old has now found his way into the point-to-point yards of Wexford with Donnchadh Doyle purchasing the most expensive Tunis gelding, while Jim O'Neill and Matty Flynn O'Connor combined forces to secure the other six-figure son of the grey sire.

Johnny Collins sold a six-figure Tunis store earlier this month and added a second to the record of his Brown Island Stables' pinhooks when Doyle stumped up €120,000 for Quartunis.

Lakefield Farm's Tunis gelding in the ring at Tattersalls Ireland where he made €110,000Credit: www.healyracing.ie

A half-brother to Cap Du Nord, successful in a brace of Grade 3 handicap chases for Christian Williams, and to Fred Winter victor Qualando,  he is out of the winning Poliglote mare Qualite Controlee. Her half-sister Place Au Soleil is the dam of 2020 Grade 1 Prix Ferdinand Dufaure Chase victor Gardons Le Sourire.

Doyle produced Keops Des Bordes to win a four-year-old maiden on debut at Loughanmore in April and was keen to secure another, although he had to pay considerably more for Quartunis.

"He's a lovely looking horse and I had a bit of luck with a Tunis this year, so it's nice to replace him with another. I'm glad to get him although he cost a few pounds, but it's nice to have him. He's a big investment for our game, but I've been very lucky with horses I bought from Johnny before," Doyle added.

Tunis is by Estejo, who was an Italian Group 1 winner by Gallinule Stakes winner Johann Cruyff. He won four black-type contests and was second to Master Dino in three Grade 1 races. Despite his little known origins, he found a home at stud in France because of his race record.

For Jim O'Neill and Matty Flynn O'Connor, it is a foray into the unknown as their €110,000 purchase - Jardin Des Tunis - is their first by the stallion whose oldest crop are just four-year-olds.

"This is the first by the sire we have bought, he is a gorgeous horse and came well recommended by John Bleahen [Lakefield Farm, vendor] , hopefully he does the job. We will get him home, broken and then tick away and look for a four-year-old point-to-point," O'Neill explained.

The top-priced Tunis gelding of the Derby Sale was Lot 347 from Brown Island StablesCredit: www.healyracing.ie

Of their purchasing strategy, he said: "We buy the individual rather than the page."

O'Neill is involved with a number of Wexford's leading point-to-point handlers.

"I have around 20 pointers and have shares with Matty, Colin Bowe and Sean Doyle. We have found it difficult to buy the nice ones, but this is the place to get them; if we don't get them here we won't get anything. "

Although O'Neill's stated focus is on the physical horse, the Tunis gelding he purchased from Lakefield Farm has a lovely pedigree. He is a half-brother to Grade 3 Prix Fleuret Chase second Joie Du Net out of Juntina, a winning daughter of Turgeon. 

Juntina is a half-sister to Grade 3 Prix Juigne Hurdle winner Juntico and to Azulejo, successful in three Listed contests. Her Robin Des Champs half-sister Junta Des Champs is the dam of Junta Marvel, who won the Grade 3 Liss A Paoraigh Mares' Bumper at the 2023 Punchestown festival for Willie Mullins and the Turner family.

Another half-sister, Yota, boasts an even more impressive breeding record as the dam of Yanworth, who carried the green and gold to victory in the Grade 1 Liverpool Stayers' Hurdle and Christmas Hurdle. Yota is also the second of Mr Glass who was third behind Constitution Hill in the Tolworth Hurdle two years ago.

Figures and comment

The second day of trade returned a clearance rate of 79 per cent, which was one point higher than Wednesday's opening session, with 149 horses sold out of the 189 offered on Thursday.

They generated turnover of €7,293,000 which was ten per cent higher than Wednesday's aggregate of €6,656,500. Thursday's average of €48,946 was also an increase on Wednesday's figure, which was €46,877 or four per cent lower but Wednesday's median of €39,000 was better. The median for the second day, €38,000, was three points lower.

Simon Kerins, chief executive of Tattersalls Ireland, reflected: “Once again, the Derby Sale has proven why it is held in the highest regard by National Hunt vendors and purchasers. The previous 49 editions have produced an illustrious roll of honour, and I have no doubt that our class of 2024 will produce horses competing on the biggest stage. The Derby Sale has yet again produced the highest-priced store sold anywhere in Ireland and the UK, a milestone particularly celebrated in its 50th year. This year’s sale also saw 25 lots surpassing €100,000, more than any other store sale.

"While achieving a €350,000 top price is a notable success, it's crucial to note that the market remains selective. With a clearance rate of 79 per cent and average and median prices of €47,841 and €38,000 respectively, we observe a market that, while solid, reflects cautious buyer sentiment compared to previous years.  

“Our consignors showed trust in providing us with the best stores that Ireland and the UK had to offer. We ensured our vendors received the interest that the exceptional quality of their stock deserved, and it was reassuring to see so many Irish and UK buyers in attendance. We had the biggest names in National Hunt racing looking to add to their strings this week, and that exemplifies the regard in which the Derby Sale is held."

He added: "The Derby Sale's success is a testament to the trust our vendors place in Tattersalls Ireland. Our thanks go to all the team at Irish Thoroughbred Marketing, who complement our work in promoting our sales and ensuring the results align with the quality on offer. 

"Our focus now turns to the July Store Sale, the final sale of its type this year, for which the catalogue is available online." 

Read more from the Derby Sale

Gordon Elliott splashes €350,000 on half-brother to three Grade 1 winners after going head-to-head with Emmet Mullins 

Champion trainer Mullins restocking with the pick of Derby Sale lots led by €175,000 auction-topper 

'Everyone seemed to like him' - Stormin' Norman happy with Oak Tree Derby Sale trade topped by €170,000 son of Doctor Dino