Blue is the colour at Tattersalls Ireland as Bresil gelding tops trade

The stallion careers of Blue Bresil and Gentlewave overlapped for a couple of seasons at Yorton Farm Stud and the pair provided Juliet and David Minton's Mill House Stud with two of the star turns on the opening day of the Tattersalls Ireland November National Hunt Sale.

In a session dedicated to yearlings, the Shropshire farm was the leading consignor by average with more than one horse sold, including two of the three most expensive offerings.

Constitution Hill's stellar novice hurdle season pushed his sire Blue Bresil into an even higher profile, following a couple of years where his stock were attracting admiring comments and tasty prices at the sales. As the sire of the most exciting young hurdler in Britain and Ireland, Rathbarry Stud's resident is one of the most desirable around.

With four individual Grade 1 winners so far and his biggest crops to come, Blue Bresil looks certain to remain in huge demand with breeders and pinhookers for a number of years yet and he was the sire of the only yearling to reach €50,000 at on Saturday, selling to Michael Murphy of Redbridge Stables.

Mill House consigned Upton Viva Stud's gelding who is the second foal out of Tell It To Me, a winning daughter of Kayf Tara and Liberthine, who took the Topham Chase and Mildmay Of Flete for this year's Grand National winning jockey and owner - Sam and Robert Waley-Cohen.

Liberthine is a half-sister to the Waley-Cohens' Gold Cup hero Long Run from the family of J'y Vole, who won the Grade 1 Dr P J Moriarty Novice Chase for Willie Mullins, and last season's Grade 2 Ayr Future Champions Novices' Chase winner Do Your Job, trained by Michael Scudamore.

David Minton said of the session-topper: "He is a lovely horse and by the right sire, which was important. He was bred by Robert Waley-Cohen, who is cutting back on numbers now that Sam has finished riding and is concentrating on quality rather than quantity. There is plenty to run from this family and I think it was a good buy."

Mill House Stud also offered the only yearling in the sale by Gentlewave, sire of Mouse Morris's multiple Grade 1-placed hurdler and chaser Gentlemansgame. Also bred by Upton Viva Stud, the April-born gelding is the first foal out of Santa Adelia.

The Smadoun mare was second in the Listed Prix d'Iena at Auteuil for Guillaume Macaire and is out of New Delice, a half-sister to Alan King's talented and popular Hennessy Gold Cup and Old Roan Chase winner Smad Place. The chestnut gelding was knocked down to Castledillon Stud's Timmy Hillman.

"He is a good-looking and good-walking gelding and you can see him furnishing into a lovely three-year-old. The plan would be to bring him back here for the Derby Sale," said the successful purchaser.

Hillman was busy filling up his team for the 2024 store sales, and added a well-bred gelding from the first Irish-bred crop of Boardsmill Stud's Poet's Word.

Loughview Stud consigned the first foal out of Tornado Sky, a Shantou full-sister to Cheltenham Festival winner Ballynagour who was also placed in Aintree's Bowl and Melling Chase and the Champion Chase at Punchestown for David Pipe. Coincidentally, the bay gelding also cost Hillman €37,000.

Mill House's trio of yearlings was completed by a Crystal Ocean daughter of Polly Peachum, a quadruple Listed winner over hurdles who was also second to Glen's Melody in the Grade 1 David Nicholson Mares' Hurdle at Cheltenam. The Shantou mare is out of Miss Denman, a Presenting full sister to the mighty Denman and the Tolworth Hurdle winner Silverburn.

The fifth foal out of Polly Peachum, she made €16,000 to Ballinaroone Stud, which helped her consignors achieve an average of €34,333 for three yearlings offered and sold.

Ian Ferguson snapped up the Soldier Of Fortune yearling offered by Allenstown StablesCredit: Tattersalls Ireland

Pinhooking National Hunt foals to sell 12 months later as yearlings is not a venture many embark upon but the Soldier Of Fortune gelding bought by Ian Ferguson for €40,000 was making a healthy return on the €21,000 he cost Wyechant Limited as a foal this time last year.

Offered by Allenstown Stables, he is a half-brother to four winners headed by Foxy Jacks, who was successful in a handicap chase at the Punchestown festival for Morris and Dermot Desmond.

His dam Benefit Ball is an unraced Beneficial half-sister to the Dipper Novices' Chase winner Seven Is My Number. Clonmult Farm offers her colt foal from the second crop of Group 1 Prince of Wales's Stakes winner Crystal Ocean as lot 876 on Tuesday while her six-year-old Milan daughter, Robin Scherbatsky in foal to Santiago, is catalogued as lot 1378 from Brookfield Stud.

Shade Oak Stud's regally bred, in more ways than one, Hardwicke Stakes and Yorkshire Cup winner Dartmouth recently recorded his first winner over hurdles with the debut success of Sailing Grace in a Newton Abbot juvenile hurdle for Anthony Honeyball.

The son of Dubawi was represented by a solitary yearling in the opening session - a gelding out of the Listed third Theatre Belle by King's Theatre - and he went the way of Highflyer Bloodstock for €32,000.

Offered by Ballincurrig House Stud on behalf of the Division Belle Partnership, he is a half-brother to three winners and was the most expensive of the quintet of yearlings purchased by the Highflyer team at Fairyhouse, where they were the biggest buyers at a total of €105,800.

Shade Oak Stud consigns his half-sister by Scorpion as lot 419 on Monday, the second day of the foal sale.

The statistics paint a mixed picture as the sale recorded its highest median figure for 20 years and the best average since 2007 but the clearance rate, at 48 per cent, was disappointing.

From 93 yearlings offered only 45 sold for a total of €725,150 which returned an average of €16,114 - an increase of 21 per cent on last year. The median achieved year-on-year growth of 60 per cent coming in at €14,000.

On the opening day of the 2021 sale, a total of 120 horses were sold for receipts of €1,598,850. As less than half that number changed hands yesterday, the aggregate fell sharply, by 55 per cent.

The sale continues on Sunday morning at 10am, when the first of four sessions dedicated to foals begins.

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