Familiar feel at Tattersalls Ireland as €52,000 Walk In The Park colt tops day

It is almost guaranteed that the names of two stallions will appear at the top or close to the head of the list of the most expensive foals at a National Hunt Sale - Rathbarry Stud's Blue Bresil and Coolmore's Walk In The Park are the two horses in question, and as night closed in around the Tattersalls Ireland sales complex at Ratoath, sure enough, the three most expensive foals were by those two sires.

Walk In The Park was responsible for two of the trio; Thistletown Stud's colt out of the Listed Sandown Mares' Hurdle winner Poppy Kay, who was also third in the Listed Gerry Feilden Hurdle, and the colt consigned by Yellowford Farm out of the winning pointer Chesapeake, by Network.

Poppy Kay's first foal went the way of Franny Woods of Abbeylands Farm at €52,000, and breeders Jim and Eileen Furlong of Thistletown Stud were delighted with how the sale began.

They commented: "Poppy Kay was a good mare and rated 138. She is back in foal to Walk In The Park as we wanted to give her every chance to produce a winner."

Having sold four of their six foals on Sunday, the couple has a dozen more foals to sell over the course of the next three days.

Yellowford Farm's Walk In The Park colt out of ChesapeakeCredit: Tattersalls Ireland

Kieran Shields went to €47,000 to secure the Motherway family's Walk In The Park colt whose dam Chesapeake is a half-sister to Bleu Berry, who won the Coral Cup and Grade 2 Hardy Eustace Novice Hurdle at Fairyhouse and was third to Supasundae in the Grade 1 Punchestown Champion Hurdle for Willie Mullins and Luke McMahon.

Deirdre Cashman, daughter of Frank Motherway, explained the backstory to the Walk In The Park foal, whose dam has proven something of a bargain buy.

"We bought the mare in 2018 and I think we bought her well as we paid just €8,500," she said. "We sold her older foal by Solider Of Fortune here to Timmy Hillman for €39,000 two years ago, and now she has had a good result today – she has done really well for us. She is a lovely big mare, big and strong."

Ferguson in the blue corner

Ian Ferguson was the buyer of the only other foal to sell for €50,000 and he was a son of Blue Bresil. Consigned by Clonbonny Stud, he is out of Onefortherose, a Doyen half-sister to Patricks Park, who won the Grade A Guinness Handicap Chase at the Punchestown festival and was third in the Galway Plate. They are out of Rose Gallery, who is a half-sister to the brilliant multiple Grade 1-winning mare Remember Rose.

The successful purchaser said: "He is a lovely foal and I thought he was the nicest here today. He is by a very popular sire and I have bought him for a client but he will come back to me. I doubt he will see a sales ring again until he has done something on the track."

The No Risk At All colt who is a half-brother to a 2022 Italian Classic winnerCredit: Tattersalls Ireland

A total of five colt foals sold for at least €40,000, with Peter Nolan giving €44,000 for a son of No Risk At All and Aiden Murphy spending €40,000 on a second-crop colt by Order Of St George.

Nolan bought Ballyreddin Stud's colt with a fascinating pedigree. The March-born bay is a half-brother to this season's Italian 1,000 Guineas winner Swipe Up, by Holy Roman Emperor, and to Rayna's World, a daughter of Poet's Voice who was third in the Grade 2 Dawn Run Mares' Novices' Hurdle. Their dam Salmon Rose is an unraced Iffraaj half-sister to Prince Bishop, who won the Dubai World Cup for Godolphin.

Lady Rebecca's legacy continues to shine

Murphy's Order Of St George colt has a much more recognisable National Hunt pedigree and it is one the agent is very familiar with, having purchased his half-brother Thunder Rock.

They are grandsons of the brilliant Lady Rebecca, the triple Cleeve Hurdle winner who helped David Redvers establish his Tweenhills Farm and Stud in Gloucestershire.

Sarah Rohan (left) of Ballincurrig House Stud with the grandson of Lady RebeccaCredit: Tattersalls Ireland

The bargain buy developed into a top-class staying hurdler and as a broodmare foaled the Listed winner Lord Generous. She is also the second dam of Royal Kahala, who won the Grade 2 Galmoy Hurdle last season for Peter Fahey.

This Order Of St George colt was sold by Ballincurrig House Stud on behalf of Olivia Hegarty and the exploits of his half-brother, who made a winning debut over fences for Murphy's son Olly, the McNeill family and Ian Dale at Uttoxeter at the end of October, have further advertised the family's potential.

Aiden Murphy said: "Thunder Rock is a fine horse and was impressive last week. I think Olly is planning to tip away quietly with him but this foal will come back to me. We haven't made a plan for him yet."

Boardsmill get their Sums right

A daughter of Sumbal from his first crop at Boardsmill Stud led the way for fillies as trade reached a crescendo. A homebred for the Flood family, whose impressive stallion roster also includes Poet's Word and Kalanisi, the April-born foal made €35,000 to Mulryan Bloodstock Limited.

The attractive bay filly is the third foal out of Smart Talk, a granddaughter of Mr Prospector who was trained by Brian Ellison to win the Grade 2 Doncaster Mares' Hurdle and the Listed Abram Mares' Novices Hurdle at Haydock.

The session's most expensive filly is this daughter of Boardsmill Stud sire SumbalCredit: Boardsmill Stud

By Hubbly Bubbly, Smart Talk is a full-sister to Idle Talk, who was second in the Grade 1 Royal & SunAlliance Novices' Chase and third in the Grade 2 Reynoldstown Novices' Chase.

Sumbal, like the much-missed Jeremy, is a son of Danehill Dancer and was a classy performer on the track for Qatar Racing. He won his first three starts, which included the Group 2 Prix Greffulhe, and was fifth in the Prix du Jockey Club to the leading young Flat sire New Bay.

He was also second in the Group 2 Prix d'Harcourt and the Prix du Prince d'Orange and Prix Exbury, both Group 3 contests.

His dam Alix Road is by the hugely influential Linamix and she was third in the Group 1 Prix Saint-Alary. The pedigree has received further updates this season through Lilac Road, the Group 2 Middleton Stakes winner. Out of Lavender Lane, a Group 2-placed Shamardal half-sister to Sumbal, she was also placed at Group 1 level in the Nassau Stakes and Prix Vermeille.

Sumbal covered 120 mares in his first season at the Trim, County Meath farm at a fee of €2,500, with concessions for filly foals, and there are 17 more foals by him due to sell this week.

Facts and Figures

Tattersalls Ireland's decision to reduce the number of foals scheduled each day and adding an fifth foal session will have an impact on some of the sales figures.

Sunday's first foal session saw 170 foals change hands for a total of €2,346,800, compared to the opening day of foals in 2021 which recorded turnover of €2,749,400 from 191 transactions. That represents a drop of 15 per cent in the aggregate, which is slightly greater than the reduction in foals sold, which was down by 11 points.

The clearance rate remained similar at 73 per cent in comparison to 74 per cent on the equivalent day last year.

Sunday's median of €11,750 represented year-on-year growth of 18 per cent, while the average dipped by four per cent from €14,395 in 2021 to €13,805.

The Tattersalls Ireland November National Hunt Sale continues on Monday at 10am, with the second foal session.

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