Cheltenham tipping to foal consigning, Tom Nugent gets it right first time again

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At the end of a hectic first day of the Goffs December National Hunt Sale, Martin caught up with Tom Nugent, consigning for the first time under his own banner – subscribers can get more great insight from Martin every Monday to Friday.

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Former Paddy Power marketing man Tom Nugent is used to getting things right the first time.  

In March 2013, when he was still studying at Trinity College Dublin, he set up a blog to share his views on racing. A week later he managed to tip six winners on the opening day of the Cheltenham Festival at combined odds of more than 20,000-1, attracting national press coverage in the process.

The County Kilkenny native, who now runs his own Bullfinch brand consultancy, has also got off to a flying start with the first lot he has consigned under his own Kells House banner selling for good money.

He and fiancee Milly Harwood, sponsorship and sales manager at Naas racecourse, sold a Blue Bresil colt out of the smart hurdler Ruaille Buaille to Jerry McGrath for €50,000 in the opening session of the Goffs December National Hunt Sale on Monday – the third highest price of the day.So he is now getting something even better than a splash in the Irish Mirror proclaiming his genius: recognition in Good Morning Bloodstock.

“Ah, it’s a fairly amateur operation,” he told me after the sale, modestly batting away any praise. “It’s a sheep farm with two mares, really. We’ve been tricking around with mares for a while, trying to buy and sell one or two, and we’ve always got on pretty well, actually.

“This year we had two nice foals and we said we’d try to prep and consign them ourselves, as we have the time these days. Covid changed everything, really, as after being based in Dublin and London for a long time, I moved back to Kilkenny and worked from home. So I prepped them myself, with Milly’s invaluable help.”

Kells House’s breakthrough big seller has an interesting pedigree. First of all, he’s by the darling of the National Hunt stallion ranks, Blue Bresil. He was standing his third season at Glenview Stud at a private fee last year as his outstanding son Constitution Hill was rising through the ranks and Blue Lord and Royal Pagaille were establishing themselves as exciting chasers. 

That's a pretty punchy mating for a 'fairly amateur operation' isn't it?

“We wanted to send the mare to a proper sire for her first cover, to get her going, that’s why we chose him,” explained Tom. “Everyone knew he was a good sire, of course, but you could have still called him upwardly mobile at that point and he was still just about affordable for us.” 

Ruaille Buaille, the mare in question, must have the name ‘Whytemount Stud’ running through her like a stick of rock. By the farm’s former sire Salutino, she was bred by its owner Ronnie O’Neill out of Cyclone Lorraine, a Stowaway full-sister to one of the best horses he has bred, in Hidden Cyclone.

Milly Harwood (left) and Aine Ryan with the Blue Bresil colt out of Ruaille BuailleCredit: Sophie Webber Photography/Goffs

For her part, Cyclone Lorraine is out of Hurricane Debbie, a Shahanndeh half-sister to another O’Neill masterpiece in Challow Novices’ Hurdle winner and SunAlliance Novices’ Hurdle runner-up Berude Not To.

Tom continued: “We bought Ruaille Buaille as a foal privately from Ronnie. It’s very much a Whytemount Stud pedigree, so credit to him. He had the first four dams, and stood Salutino, Stowaway and Shahanndeh.

“We reared her and then decided we might race her, so we put a syndicate together and leased her to a few mates from college who were keen to have a leg of something.

“She went to Willie Mullins and we were lucky enough that she won four races and picked up black type. She was actually one of the highest rated runners by Salutino, who didn’t end up siring that many foals. She’s a lovely dark bay mare with a good action: that’s why we thought we’d hang on to her to breed from.”

The masterplan came off as the product of the mating between Blue Bresil and Ruaille Buaille, the colt born in February, was described as “all class” by McGrath when he signed the docket for him. The foal is heading to Noel Fehily’s farm to be prepared for a return to the ring as a three-year-old store.

“Yeah, it all worked out, thankfully,” said Tom. “She threw a really nice first foal. In fact, he never actually looked like a first foal from the moment he was born. He always looked like a more mature mare’s produce.”

So was he always confident, then, that Kells House’s first lot would get the newest name in the index of vendors off to a flyer?

“It was our first consignment so there was a bit of self doubt, of course, but the colt had been doing all the right things at home, and he had a nice temperament and a good physical,” said Tom. 

“He also knows he’s good-looking, and he shows himself very well, which helps. So I'd say we were hopeful without being confident. Either way, we’re delighted!”

Jerry McGrath signing for the Blue Bresil colt at €50,000Credit: Sophie Webber Photography/Goffs

Profits will no doubt be ploughed back into Kells House, although the farm already has a gleaming new mare to look forward to bringing home in the near future.

“We’ve got three mares to foal down in springtime, and hopefully we’ll have four to foal down the following year, as we’ll also have Banntown Girl," said Tom. 

"She's running in the Listed mares’ novice hurdle at Punchestown tomorrow. She’s a Stowaway full-sister to Blackbow and she already has lower-case black type, so she’s got everything going for her except that upper case.

“Fingers crossed she does it on Tuesday. It could be a big few days for the farm!”

Not forgetting, either, Kells House’s second ever sales offering, a Mahler colt from the family of high-class siblings Diamond Hill, Blackstairmountain and Mt Leinster who goes through the ring at Goffs as Lot 800 on Thursday.

If that foal sells well too, Tom's week could surpass even the highs of that 20,000-1 six-time at Cheltenham a decade ago. The mainstream press might not be done with him yet.

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“He was a truly inspirational character who revolutionised the way European thoroughbred auctions are conducted,” says Henry Beeby as he pays tribute to former Goffs managing director Jonathan Irwin after his death at the age of 82.

Pedigree pick

First Alliance, who makes his debut in the seven-furlong novice stakes at Southwell on Tuesday (5.30), is an exciting prospect for Clipper Logistics.

The Karl Burke-trained colt is by Dubawi and is the first foal out of the Zoffany mare Main Edition, a dual Group 3 winner at two and successful in the German 1,000 Guineas at three.

The dam was not only high-class, but also well related, being a half-sister to top-class miler Major Cadeaux and Royal Ascot scorer Beachfire, out of Maine Lobster, a daughter of Woodman and US Grade 1 winner Capades.

No wonder, then, that First Alliance cost Clipper a cool 500,000gns at Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale last year.

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