'He was a real collector's item' - Richard Rohan on €100,000 sale-topping foal

The route to a successful National Hunt foal sale for breeders and vendors really is a Walk In The Park as progeny of Coolmore's Derby runner-up once again dominated the upper echelons of trade during the third day of the Goffs December National Hunt Sale, producing yet another session-topper and a six-figure foal.

Having sired the most expensive National Hunt foal - by a considerable margin - ever sold at Goffs on Tuesday, for an encore on Wednesday Walk In The Park came up with a second €100,000 lot, which was the first time in the history of the sale that two foals achieved six figure prices.

Walk In The Park was also the sire of six of the eight most expensive foals to come under the hammer during the session.

With a dozen foals offered for sale during trading, he returned an average of €47,818, with the median price falling at €58,000. His clearance rate was none too shabby either, with 11 out of the 12 changing hands.

Goffs hit the sweetest of high notes, from an octave in the top end of Mariah Carey's range, right at the very end of the session with the final lot through the ring, a beautifully bred son of Walk In The Park bringing the curtain down in true diva style.

Pa Doyle, who consigned the six-figure session topperCredit: Peter Mooney

Offered by Pa Doyle's Galbertstown Stables on behalf of his breeder Sean Ronan, the June foal belied his late birth date and tender age to take his turn in the spotlight with the assurance of a megawatt star.

Bidding on the foal opened at €20,000 and it quickly raced up in increments of €5,000 and €10,000, making it apparent that this was another landmark sale.

In the end it was Richard Rohan, whose less expensive purchases in this ring include the dual Grade 1 Stayers' Hurdle winner Flooring Porter, that had the final say with auctioneer Michael Ryan bringing the hammer down at €100,000.

"He was a real collector's item," Rohan commented of his latest buy. "The minute I saw him, I knew I couldn't leave him behind, but I didn't think we would have to go quite that far in the final furlong to get him."

The foal will have a sales ring encore himself when he will be offered through Rohan's brother-in-law Michael Moore's Ballincurrig House Stud as a store.

The burnished bay is yet a nebula but he could grow to become the next supernova from his family; his dam Duhallow Gesture won a Listed bumper and is out of a half-sister to the famous Grade 1 winners and half-brothers Rhinestone Cowboy and Wichita Lineman and to the dam of Grade 1 Drinmore Novice Chase winner Coney Island.

Their dam Monumental Gesture, the third dam of this foal, was bred by Moyglare Stud and was a half-sister to Listed winner Rare Holiday and Token Gesture, successful in the Group 3 Park Stakes for Dermot Weld and later the dam of Moyglare's Grade 1 Canadian International winner Relaxed Gesture.

Richard Rohan signs for the Walk In The Park coltCredit: Peter Mooney

For breeder Ronan, who has only two National Hunt mares in a 17-strong broodmare band at his farm outside Clonmel, Duhallow Gesture has become an important producer in a short space of time. Wednesday's session-topper is just her second foal and her first, a colt by Blue Bresil, brought €40,000 in the same sales ring a year ago.

The daughter of King's Theatre was herself sold at Kildare Paddocks, as a store at the Land Rover Sale of 2015, before going on to win five of her 15 starts under rules for Anthony Honeyball, including the Listed Henrietta Knight bumper. In addition to that success, she was also third in the Grade 2 Nickel Coin Mares' Bumper at Aintree and won three times over hurdles before Ronan purchased her out of Honeyball's yard.

"He was a very good foal, a really athletic horse and a great mover," said Ronan. "He hasn't put a foot wrong from the very start and Pa and the lads at Galbertstown have done a great job with him, but we weren't expecting him to make as much as he did.

"Pedigrees like that really make a difference. You can't go wrong with a King's Theatre mare and I hope this foal is very lucky for Richard and everyone at Ballincurrig House."

Ronan also confirmed that Duhallow Gesture is safely back in foal to Blue Bresil.

Dinaria writes poetry for Ross

There was a certain poetic symmetry between the second and third days of the Goffs December National Hunt Sale as colt foals out of top class Gigginstown House Stud racemares were the stars on top of the Christmas tree at Kildare Paddocks

On Wednesday it was the turn of Dinaria Des Obeaux to emulate Shattered Love, her former stable companion at Cullentra House, and produce a leading foal at Goffs.

The Poet's Word colt out of Dinaria Des Obeaux who made €75,000Credit: Peter Mooney

Offered by Louis Kennedy's Mountain View Stud, the Tipperary farm which purchased the Grade 2 Anaglog's Daughter Novice Chase and Grade 3 Winning Fair Juvenile Hurdle winner, the colt foal from the second Boardsmill Stud crop of Poet's Word grabbed the attention of bidders as the sale drew to a close.

After a protracted battle, Kevin Ross emerged with the all-important purchaser's dockets for the grandson of Saddler Maker. The agent, in conjunction with Ben Case, regularly buys high-class foals on behalf of Lady Jane Grosvenor to resell as store horses and that will be the case for this Poet's Word colt, who was snapped up for €75,000.

"I thought he was a lovely foal and I am very keen on the sire," commented Ross. "He is a really athletic foal with lots of presence and a lovely mover. Hopefully he will be back at Goffs in June 2025 for the Land Rover Sale."

Dinaria Des Obeaux was acquired at the 2019 Goffs December National Hunt Sale for the bargain price of €42,000. Carrying her first foal, a colt by the late Boardsmill sire Mount Nelson, she was knocked down to White Bloodstock and has more than repaid their initial outlay.

Her second foal made €85,000 last year to Joey Logan and she has now produced the most expensive foals from each of the first two Irish crops of the King George VI and Prince of Wales's Stakes-winning grandson of Dubawi.

Grade 1 winners a stroll for sire

Walk In The Park is the sire of five Grade 1 winners, including the electric Facile Vega, and had the first three home in an exciting Punchestown maiden hurdle last month.

The winner, Monbeg Park, had Sean Doyle effusive in his praise for the five-year-old, describing him afterwards as possibly the best horse he'd ever trained. Runner-up that day was Gordon Elliott's Will Do and it was a three-parts brother to that gelding, owned by Gigginstown House Stud, who brought the third-highest price at Goffs on Wednesday when selling for €68,000 to Ronan Griffin, the former bloodstock director at Goffs.

The Walk In The Park colt out of Where Dreams Begin takes his turn in the ringCredit: Peter Mooney

Offered by breeder Oliver Loughlin, the bay colt is the second foal of Where Dreams Begin, a Presenting full-sister to the American Listed Appleton Hurdle winner Presence Of Mind, who began his career with Olly Murphy, for whom he won a bumper and novice hurdle.

She is also a full-sister to Niamh's Away, the unraced dam of Grange Road, who was successful over hurdles for Paul Nicholls, and a half-sister to Will Do.

Second dam Alleygrove Lass is an unraced Alderbrook half-sister to the beautiful Albertas Run, a triple Grade 1 winner over fences at the Cheltenham Festival for Jonjo O'Neill and the late Trevor Hemmings. The third dam, Holly Grove Lass, is a half-sister to Grade 1 Aintree Hurdle winner Mister Morose and to the dam of Captain Cutter, successful in the Challow Hurdle.

Story of the Hurricane for Yellowford

Eight lots earlier, the Walk In The Park colt from Yellowford Farm, a familiar source of sales-topping foals, set an early precedent for the day's action. Just the second foal into the ring, bidders and viewers were primed for early action and they were not disappointed with the colt out of a half-sister to the outstanding champion Hurricane Fly.

Conor Cashman, Dana Jones, Joe Cashman, Dee Cashman and Frank MotherwayCredit: Peter Mooney

He is the second foal of Wendy Howell, a daughter of Yeats who was fourth in a maiden hurdle at five for Willie Mullins. Bred by Drumlin Bloodstock, as are her first two foals both by Walk In The Park, she is also a half-sister to Mucho Macabi, the dam of last season's King George VI Chase winner Tornado Flyer, who also won the Grade 1 Racing Post Champion Bumper at Punchestown.

Michael Fitzpatrick of JC Bloodstock was the successful buyer at €66,000, and Peter Vaughan, who was representing the noted pinhooker, confirmed plans for the latest purchase.

"He has been bought for resale at one of the major store sales," he said. "Michael saw him and thought everything added up, he ticked all the boxes."

The colt is bred on the same Walk In The Park - Yeats cross as Tuesday's record-priced foal, and both stallions are bred on a similar cross of Sadler's Wells with Top Ville. The April-born foal is quite closely related to Hurricane Fly as the hero of 22 Grade 1 triumphs is a son of the exceptional Montjeu, like Walk In The Park.

His pedigree is one the Cork family has nurtured since they acquired Scandisk, the dam of Hurricane Fly, for €63,000 in November 2009. At that point, Hurricane Fly was the winner of three Grade 1 novice hurdles and his Kenmare dam, who died earlier this year at the age of 27, was carrying a Shirocco foal and her yearling was Mucho Macabi, who had made €40,000 at that year's Goffs Orby Sale.

Hurricane Fly subsequently entered the pantheon of the all-time greats, while his half-sisters have become broodmares back in Cork for the Motherway family and some of his half-siblings have set off fireworks in the ring with six-figure sales.

Bleahen walks a familiar path

John Dwan's Ballyreddin Stud offers Avanguardia, in foal to Mirage Dancer, as lot 795 at Goffs on Thursday and if her Walk In The Park colt is any indication, then buyers will give the daughter of Choisir an enthusiastic reception when she takes her turn in the sales ring.

Niall Bleahen studies the catalogueCredit: Peter Mooney

Already a proven producer, as the dam of the Supreme Novices' Hurdle winner Labaik, who gained notoriety for his antics prior to the start of his races before injury intervened and curtailed the promising career of the Montmartre gelding, Avanguardia has a perfect record with her runners.

Her latest foal, a son of the sales-dominating Walk In The Park, brought a winning bid of €58,000 from the shrewd Niall Bleahen, who will resell him as a store.

"He is a brother to a talented horse from the same Montjeu sireline and I really liked him as a model," said Bleahen.

"For such a big, strong foal, he is a really easy mover and showed such a nice, relaxed mindset. To see him be so calm and relaxed as a brother to Labaik was really encouraging, and I loved him as a horse."

As with so many of his peers, Bleahen is a fan of Walk In The Park and has successfully pinhooked his progeny.

"We bought the Walk In The Park half-sister to Irish Grand National winner Rogue Angel here as a foal for €20,000 and sold her to Paul Nicholls for €110,000," he added.

Named Lime Avenue, the five-year-old mare made a winning debut in a Chepstow bumper in late October and was second on her first start over hurdles at Wincanton last week in the colours of Highclere Thoroughbred Racing.

The session topper takes his turn in the ringCredit: Peter Mooney

As the sale has been expanded to four days for the first time, a direct comparison with the third day of the 2021 edition is not a fair reflection as that closing session included mares and foals.

Wednesday's figures were generated solely by foals, with 153 of the 201 on offer finding new owners, putting the clearance rate at 76 per cent. That level of trade generated turnover of €2,509,050, with an average price of €16,399 and the median at €10,500.

The fourth and final day of the sale begins at 10am on Thursday, when star turns are expected from the likes of Concertista and Royal Kahala.

Read more:

Behind the scenes at the Skeltons' stud arm of their successful operation(£)

Shattered Love's foal shatters record at Goffs

A poignant purchase for Juddmonte as Treve's half-sister fetches €675,000

'We’ll see if she can win a Group 1' - headline act Malavath brings €3.2 million

'He's his Christmas present!' - £380,000 Brook Bay tops Goffs Tingle Creek Sale