November fireworks at Tattersalls Ireland as expanded sale a success

Rowland Crellin, breeder of Cue Card, travelled to Fairyhouse on a mission and that was to bring Say You Say Me back home to Wales.

It took a bid of €95,000 to see off the Mariga family of Coolmara Stables but Crellin was determined that he would not leave the November National Hunt sale without the mare he bred on his farm near Chepstow.

The five-year-old daughter of Flemensfirth is out of the Grade 3-winning hurdler Our Girl Salley, which makes Say You Say Me a half-sister to the Grade 1 David Nicholson Mares' Hurdle winner Black Tears. She was sold through Marie Harding's Glen Stables for €155,000 at the 2020 Tattersalls Ireland Derby Sale to Sue Magnier and was placed on all three of her starts this season for Magnier and Linda Shanahan, for whom Gordon Elliott trained the strong bay.

Consigned by Springfield Farm in County Waterford, she was offered in foal to Walk In The Park, who has carried all before him this week at Tattersalls Ireland. That was a bonus for Crellin, whose main aim was to return Say You Say Me to the fold at Brook Farm.

"I have bought her back having bred and sold her," Crellin explained. "I have her older Presenting half-sister and her foal half-sister by Getaway back home, as well as a sister to Cue Card and two more half-sisters of his."

They are part of the 15-strong broodmare band the businessman and farmer keeps in Gwent, and some of his most successful purchases have been in this very sale ring.

Rowland Crellin: 'I have been quite lucky with the mares that I have bought here and hopefully she will continue that'Credit: Www.healyracing.ie

"I have been quite lucky with the mares that I have bought here and hopefully she will continue that. She has developed into a fine, big scopey mare and is in foal to Walk In The Park," he added.

Her family also includes the Grade 1 Royal Bond Novice Hurdle heroine Airlie Beach and traces back to the Prix Wild Monarch winner Vieille Phoebe.

So determined was Crellin to secure Say You Say Me that he has already devised a long-term plan for the mare.

"We will get her home, and give her the year off after she foals, then hopefully send her back to Ireland to be covered by Crystal Ocean in 2024," he said.

Crystal Ocean was the co-highest-rated horse in the world in 2019, and the Group 1 winner by Sea The Stars has been in demand once more with breeders and buyers. His foals averaged €25,885 for 52 sold, with a peak price of €72,000 for Oliver Loughlin's colt out of the Yeats mare Hour Before Dawn, who was bought by Joey Logan.

Homecoming queen for Magniers

Another up-and-coming Coolmore National Hunt sire to catch the attention with his sales results at Tattersalls Ireland this week was the Group 1 Prix du Moulin winner Vadamos.

The Monsun stallion returned an average of €22,026 for 38 foals, led by the €64,000 colt out of the AQPS Grade 3 winner Dont Hesitate who was sold by Peria Stud to Timmy Hillman on Wednesday.

Vadamos will be given the chance to cover the second most expensive mare of the sale on Thursday, as the Magnier family of Grange Stud bought back Arizona Flyer, who they bred, for €85,000.

The Fame And Glory half-sister to last season's King George VI Chase hero Tornado Flyer won twice over hurdles in 2021 for Thomas McNulty and Mick Winters, and boasts a celebrity in her family. Her dam Mucho Macabi is an Exceed And Excel half-sister to none other than the legendary Hurricane Fly.

Arizona Flyer: 'She has been bought to go to Vadamos'Credit: Www.healyracing.ie

Catherine Magnier signed the docket for the mare consigned by Ross Stables who is in foal to another red-hot sire in Blue Bresil.

"We bred her and she is a lovely type of mare and a great walker. She has been bought to go to Vadamos," Magnier confirmed.

The family has retained Arizona Flyer's yearling half-sister by Walk In The Park and Mucho Macabi foaled a daughter by Soldier Of Fortune this year.

Coolmara Stables back in the buyers

Underbidders on the top lot, the Mariga family had better luck when bidding on Takeittothelimits, who was sold by JP McManus's Martinstown Stud.

They secured the daughter of Stowaway, who was second in a Listed mares' bumper at Gowran for McManus and Gordon Elliott, for €44,000. She was offered in foal to Santiago, a son of Authorized who won the Irish Derby and Queen's Vase, and is a descendant of the outstanding Allegretta. He stood his first season at Coolmore's Castlehyde Stud in 2023.

She is a full-sister to the Silver Trophy Handicap Hurdle winner Tea Clipper out of the Italian Listed hurdle winner A Plus Ma Puce. Second dam Lady Bagatelle is a half-sister to Shannon Bells, who is the granddam of Allaho, winner of Grade 1 chases at each of the two most recent Cheltenham and Punchestown festivals.

They paid €40,000 for Chadzeau, an unraced Network full-sister to Rubi Ball who was twice successful in the Grade 1 Prix le Haye Jousselin Chase at Auteuil and won the Grade 1 Prix Ferdinand Dufaure Chase at the Paris track.

The 11-year-old was offered by John Dwan's Ballyreddin Stud in foal to Mirage Dancer, the Group 1 Metropolitan winner by Frankel out of the Grade 1 winner Heat Haze, a Green Desert half-sister to the Group/Grade 1 winners Banks Hill, Cacique, Champs Elysees and Intercontinental, as well as the Group 2 winner and excellent sire Dansili. Mirage Dancer began his stallion career at Ger O'Neill's Castlefield Farm this year.

Disappointing return of mares

The mares' session lacked the lustre of a headlining star like Benie Des Dieux and Laurina, the former Willie Mullins stable companions who set records in the ring in subsequent years.

Only 40 of the 92 broodmares and breeding prospects offered were sold, which produced a disappointing clearance rate of just 43 per cent.

Consequently turnover slumped by 61 per cent from last year to €705,000. Thursday's mare session recorded an average of €17,625, which was a decline of 42 per cent from the 2021 average of €30,493. The median came in at €8,500, which was down by 33 per cent from last year's figure of €13,000.

Final foal session sees names old and new star

The sixth and final day of the 2022 Tattersalls Ireland November National Hunt Sale began with a session of foals.

Five of the youngsters on offer sold for €20,000 or higher, including a pair of colts by Blue Bresil. The Rathbarry Stud sire has, along with Walk In The Park and Crystal Ocean, been in huge demand all week at Fairyhouse, where his foals have averaged €29,564 for 47 sold.

Hillview Stud's colt out of Chill Time, a Fame And Glory half-sister to Time To Chill, was the highest-priced by the son of Smadoun this week and he was purchased by JC Bloodstock for €82,000 on Monday.

The prices were a little more modest on Thursday but Blue Bresil was the sire of the session-topping foal, a colt out of the Mahler mare Honey Come Home who was bought by Johnny Collins for €28,000.

Consigned by The Forge Stables for Jim Lanigan, he is the second foal of his dam, who is a half-sister to the Midlands Grand National third Warrantor.

He was the second foal by Blue Bresil that Collins purchased on Thursday morning, having earlier in proceedings bought Athnid Stud's colt for €20,000. The May born colt is the second foal out of Barra, who was second in the Grade 2 Dawn Run Mares' Novices' Hurdle and third in the Grade 1 EBF Mares' Novices Final Hurdle at Fairyhouse for Gigginstown House Stud.

She was bought by Tom and Noeleen Quinlan for €70,000 in December 2020 carrying her first foal, a colt by Poet's Word. Barra is a Vendangeur half-sister to El Barra who provided the foal with a nice pedigree update when winning the Grade 3 novice chase at Cork last Sunday for Willie Mullins and Rich Ricci.

"I am a big fan of the sire," commented Johnny Collins. "This colt is a lovely type with a good walk and a nice pedigree. When I saw him this morning I was really able to visualise what he could be as a three-year-old."

Kamsin, whose three Group 1 triumphs included the Deutsches Derby, relocated to Michael Shefflin's Annshoon Stud in Kilkenny, ahead of the 2021 breeding season, and the Samum stallion recorded his best sale from that first crop on Thursday morning. Bayview Stud's half-brother to the Joseph O'Brien-trained Home By The Lee made €21,000 to Stone Farms.

Home By The Lee is the winner of six of his 18 starts, including a Grade 2 novice chase at Cork. He was also third to Envoi D'Allen in the Grade 1 Drinmore Novice Chase at Fairyhouse in 2020. Another half-sibling, Beautiful Citi, was third to Honeysuckle in the Listed Boreen Belle Mares' Novice Hurdle.

Bred by Lorna Doyle, the colt is out of the Presenting mare Going For Home, who has bred three winners from four runners so far. A winner in the point-to-point field, she is a daughter of Satlin, who is a half-sister to the County Hurdle and Tote Gold Trophy winner Neblin.

Sale statistics

Overall the five sessions' trade in National Hunt foals saw 685 youngsters sold for total revenue of €12,440,400, which was a tiny increase of 0.6 per cent on the 2021 total of €12,360,150. That was on the back of 678 foals sold.

The 2022 foal average of €18,161 is the second highest in the history of the sale, dipping by only 0.4 per cent on last year's record figure.

At €14,500, the median was comfortably the best ever recorded at the sale, up 7.5 per cent on last year's figure of €13,500 and beating the previous high of €13,750 set in 2019.

In total, the 2022 sale generated turnover of €15,758,100, which was the highest figure recorded since the pre-recession days of 2007 and earlier, when the sale lasted much longer than the six days it was held over this year.

Both the average and median were the second best in the 20 years of records available, beaten only by those set last year. This year's average price of €18,388 dropped by three points from the 2021 benchmark of €19,008, while at €12,500 the median was four per cent lower than last year's figure of €13,000.

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