Pierre Boulard strikes at Osarus but €55,000 son of Cokoriko not joining Mullins

A two-year-old son of Cokoriko from one of the best French jumping families of the last 25 years topped the Osarus National Hunt Sale on Wednesday.

Agent Pierre Boulard had the last word at €55,000 for the already-named Kerko [lot 91], who was presented by Jerome Gandon's Haras des Pierres Follets.

But the man who has long been the eyes and ears of Willie Mullins and Harold Kirk in France, and who has sourced many of the perennial Irish champion trainer's highest-profile winners, confirmed that Kerko will not be heading to Closutton.

Instead he will be based in Chantilly with an Italian-born rising star of the training ranks.

"I have an English client and we've started to have horses with Davide Satalia, we're very happy with him," said Boulard, who continues to work closely with Mullins. "He is a young and talented trainer."

Boulard has already bought one sale-topper over the course of the summer that has gone to Satalia, a €70,000 son of Doctor Dino sold at Arqana's Lumet Show from Ecurie de la Ridaudiere.

He said: "Davide is always looking for youngstock. Kerko is a nice horse to offer a share of to my client and Davide was keen on him. He looked really good and the page was good too."

The gelding is out of the Martaline mare Kerkada, while his second dam Kakira is a full-sister to the Wildenstein family's dual Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris winner Kotkijet and the source of no fewer than seven winners including Prix Cambaceres heroine Kotkita, herself the producer of Grade 1 winner Kotkikova.

Pierre Boulard went to €55,000 to secure the top lot at the Osarus 100% National Hunt SaleCredit: Scoop Dyga/Osarus

Osarus has staged this sale in the Paris region in recent years, often as the aperitif before the major 48 Hours meeting at Auteuil but, with that two-day fixture being staged a week later this year and the company rebuilding its standing after some challenging years, the session returned to its western roots at Le Lion d'Angers racecourse.

Their reward was greater support from breeders and a catalogue that grew from 82 lots at Compiegne 12 months ago to 126 on Wednesday, with an improved clearance rate of 53 per cent for turnover of €382,800.

Kerko was the clear star of the show during the concluding section of two-year-old stores, with Satalia's Chantilly neighbour Marcel Rolland striking at €14,000 for Le Sonneur [lot 103], Haras de la Cote Fleurie's son of Bathyrhon.

The Haras de la Hetraie inmate was also responsible for the leader in the foal section, a colt [lot 49] out of a Byzantium sister to Kauto Star knocked down for €12,000 and heading to Ireland in the company of CS Bloodstock and Trade.

€12,000 was also the top price in the yearling part of the catalogue, a figure attained by two lots: trainer Philippe Peltier secured L'Ame D'Ainay [lot 18], a filly by Tunis sold by Haras de Cercy from the family of Cleeve Hurdle winner Crystal D'Ainay and Claimantakinforgan.

And Florent Fonteyne of Trotting Bloodstock signed for a Cokoriko AQPS filly from the same breeder, Stephane Milaveau, called Lunatique D'Ainay [lot 45]

Read more:

Inside the world of the planet's best horse, Flightline(£)

'I was stunned by the reaction to Bean's retirement'

Dreamloper to sell at Keeneland

Quick double proving Tango is well worth the cash

'He was always going to be expensive' - Fancy Man fetches 675,000gns