'They need to be nice models with good pedigrees' - opportunity knocks for Aubrey McMahon after sourcing a Grade 1 star

Opportunity knocked at Aubrey McMahon’s door this year in the shape of Honesty Policy, the first Grade 1 winner sourced by the young agent, and the Jukebox Jury gelding’s success for Gordon Elliott has opened more doors for McMahon, including a new trading venture with Carsena Bloodstock.

McMahon was busy buying point-to-pointers to go into training with Pa Doyle and Gerard Quinn during Part 1 of the Goffs Arkle Sale, a measure of the transformative power of Honesty Policy’s Aintree success.

“I bought him in October from Pat Doyle for a good friend and client – Frances Mangan – and he was a nice horse when I bought him but you can’t be that optimistic. He got Fran a win in Navan on a Saturday and in Leopardstown, Mr McManus bought him shortly after that and the two of us got a great thrill out of watching him win at Aintree,” the former jockey said. 

Honesty Policy’s first run for McManus resulted in a victory over Regent’s Stroll in the Grade 1 Mersey Novices’ Hurdle, a performance he followed up with a second-placed finish to Jasmin De Vaux in the Grade 1 Channor Real Estate Group Novice Hurdle at Punchestown.

Far from lamenting what could have been, Mangan and McMahon were ecstatic at the five-year-old’s success.

“Nobody got a bigger kick out of it than me and Fran,” he said. “The credit has to go to Gordon for what he did with him, he did a fantastic job and I think he’s going to be one hell of a chaser. He’s a gorgeous big horse who is going to jump a fence. I always thought he was going to be one for the future but Gordon has done some job with him.” 

McMahon's first purchase at Goffs this week, a Westerner full-brother to Amarillo Sky, who was bought under his Temple Bloodstock banner, will be trained by Elliott and the story behind it proves the benefit of schemes designed to increase investment in Irish bloodstock. 

Honesty Policy: "He’s a gorgeous big horse who is going to jump a fence"Credit: GROSSICK RACING

He said: “My client bought the horse because he had a ten grand voucher from ITM [Irish Thoroughbred Marketing] that he could use to buy an Irish-bred horse, so he said to me if there’s a horse this week you like I have the voucher and some prize-money so it’s proof of how those schemes work.” 

Evidence of how success lays the foundations for further success is McMahon’s new venture with Carsena Bloodstock, who he teamed up with to purchase four horses during the first two sessions.

“Carsena Bloodstock is a new client who have come on board and they [horses] have been bought to trade so they are going down the point-to-point route and hopefully they will end up back in good sales next year," he said.  

“The plan is to buy nice horses, produce the goods and sell them on. When buying for this type of venture, you have to think about the next buyer so they need to be nice models with good pedigrees and be by fashionable sires.”

The quartet fulfil that criteria being a mix of popular Irish stallions and a couple of French-breds.

Lot 97, a son of Jukebox Jury out of a Nickname half-sister to Graded hurdles winners Highway To Hell and Five O’Clock, was sourced for €28,000 from Ballincurrig House Stud on Tuesday.

Of course the clamour for Crystal Ocean’s second crop is growing and Carsena joined the bandwagon with the €82,000 purchase of Mount Eaton Stud’s half-sister to Grade 2 and 3-placed Ballygunner Castle out of a Presenting full-sister to the talented Yorkhill and to the dam of Fun Fun Fun.

“She's a lovely Crystal Ocean filly with a great pedigree from and Anthony Bromley was the underbidder so we were in good company,” McMahon said of the filly whose page also features Grade 1 winners The Listener and Offshore Account.

Naturally with an eye on fashion and looking to maximise profits in future it would be remiss of McMahon not to target the always en vogue French-breds.

From Glenwood Stud, vendors of the sale-topping Walk In The Park colt, he bought a filly from the second crop of Goliath Du Berlais for €50,000. 

“I wanted to get one on the books as he’s had a good start,” McMahon said of the Grade 1-winning son of Saint Des Saints whose first crop contains two Graded winners and three Listed winners.

Aubrey McMahon was among the buyers at this week's Goffs Arkle Sale Credit: Sarah Farnsworth

“The fourth horse we bought [for €58,000] is a Moises Has filly from Moanmore Stables and she's a half-sister to four black-type performers in France.”

“They all have nice pedigrees by sires who are doing well and we have a nice mix, we’re not putting our eggs in one basket. We looked at over 150 horses and we narrowed it down. We tried to get others but trade was very good so we didn’t get all of them. Tattersalls is coming up soon so we will have a look there too," he added. 

Point-to-point handlers and those like McMahon and Jet Bloodstock, the newly launched point-to-point trading vehicle of Simon Munir and Isaac Souede, were extremely active in the market during the first session of the sale, but National Hunt auctions are a broad cathedral of commerce. 

“I bought a For Fun gelding from Walter Connors out of a winning Poliglote mare. I bought him for a client to go to Willie Mullins, hopefully he will win a bumper and plenty of hurdle races. He probably lacked an inch for the point-to-point lads," said McMahon. 

The Defender Bumper at the Punchestown festival is an attractive prospect and McMahon, who bought 2023 runner-up Milo Lises, is hoping he gets go one better, perhaps with his purchases this week which he added to on Thursday morning with the purchase of a €27,000 Motivator filly from Koorana Stables. 

“As an agent I would love to buy the winner of it one day. To pick a horse out of 400 or 500 who goes on to win, it would be a great feather in the cap,” he said. “There was some buzz here for the two days but it wasn’t ridiculous either. There was solid, strong trade at the €60,000 to €120,000 mark and it was brilliant to see."

With new horizons, new clients and ventures, what of the Temple Bloodstock Syndicates that launched his bloodstock career?

He said: “We have a new syndicate horse going to Willie Mullins called How’s Hannah who won a point-to-point for the Townends in Cork and there is still some availability in her." 

Ever the salesman, but now he can point to being a Grade 1 salesman and opportunities will knock louder on his door.

Goffs Arkle Sale

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