'What a result' - Dan Rohan on his €66,000 session-topping colt by Blue Bresil

On the day it was revealed that his sire will next year again be the most expensive in world bloodstock, Old Persian enjoyed the best hours of his nascent stud career with the highest-priced foal from his first crop selling at Tattersalls Ireland's November National Hunt Sale.

The dual Group 1 winner by Dubawi who can trace his lineage back to Pasadoble, the dam of the extraordinary Miesque, was acquired for stud duties by the Cashman family for their National Hunt division at Glenview Stud.

His first crop of foals have taken the opportunities presented to them to make an impression, with breeders sending more mares to him this year on the strength of those foals and now as they make their sales ring bow in the sales ring.

Ballincurrig House Stud consigned the colt with the distinction of making €47,000, and the second foal out of the Westerner mare Lady West was purchased by Gerry Hogan.

"I have bought the colt on behalf of an existing client as a racing prospect," remarked Hogan. "I really like the stallion, he is a lovely son of Dubawi and has had some very nice foals here this week."

The colt has promising credentials as his dam, Lady West, is a half-sister to The Big Bite, who was third in last year's Grade 3 Greatwood Gold Cup Handicap Chase for Henry Oliver. They are out of Thanks Noel, who is also unraced and a half-sister to Cooldine, winner of two Grade 1 chases for Willie Mullins. Another of her half-sisters is the dam of Grade 1 Punchestown Champion Bumper winner Blow By Blow.

Old Persian is bred on the same cross as European champion two-year-old and Darley first-crop sire Too Darn Hot. The Dubai Sheema Classic winner is the sire of five foals to sell so far this week at Tattersalls Ireland, where they averaged €20,400.

Cashman sires on top

His studmate at Glenview, Blue Bresil, has competed with Walk In The Park all week for the title of most popular stallion at the sales. The sire of four individual Grade 1 winners, led by the potential superstar Constitution Hill and including dual Grade 1 winners Blue Lord and L'Autonomie, has averaged €30,651 for 43 sold over the last five days and he was responsible for the session-topping colt on Wednesday.

Out of the winning hurdler Castlerock Rose, who is by the Cashman family's outstanding late stallion Presenting, the colt was knocked down to Norman Williamson's Oak Tree Stud for €66,000. The foal has a poignant backstory, which Dan Rohan of Ballinaclasha Stud, recounted.

"The family was developed by my brother-in-law and I trained Castlerock Rose for Judy Cuddy, who sadly died a few years ago but got to see the mare in foal to Oscar," Rohan commented.

"That foal has turned into a gorgeous horse and is in training. He should be ready to run around Christmas."

Dan Rohan with his session-topping Blue Bresil coltCredit: Healy Racing/Tattersalls Ireland

This Blue Bresil colt is the fourth foal out of Castlerock Rose but the only foal that Rohan brought from Cork to Fairyhouse to sell this week, and understandably he was pleased with the outcome.

"What a result!" he exclaimed. "It is a great National Hunt family and I am delighted with the result."

The foal is the second in succession that Castlerock Rose has produced by Blue Bresil, with Rohan deciding to use the son of Smadoun the moment he viewed him at Glenview Stud.

"I didn't know much about Blue Bresil but I had seen some of his stock that the Cashmans had bred and I loved them," he said.

"I'm just a farmer but when I saw the stallion I knew I had to have a foal by him, whatever the cost of the nomination. He is a champion - he has the looks, the walk and is a kind horse. He has everything."

Norman Williamson, who purchased the foal, revealed his own connection to the family as he had ridden Belvederian, the multiple Graded-winning hurdler and chaser who is a half-brother to the dam of Castlerock Rose.

A smiling Norman Williamson who bought the session topperCredit: Healy Racing/Tattersalls Ireland

"We thought he was the best foal here today, he has great action and bags of quality," Williamson commented.

No hesitation for Connell family about Vadamos

Vadamos transferred from Tally-Ho Stud to David Magnier's Grange Stud, where the son of Monsun stands under the Coolmore National Hunt banner, ahead of the 2021 season.

The Group 1 Prix du Moulin winner who was bred by Haras de Saint Pair is from the family of their 2022 Group 1 Matron Stakes winner Pearls Galore, and is also a relation of the Aga Khan's homebred Prix du Jockey Club and Eclipse Stakes winner Vadeni, by Churchill.

Although his oldest runners are just four-year-olds, he is already the sire of the Listed-placed juvenile hurdler Calvados and La Crique, the recent Group 1 Matamata Plate winner, who was bred in New Zealand, where Vadamos shuttles to Rich Hill Stud for the southern hemisphere season.

On Wednesday he recorded the best price for a foal from his first crop conceived at Grange Stud, when Timmy Hillman went to €64,000 for the Connell family's homebred colt.

Pat Connell handed media relations duties to his daughters Sarah and Kirsty.

Timmy Hillman deep in concentrationCredit: Www.healyracing.ie

"Since the day he was born, he has been a lovely foal," commented Sarah, who was double-jobbing as she led up the colt.

Her sister Kirsty added: "He is a great mover and has been popular and busy since he got here."

The sisters confirmed that the family had been staunch supporters of Vadamos, with some of the family's Peria Stud Flat broodmares also visiting him at the start of his stallion career.

"Vadamos was a very good racehorse and Dad has used him from day one, even on Flat mares. Dad has always liked him; Vadamos gets lovely types and he has such a great temperament so we are all big fans," the sisters said.

The purchase price recouped both the family's initial outlay on Dont Hesitate, who they bought at the 2020 Tattersalls Ireland November National Hunt Sale for €13,500, and the covering fee for Vadamos, who stood for the past three seasons at €6,000.

Dont Hesitate won the Prix d'Estruval, a Grade 3 bumper for AQPS horses, at Maisons-Laffitte, when trained by Francois Doumen before she was sold to Sullivan Bloodstock and moved to Ireland, where she was trained by Willie Mullins to win a maiden hurdle at Ballinrobe.

The daughter of Diamond Boy moved to a third country, and the yard of Fergal O'Brien, for her final two starts, before she was sold through Ballincurrig House Stud to the Connell family in this ring almost two years ago.

Vadamos was also the sire of Coolamurry Stud's half-brother to Kenny Alexander's Grade 2 Dawn Run Mares' Novices' Hurdle winner Telmesomethinggirl, who was purchased by Peter Molony's Rathmore Stud for €36,000 on Wednesday.

The two foals helped Vadamos to achieve an average price of €23,286 for 35 foals sold so far at the November National Hunt Sale.

Affinisea making waves

Matt Coleman got the ball rolling on Wednesday morning when striking for a colt by the busiest sire in Europe - Whytemount Stud's Affinisea. The Sea The Stars three-parts brother to Soldier Of Fortune, whose Group 1 successes for Aidan O'Brien included the Irish Derby and Coronation Cup, is just a Roscommon maiden winner but has covered approximately 700 mares over the past two seasons.

His first runners are only four this year but have already made a positive impression, and both his books and sales returns have increased accordingly.

Gerry Hogan in action at Tattersalls IrelandCredit: Healy Racing/Tattersalls Ireland

Forth Mountain Stud offered the Affinisea half-brother to The Shunter, who landed a gamble for Emmet Mullins and Paul Byrne in the Grade 3 Paddy Power Plate Handicap Chase at the 2021 Cheltenham Festival.

At a cost of €40,000, he is the joint most expensive foal by his sire to change hands this week.

Coleman bought the son of Tornado Lady, for whom The Shunter is her first runner, on behalf of a UK-based client and he will be retained for racing.

"My client and I thought that we would buy foals rather than stores as racing prospects because there might be more value that way," said Coleman.

"We are trying to buy the female page and the physical horse to match. This chap looks quite precocious and racy, he is a good mover too and a half-brother to a good horse. I like Affinisea's stock, they are not over-big but have a good attitude and plenty of Sea The Stars about them."

Facts and figures

Wednesday's trade was less high-powered than the action on the preceding two days but there were enough high points to keep the calculators ticking over.

A total of 136 horses were sold during the fifth session, generating receipts of €1,592,450. That translates into an average price of €11,709, with the median coming in at €8,500.

The clearance rate was just 61 per cent, the lowest by far of the four foal sessions which have been held this week.

The sale concludes on Thursday with a mixed session of foals and mares that begins at 10am.

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