Snowy forecast for Fairyhouse as impressive Krystal Sky set for Tattersalls Ireland May Sale

Predicting the weather is notoriously unreliable in a country where one day of sunshine with the mercury pushing beyond 20 degrees counts as summer, but there could well be a snow sky over Fairyhouse on Thursday afternoon for the second edition of the Tattersalls Ireland May Point-To-Point Sale.

Recent maiden winners for Ballycurragh Stud stallion Snow Sky, have seen some sun shine over the Murphy family's County Carlow farm where the Hardwicke Stakes, Yorkshire Cup, Gordon Stakes and Lingfield Derby Trial winner has resided since 2016.

Snow Sky's success is on both sides of the Atlantic as his second crop son, Wrestlingwithrae, triumphed in the Listed Grand National Timber Stakes last month. The 180,000gns horses-in-training purchase by Hamish Macauley in 2022 was the winner of a four-year-old maiden at Ballingarry in late May as is Krystal Sky, who demolished the field in the mares' maiden at the track last Sunday.

An incredible 40-length victory over Wishful Wings for Cormac Doyle ensured Krystal Sky (Lot 49) is one of the talking horses on the sale ground. Both Krystal Sky and Wrestlingwithrae are graduates of the Monbeg academy in Wexford, as are other notable Snow Sky progeny Show In The Sky and Parish Quiz, which Willie Murphy of Ballycurragh Stud highlights.

"The Doyles have done really well with the Snow Skys that they have bought, and they are the kind of people you need buying young horses by your sire," Murphy said.

"That was a really good run at the weekend and I think she has always promised to be good. She has a lovely pedigree too," Murphy remarked of Krystal Sky, a full-sister to Miranda Priestly. 

She is also a half-sister to Trump Lady, a multiple winning hurdler by Doyen and their dam, Kris Krystal, is a daughter of Derby winner Kris Kin and out of the Bob Back mare Go On Eileen. Kris Krystal is a half-sister to Regal Encore, successful in the Grade 3 Gold Cup Handicap Chase at Ascot and twice in the Listed Silver Cup Handicap Chase at the same track, having been runner-up in the Grade 1 Champion Bumper.

Sixandahalf is the star performer for Snow SkyCredit: Patrick McCann

Another of Kris Krystal's half-brothers is the Listed Doncaster Mares' Novice Hurdle winner The Organist by former Ballycurragh Stud stallion Alkaadhem.

Monbeg produced Show In The Sky to win his four-year-old maiden on debut at Tinahely last autumn prior to making £85,000 to Ian Lawrie at Cheltenham in November. The gelding is a son of the brilliant Voler La Vedette and is the fifth most expensive of Snow Sky's progeny to come under the hammer.

Parish Quiz is another of the progeny to earn a six-figure price tag in the ring, selling for exactly £100,000 to Macauley and Rebecca Menzies at Aintree last year. The Durham trainer is enjoying success with the son of Nayef; she trains Twoshotsoftequila, from his first crop, and the gelding's best Racing Post Rating (RPR) of 137 matches that of Sixandahalf.

"From limited numbers he is doing very well, he can't do a whole lot more than he is both on the track and in the points. Sixandahalf is a great advertisement for him and Barton Snow has turned into a good hunter chase horse in England, he's won his last two including at Cheltenham and runs again on Friday at Stratford," Murphy said.

Snow Sky's statistics are worth a second look. Krystal Sky is one of just four runners in her age group this season by the sire and of the other three, Icantcatcher was third on debut for Garret Murphy at Dromahane in March.

In total the St Leger third has nine four-year-olds named out of 41 registered.

It's the same as the number of five-year-olds recorded with Weatherbys and 11 of them have received names with the most notable being Gavin Cromwell's Sixandahalf who has mixed it in high-class company under both codes.

Snow In The Sky is another successful Snow Sky for the Monbeg teamCredit: © Debbie Burt/Tattersalls Chelt

Successful at Fairyhouse on her hurdling debut, she went straight to Cheltenham where she was second in the Grade 2 Dawn Run Mares' Novices Hurdle and added further blacktype to her record at the Punchestown festival at the beginning of the month. Those results came after a campaign on the Flat that culminated in the Irish Cesarewitch, in which she was third having won a fillies' handicap at Newmarket in August.

Sixandahalf has an official rating of 94 on the Flat and 137 over hurdles, showcasing the versatility of her sire and what he imparts to his progeny.

Another of his five-year-olds was due to go under the hammer at Tattersalls Ireland on Thursday but Boley Bob, who won for Murphy at Inchydoney on Sunday, is withdrawn, dampening the spirits of the team as it reduces their stallion's ability to make an impact in the ring here.

Boley Bob is one of five point-to-point winners this season for Snow Sky while six-year-old Loggans Sky (52) was runner-up at Tattersalls earlier this month on his first completed start and is offered on Thursday by Ballyday Stables.

Ballycurragh's own draft may have been reduced to just a single offering but the horse in question has recent form and caught many an eye at Tattersalls ten days' ago.

Murphy added: "We have a lovely mare for sale - Prophetess Miriam who is by Workforce and I like her a lot. I think she would have won if she had stayed up on her debut and she is a half-sister to a winner on the track and multiple point-to-point winner."

As if to emphasise just how far and wide Juddmonte's reach is, Workforce is one of the late Khalid Abdullah's great stars winning the 2010 Derby in a record time and adding the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe later in the season for Sir Michael Stoute.

Snow Sky's younger full-brother Ice Breeze was victorious in the Group 1 Prix Royal-Oak and had his first runner on the track at Killarney earlier this month. Four-year-old gelding Breezethroughlife was third in a maiden hurdle at the Kerry course for trainer Cian Collins and owner Patricia Prendergast and the relation to Graded performers The Big Doyen, Lunch In Adare and Sit Down Lucy has received a wildcard entry for Thursday's sale (49A).

Hopes for snow at Tattersalls Ireland on Thursday, where the action begins at 1pm, rest on Krystal Sky but the filly has already proven more reliable than the Irish summer.

Read more

The smoke that thunders - Darley's 2,000 Guineas and Lockinge winner Night Of Thunder's vital role in historic achievement