There was a very timely reminder of the value to be found at the Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale on Thursday when the George Boughey-trained Corazon captured the G3 Prix d’Arenberg at ParisLongchamp.
The daughter of Markaz was picked up for just £11,000 by Nick Bradley out of the draft of her breeder Cooneen Stud at last year’s sale, which has also turned out to be the source of G2 Railway Stakes winner Go Bears Go (bought for £50,000 by Robson Aguiar from Al Eile Stud), unbeaten G3 Anglesey Stakes winner Beauty Inspire (bought for £25,000 by Tally-Ho Stud from Cross Stables) and debut G3 scorer Hermana Estrella (bought for £42,000 by De Burgh Equine and Fozzy Stack from Castledillon Stud).
The Covid-induced upheaval to the sales programme resulted in the 2020 sale being shifted out of its home in Ratoath, Ireland, to Park Paddocks in Newmarket. While it was hoped that it would return to its base for this year’s edition, the ongoing pandemic uncertainty prompted sale officials to make an early decision and therefore it has been kept in Newmarket for another year.
Set for September 21 - 22, the 2021 renewal comprises of a 589-strong catalogue.
Last year’s edition featured the sale of 333 yearlings at an average of £22,217. A new sale record was set by a Teofilo colt, a brother to G1 winner Gear Up, who sold for £325,000 from Boherguy Stud to the Hong Kong Jockey Club. Clare Manning’s Boherguy Stud offers the youngster’s younger 3-parts brother, a colt by Jim Bolger’s Dewhurst Stakes hero Parish Hall, as lot 42 this time around.
The Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale has long attracted the backing of a firm domestic audience, particularly from trainers and syndicates.
For instance, it was at this sale in 2018 that Johnny Murtagh came away with both Champers Elysees and Sonnyboyliston; Champers Elysees, a €28,000 purchase from Aughamore Stud, went on to win the G1 Matron Stakes and now carries the colours of Teruya Yoshida, while recent Ebor Handicap winner Sonnyboyliston was bought for €26,000 from Confey Stud and currently boasts earnings of over £400,000.
Similarly, Kelly Burke, daughter of trainer Karl, signed at only €22,000 for last season’s high-class 2yo Dandalla out of the Castlebridge Consignment. Like Corazon, she carries the colours of Nick Bradley, in this instance a part-owner with Elaine Burke.
Meanwhile, this season’s G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup winner Helvic Dream was bought for just €12,000 by Peter Nolan from Portlester Stud in 2018, and adorns the cover of this year’s catalogue as a result. Last year’s G1 Prix Marcel Boussac heroine Tiger Tanaka (bought for €6,500 by Pascale Menard from Ballyreddin & Kellsgrange Studs) and classy sprinter Gustavus Weston (bought for €55,000 by Crampscastle Bloodstock from Torard House Stud) are other examples of the value that this sale can throw.
Domestic buyers work the sale in the knowledge that each lot catalogued is eligible to run in the popular €300,000 Super Auction Sales Stakes, a 6f event run at the Curragh every September.
Yet it also a boasts an excellent record overseas as the source of G1 performers in Hong Kong, Australia and North America.
For an outlay of just €33,000, trainer John Oxx came away in 2016 with Waikuku, now a top-class miler in Hong Kong. Oxx purchased the son of Harbour Watch from Riversfield Stud and sent him out to win at Leopardstown for Thomas Breen. It was after that success that Waikuku was sold to Hong Kong, where he has become a top-class and consistent performer for John Size, winning the G1 Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup and G1 The Stewards’ Cup.
The sale’s flag has also been flown in Australia, where it has been represented in recent months by the G3 Easter Cup winner Hang Man, a son of Windsor Knot originally purchased by Australasian agent Paul Moroney for €15,000 in 2015 from his breeder John McEnery. I Am Superman, a €49,000 graduate, has also made a successful transition to the Southern Hemisphere for an ownership fronted by his former trainer Michael O’Callaghan, winning a pair of G2 races in the Ajax and Iron Jack Shannon Stakes.
However, of particular note is the auction’s prominence in America, where recent months have yielded Graded stakes success for Abby Hatcher, Gregorian Chant and Whisper Not.
Abby Hatcher, a €22,000 purchase by Darragh McCarthy from Glacken View in 2018, was recently saddled by Anna Meah to win the G3 Chicago Stakes at Arlington Park, while Gregorian Chant, bought for €23,000 by John Murphy, has progressed in California for Phil d’Amato, the high point of his career coming when successful in the G3 San Simeon Stakes at Santa Anita in March. Whisper Not, a €20,000 purchase by Peter and Ross Doyle from Castledillon Stakes in 2018, has also struck at Grade 3 level in California this year.
Their exploits maintain a standard previously upheld by the poster girls Lady Prancealot and Beau Recall.
Tally-Ho Stud sold Lady Prancealot for €9,500 to trainer Eoghan O’Neill at the 2017 edition. She went on to win the G1 American Oaks later in the bag and subsequently sold for $1.6 million to Shadai Farm. As for Beau Recall, she went on to win four G2 races, run G1-placed and sell for $350,000 - not bad for a €17,000 yearling.
Any international interest wishing to secure at source, there is plenty to entice buyers in a catalogue for 2021 that features yearlings by leading sires such as Acclamation, Australia, Dark Angel, Invincible Spirit, Kodiac, Mehmas, Oasis Dream and Teofilo. The first crops belonging to the likes of Cracksman, Expert Eye, Harry Angel, Saxon Warrior and U.S. Navy Flag will also come under scrutiny.
Mehmas is carrying all before him in Europe, and, as a sire of quick stock that generally appreciate fast ground, it has been no surprise to see him gain appreciation in North America, where he is the sire of leading Californian filly Going Global in addition to the stakes fillies Quatroelle and Tetragonal.
The Tally-Ho stallion has nine entries to this year’s sale while Quatroelle herself has a half-sister by Markaz who is catalogued as lot 66.
Nor is the Scat Daddy influence ever far from this year’s catalogue, with sons such as Caravaggio, No Nay Never, El Kabeir, Sioux Nation and Smooth Daddy each well represented.
Caravaggio’s first crop of 2yos already includes three stakes winners, among them Wesley Ward’s impressive Tyro Stakes winner Her World. He has five catalogued while No Nay Never’s pair of entries include lot 217, a colt who is related to Canadian G1 winner Fog Of War. El Kabeir’s septet includes lot 130, a close relation to Oaks runner-up Mystery Angel (130).
Popular Kentucky sires Kitten’s Joy and Blame also hold entries; Kitten’s Joy is represented by lot 263, a granddaughter of G2 winner City To City, while Blame boasts a filly (52) out of the G2-placed Goodthingstaketime. There is also one representative of the ascendant Kantharos in a filly out of the G3-placed Shalailah (281).
Others with quality American connections include a Starspangledbanner sister to the high-class miler Great Wide Open (157), the half-sister to Whisper Not (228; by New Bay) and a member of the Toussaud family (425; by Muhaarar) responsible for First Defence and Empire Maker.
There is also an Australian flavour to the catalogue in the presence of 167, a Churchill filly out of the G1-performing Australian mare Milanova, a sister to Holy Roman Emperor who has already produced a G3 winner in Pretty Perfect.
With a catalogue that also contains the relations to G1 winners Perfect Power (262; by Dandy Man) and Nahoodh (168; by Fascinating Rock) alongside the offspring of G1 winners such as Favourable Terms (23; by Invincible Spirit), Fidelite (24; by Australia), Indian Ink (82; by Tasleet) and Banimpire (410; by Churchill), the scene is set for another competitive round of trading at Tattersalls Ireland.