The first sale at Tattersalls Ireland for 2016, the February National Hunt Sale got off to a solid start with figures mirroring those of 2015 when it produced the second best set of returns since the two day 2008 sale. The average rose by 6% to €9,245, the median dropped slightly to €5,900 and the aggregate was maintained at a healthy €1,479,150.
The day’s top price of €67,000 was given by Anna Ross for a Robin des Champs colt sold by Kenilworth House Stud. There was interest from a number of different parties, but from the €40,000 mark bidding narrowed down to a head to head battle between Ross and trainer James Motherway.
"Robin des Champs colts are hard to buy, especially nice athletic strong horses like this," said Ross. "We are delighted to have him, we thought he was the stand-out today. He is from a lovely farm, has been bought for a client and will probably be for resale."
The colt is a grandson of the Irish National winner Ebony Jane, dam of Listed winner The Minack and the Listed-placed Gansey, a full-sister to this colt's dam.
Motherway had better luck earlier in the day buying an Oscar yearling colt for €60,000 (Lot 151). The colt hails from the brilliantly deep NH black-type family of Gallant Oscar, Park Rainbow, Offshore Account, The Listener, Distant Thunder and Fork Lightning.
"He has been bought for a British client," reported Motherway, who is expanding his bloodstock trading interests. "We have not made plans yet and we'll see what happens down the line, but this is a wonderful family and I loved the horse when I saw him."
Agent Aiden Murphy spent €36,000 apiece on colts by Milan (Lot 39) and by Presenting (Lot 211). From Norrismount Stud, the Milan is a first foal out of the Dotchenka, an own-sister to Whisper, a dual winner of the Silver Cross Stayers’ Liverpool Hurdle (G1), while the Presenting colt is out of Tizzy Blue. She is an Oscar own-sister to the Gold Cup and RSA Chase winner Lord Windermere. He was sold by Oliver Loughlin.
“They will both come back here to be resold as three-year-olds,” said Murphy.
The top-priced filly was a Clanville Stud-consigned daughter of Kayf Tara. She fetched €26,000 and was bought by Simon Sweeting of Overbury Stud, which stands the son of Sadler’s Wells, the leading British-based NH stallion. The filly is out of the Grade 2-placed R De Rien Sivola (Robin Des Champs), a half-sister to the Grade 2 chaser Pur De Sivola.
Kayf Tara has enjoyed a great 2015-16 season headlined by last weekend’s impressive Cleeve Hurdle (G2) winner, the dual Tattersalls Ireland graduate Thistlecrack.
Sweeting also bought a colt by Yeats and a colt by Flemensfirth. “They all have good pages and have been bought on behalf of a client as racing prospects,” he reported.
At the conclusion of the February National Hunt Sale, Tattersalls Ireland’s Managing Director Roger Casey said: “Following on from the 2015 November National Hunt Sale, the results in the ring today continue to convey an ongoing period of consolidation for the NH market and are consistent with the overall trends being observed across the industry. The highlights today include a top price of €67,000, the highest recorded since 2012, the aggregate of €1,479,150 was comparable with last year and is the second highest achieved since 2008, while the average of €9,245 shows an increase of 6% when compared to 2015 and is also the highest achieved since the landmark 2008 sales season. That said, the clearance rate of 58% certainly underscores an increasingly selective market, especially for NH fillies."