Those old sages said that lightning never strikes twice but whoever came up with that cliché would have eaten their words if they were at the Tattersalls Ireland Breeze-Up Sale on May 24 when an electrical storm was very familiar belonging to the live wire sales broke records for total sales and average price.
At the 2023 sale, Grade 1 winning jockey Katie Walsh brought one Sioux Nation colt sold and he topped the charts, earning €240,000 for Mark McStay for Paddy Twomey. Named Be frank about it The colt went on to win the Round Tower Stakes (G3) at the Curragh later in the summer.
Twelve months on, Walsh took Lot 83, a daughter of the 2017 Phoenix Stakes (G1) winner to Tattersalls Ireland, and once again she stopped the clock in one of the fastest times on the straight Fairyhouse.
The six-winner’s half-sister is therefore in demand by free-riders, but it is the familiar team of mainstay Avenue Bloodstock and trainer who can secure the first classic winner his first at the Curragh on 26 May, when he ran. Rolla lilac And purple lily in the Irish One Thousand Guineas (G1).
Incidentally, both fillies were purchased in this round of sales, with Purple Lily, the first-crop daughter of Bell Bought by McStay for €155,000 from Brian O’Connell’s Chasefield Stables in last year’s flash sale.
The successful agent had to spend up to 370,000 euros ($401,580, 1 euro = $1.09 USD) here to fend off his rivals, including Anthony Stroud, for his daughter’s second case. three of the Sioux Nation.
Walsh bought the car for €60,000 as an attractive gift and has enjoyed another brilliant sales season. McStay was keen to praise the work done by the Cheltenham Festival winner, whose record as a fast consigliere even surpasses her achievements as a jockey.
“Daughter is extremely well made and creates a wonderful breeze. I’m not a watch worshiper but she makes watches very well and Katie has been well paid,” says McStay.
The filly comes from the family of the 2022 Irish Cup (G1) and 2023 Tattersalls Gold Cup (G1) winner Luxembourg was one of four purchases by McStay for Twomey.
This edition of the auction was quick, recording an increase in the number of six-figure price tags year-on-year with 20 horses fetching at least €100,000 compared to 18 last year, which was a record for the auction . Last year, a total of four horses sold for €200,000 or more and that figure improved on Friday when no fewer than six horses achieved that price.
The clearance rate reached 89%, illustrating the diverse and hungry buyer base brought together for the sale by the teams at Tattersalls Ireland and Irish Thoroughbred Marketing. A total of 219 horses out of 245 on offer found buyers in nearly 11 hours of trading at Fairyhouse.
The total of €9,544,500 (US$10,359,123) is an all-time high for this auction and represents an 11% increase over the previous record sale. The average of €43,582 ($47,302) represents a 1% increase on last year’s sales, which was also a record figure, with the only cloud on the horizon at the average, down 7% to 28,000 € (30,390 USD) left.
