Average, Median Up Day 1 of Tattersalls September Sale

A trimmed catalog and a healthy appetite for yearlings helped the Sept. 24 opening day of the Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale post a solid set of results.

With 36 fewer yearlings offered compared to the corresponding day in 2018, the sale managed to improve its median and average figures with a notable increase in the clearance rate, which jumped from 78% last year to 86% on Tuesday.

The median was up by 10% to €22,000 (US$27,379) having been €20,000 last year, and the average improved marginally, up 2% on last year's sum of €25,120 to €25,610 ($31,871).

Although just one horse, the session-topping Holy Roman Emperor colt (Lot 126), made €100,000 ($116,118), which was precisely half the number of six-figure sales on this day last year, those breaking the €50,000 barrier jumped from 21 in 2018 to 27 on Tuesday. 

The session-topping colt is destined for a career amidst the bustle of Hong Kong as legendary jockey Mick Kinane signed for the youngster in his new role as agent for the Hong Kong Jockey Club. Always a master in a tight battle, Kinane got the better of another giant of the saddle in Norman Williamson to bring the hammer down at an even €100,000.

Kinane was pleased to have secured the colt, saying: "He's a lovely stamp of a horse and the sire does well in Hong Kong, so hopefully this colt will be successful."

Holy Roman Emperor's progeny have excelled in Hong Kong with the Coolmore stallion twice being crowned champion sire there, and his sons, Designs On Rome, Beauty Only, and Rich Tapestry among those racking up the major wins.

Bred by Chasemore Farm and consigned by The Castlebridge Consignment, the colt is the fourth foal out of the unraced Nayef mare Ape Attack, whose first three offspring are all by treble classic hero Camelot. Her first foal, a filly named Arendelle who was trained by Ed Walker, was retained by her breeder and was a winner over a mile at 3.

Designs On Rome's close relation Romanised has also been doing his part to keep his sire's name in the headlines, winning the Prix du Haras de Fresnay-Le-Buffard Jacques le Marois (G1) last month and coming agonizingly close to adding another group 1 to his tally in the Prix du Moulin de Longchamp.

Sackville Strikes

Ed Sackville and Tom Dascombe have enjoyed notable success with the progeny of Dark Angel, most recently with the victory of Angel Alexander in the Ayr Gold Cup, and they were on the hunt for yearlings by the Yeomanstown Stud sire on Tuesday.

They had to be patient to land their big catch as the yearling they wanted came just 10 lots from the end of the sale. Consigned by the Ryan family's Al Eile Stud out of their homebred Duchess Andorra, the youngster was a strong, steel grey colt (Lot 226) who pulled the buyers into the ring after a long day of bidding.

The colt is the first foal of the group 3 Denny Cordell Lavarack and Lanwades Stud Fillies Stakes winner, who triumphed on the white turf of St Moritz for Joanna Morgan to provide the perfect ending to her pioneering training career.

A three-way battle for the colt between Anna Ross, Paddy Twomey, and Sackville ended with the latter emerging triumphant at €90,000 ($104,506) The agent confirmed that this Dark Angel will join Angel Alexander at Dascombe's Manor House Stables.

"We've been very lucky with the stallion and Angel Alexander is the latest big winner he has provided for us. We bought Angel Alexander for a bunch of great supporters of the yard so it's brilliant that they are enjoying such success with him. This colt is a lovely individual with a great pedigree out of a mare who was highly-rated so hopefully he will be lucky for us too," said the happy purchaser.

That page he referred to is indeed a good one as Duchess Andorra, who ended her career with an official rating of 92, is a granddaughter of Pass The Peace who won the group 1 Cheveley Park Stakes and was Irish champion 2-year-old filly in 1988. Second in the group 1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches (French One Thousand Guineas) at 3, she produced a Cheveley Park Stakes winner in Embassy, who was European champion filly at 2 and became the second dam of group 1 Prix Maurice de Gheest winner King's Apostle.

Pass The Peace is also the third dam of Australian champion Atlantic Jewel and her group 1 winning half sister Commanding Jewel, and the ancestress of Chilean group 1 winning full-siblings by Scat Daddy, Fantasmagorico and Flyer, South African group 1 winner Pacific Trader, and East, who was second in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies' Turf (G1T) last year and emulated Pass The Peace with a podium finish in this year's group 1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches.

Hootenanny Connection for Ward

Hootenanny has a special place in the heart of trainer Wesley Ward, who now stands the grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1T) winner and Darley Prix Morny (G1) second at his own farm, Ward Ranch, in Kentucky.

It was therefore fitting that the BBA Ireland's Eamonn Reilly revealed that the Acclamation colt (Lot 183) out of Hootenanny's Smart Strike half sister, Click and Roll, will be going into training with Ward. The first foal was secured with a bid of €80,000 ($92,895) when offered by Rathbarry Stud.

"I have bought him for a client of Wesley Ward's, who will train him. Wesley likes to train fast 2-year-olds and this horse looks like he is going to be just that. I've bought a few yearlings at this sale for Wesley and they have won so hopefully this colt will keep up that winning run," said Reilly.

Starspangled All the Rage

Starspangledbanner has achieved remarkable success from limited opportunities due to the fertility issues that curtailed the early portion of his stallion career, but from just 77 Northern Hemisphere runners, he is the sire of 42 individual winners including the group 1 Prix Morny hero The Wow Signal and Anthem Alexander, winner of the group 2 Queen Mary Stakes and also placed in the Commonwealth Cup (G1) and Cheveley Park Stakes.

His current crop of 2-year-olds count 15 individual winners among their number, with his daughters shining in stakes company courtesy of Jessica Harrington's listed winner and group 3 Shadwell Dick Poole Stakes runner-up Millisle, the group 3 Jebel Ali Racecourse & Stables Anglesey Stakes second Lil Grey for Sheila Lavery, and Archie Watson's listed Marygate Stakes-placed Lady Kermit.

Fozzy Stack, whose mother bred The Wow Signal, trains Back To Brussels, another winning member of Starspangledbanner's 2-year-old crop, and he teamed up with agent Hubie de Burgh to buy a pair of gorgeous fillies by the sire for a total of €137,000 ($170,496).

"We just love him," de Burgh said of the sire after buying the filly out of Brazilian Samba for €70,000 ($81,283)

"He has done so well from the limited opportunities he had early in his career and he upgrades his mares. This filly looks really athletic with lots of size and scope and looks the type of mare with which Fozzy excels."

Bred and consigned by the Brosnan family's Croom House Stud, the filly (Lot 164) is a close relation to the Hong Kong group 2 winner Endowing. Their dam, Brazilian Samba, is an unraced Sadler's Wells half sister to group 3 Swordlestown Stud Sprint winner Brazilian Bride, who has produced the listed-winning Rivellino.

The dam is also a half brother to the French listed winner and group 3 second Rio Tigre. It is a rich pedigree that keeps producing top-class horses as the third dam, Luv Luvin', is the ancestress of group 1 winners Dolphin Street, Saffron Walden, Seqouyah, Henrythenavigator, Listen, and Magician.

The pair's other purchase, a filly (Lot 94) out of Zain Art from Brendan Holland's Grove Stud, cost €67,000 ($77,799). The second foal of her unraced Excellent Art dam, she also has a classy pedigree as her second dam, Zigarra, is a Halling half sister to grade 2 winner and multiple grade 1-placed sire Silent Name, the listed winner and sire Galiway, and the dam of this year's group 3 Prix Noailles winner Slalom, who was second to Japan in the group 1 Juddmonte Grand Prix de Paris.

A Thundering Pinhook for Murphy

The most successful pinhook of the day was pulled off by Jimmy Murphy of Redpender Stud, a shrewd judge who has produced Canford Cliffs, Tagula, Toormore, and Estidhkaar amongst others, to mention just the flat stars who have been raised on his Kilkenny farm.

Murphy, along with sons Brian and Eoin, purchased a Night of Thunder colt at the foal sales last November for just €5,000 from Oghill House Stud. The March foal is a half brother to How Far, a winner by Kodiac, and out of a half sister to group 3 Laundry Cottage Stud Firth of Clyde Stakes winner and group 1 Cheveley Park Stakes second, Aspen Darlin.

Since then, Night of Thunder's stallion career has burst into life and he is one of this season's leading first-season sires with three blacktype winners—group 3 winner Under The Stars and the listed winners Molatham and Thunderous. That success, along with the physical development of the colt (Lot 106), saw Federico Barberini stretch to €65,000 ($75,477).

The typically modest Murphy commented after the sale: "It just fell right today and the stallion has done so well this year. We didn't think there was much wrong with the colt when we bought him and his half brother was already a 90-rated runner."

The September Sale continues Sept. 25 at 10 a.m. local time.