Inns Of Court Colt Tops Day 1 of Tattersalls September

An Indian summer dawned over Tattersalls Ireland Sept. 20 on the opening day of the September Yearling Sale, greeting the return of proceedings to the sales complex in County Meath after two years of enforced exile in Newmarket.

Parking spaces were at a premium from early Tuesday morning, always an indication that trade will be strong, and as the day progressed that initial impression proved correct, with both the average and median heading for record returns.

The six-figure headline lots may have been a little thin on the ground, but the quality was unmistakable.

Tally-Ho Stud's track record for launching stallions onto the market is unrivaled in the last 15 years, so its latest such offering, the Prix du Gros-Chene (G2) winner and Qatar Prix de la Foret (G1) second Inns Of Court , was never going to fly under the radar.

Louis Kennedy of Mountain View Stud offered an Inns Of Court half brother (Lot 187) to seven winners out of an Unfuwain half sister to Gutaifan  from the family of Al Shaqab Lockinge Stakes (G1) winner Mustashry  and Ventura Storm , the first group 1 winner by Zoffany .

Following spirited bidding, Ed Sackville brought the hammer down at €110,000 (US$110,001) for the half brother to Haikbidiac .

The colt was bought on behalf of John and Jess Dance's Manor House Farm, and Sackville explained what it was that appealed so much to the team. Unsurprisingly, the O'Callaghan family's success at creating sires figured heavily in his thoughtful reply.

Sackville said: "He's a lovely stamp of a horse and a really big, strong, imposing type. Inns Of Court is an unproven stallion, but if he is anything like Tally-Ho Stud's recent first-season sires, then he is going to have a very good chance of being successful.

"Invincible Spirit is a proven sire of sires, and let's hope Inns Of Court is another one for him."

The colt was one of three yearlings Sackville purchased to race in the couple's golden silks. He also bought a filly by Tally-Ho's champion first- and second-season sire, Mehmas , for €80,000. Offered by Brendan Holland, she is a half sister to the dam of Tipperary Stakes winner Sirici  and was bought for €60,000 last November as a foal.

They also acquired a colt from the first crop of another son of Invincible Spirit —Yeomanstown Stud's Sirenia and Chipchase Stakes winner Invincible Army . 

A homebred for Yeomanstown out of Little Audio, a Shamardal half sister to Coral.ie Curragh Cup (G2) winner Sword Fighter  and listed Chesham Stakes winner Big Audio  from the family of Qatar Prix de l'Abbaye de Longchamp (G1) winner Gilt Edge Girl , he went for €65,000.

Sale Statistics

It was a happy homecoming for the opening session of the Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale as it posted impressive increases in both the average and median.

Tuesday's average of €31,861 was an increase of five points on last year's figure of €30,225, while the median grew by three times that amount, up 15% to €27,000. That is a true reflection of how deep the catalog was and how much demand there was across the board, even with fewer six-figure sales.

That absence of big-ticket lots, coupled with 24 fewer horses offered for sale compared to the equivalent day last year, contributed to a drop in the total sales on Tuesday. The figure of €6,436,000 was a decrease of 5% from last year's aggregate of €6,807,434. Tuesday's clearance rate of 88% was similar to that of 2021's opening session, which was 89%.