Night of Thunder Colt Breaks Record at Tatts Ireland

Records tumbled at the Tattersalls Ireland Breeze Up Show May 23 when Yeomanstown Stud's Night of Thunder  colt became the most expensive breeze-up horse ever sold in Ireland at €580,000 (US$658,271, €1=US$1.05). 

Anthony Stroud was pushed all the way by Hubie de Burgh and his client, who proved persistent adversaries, with a new bidder joining the fray at €400,000 but Stroud's doggedness defeated de Burgh and his man, despite auctioneer Alistair Pim's best efforts to cajole one more bid out of them at the side of the ring when Stroud's offer of €580,000 proved the final straw.

The agent had been extremely busy throughout the day on behalf of various clients with the beautifully-bred colt, his second blockbuster buy for KHK, taking their spend on the day to €1,055,000 for just two lots, but he had not anticipated having to break the sale record for the colt.

Stroud said: "That was difficult, I have to say, and was far more money than I anticipated. He is a very good individual, of course, he is by Night of Thunder, and in time, he will be a nice horse. He comes from a farm that produces lots of good horses, and he has a very good way about him. There is no trainer in mind yet."

It was a brave pinhooking move by the O'Callaghan family to shell out 100,000 guineas for the gorgeous chestnut at the Tattersalls December Yearling Sale, but David O'Callaghan revealed they believed the half brother to group 3 winner Le Juge  and listed winner Frankel Light  would have cost substantially more than that figure when they set eyes on him six months' ago.

"We thought we would have to give more! He was a beautiful horse and we loved him from the moment we saw him, so when we got him for 100,000 guineas we were delighted. It is a big throw but he's a special horse. He's never let us down," O'Callaghan said.

A half brother to six winners, Lot 136 was sold by Norelands Stud as a yearling and comes from a brilliant Niarchos family. His dam, the Kingmambo mare Mambo Light, is a half sister to 2001 King George Stakes (G3) winner Dietrich, dam of 2006 Renaissance Stakes (G3) winner and 2005 Lowther Stakes (G2) third Beauty Bright and Aloft, successful at Royal Ascot and second in the 2014 Racing Post Trophy (G1).

The colt's second dam Piquetnol was runner-up in the 1994 Prix Marcel Boussac (G1) and is a Private Account full sister to Chimes of Freedom, the 1989 Moyglare Stud (G1) and 1990 Coronation (G1) stakes winner who is the dam of grade 1 winners and sires Aldebaran and Good Journey.

The previous best price of €520,000 was given in 2022 by Stephen Hillen and Kevin Ryan for the Greenhills Farm-sold daughter of Saxon Warrior  out of Causeway Queen.

Street Sense Filly Among Top Lots

Kilminfoyle House Stud's Street Sense   filly came to Tattersalls Ireland as just the second 2-year-old by the 2007 Kentucky Derby (G1) and 2006 Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) winner to ever come under the hammer at the company's breeze-up sale but she left the ring as the third-highest price of the night and fourth-most expensive horse to sell at the auction.

Richard Brown of Blandford Bloodstock fended off all-comers Friday morning at €340,000 for the half sister to stakes-placed Beef Winslow , who was knocked down to A. Albert Bloodstock for US$40,000 at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale last year.

Speaking afterwards Brown said, "Physically she is a bit of a standout today; she is a gorgeous, big, scopey filly. She did a lovely breeze, not lightning quick in any way, but the style of the breeze and the way she galloped out were impressive. She is a back-end filly, she will go into a field now for three weeks and we will bring her back late summer."

Now 21, Street Sense is the sire of 13 individual grade 1 winners with the most recent of them coming in the Ashland Stakes (G1) last month when La Cara  was successful for Mark Casse and owner/breeder Tracy Farmer.

"The stallion has done very well, and she is from a very good hotel—Michael sold the group 1 winner Believing, and we bought a nice horse off him last year," Brown added.

That horse is Electrolyte , winner of the Prix Eclipse (G3) last season with the son of Hello Youmzain  costing £220,000 at Goffs UK.

Bred in Kentucky by Westbury Stables, who also consigned her as a yearling, she has a pedigree replete with international bold black type. Her Candy Ride   dam Conquest Sweetride is a half sister to 2016 Princess Rooney Stakes (G2) and 2015 Chilukki Stakes (G2) winner Spelling Again  and to listed winner Sky Willow , dam of Ladies Turf Stakes (G3T) winner Regal Realm .

Second dam Spelling is by Alphabet Soup and is a half sister to Port Bayou, winner of the 1999 Leopardstown Derby Trial Stakes (G3), and stakes winners Lethal Agenda, Talent Search, and Kera's Kitten, all bred by Ken and Sarah Ramsey out of Mrs. K.

Despite that cosmopolitan family, it is the perfection of her form that Fitzpatrick was taken with.

Fitzpatrick, talking back at the filly's stable, said: "She's a very sweet filly, and has been a pleasure to do anything with. She's a scopey sort, she was accepted at all sales and I brought her here because she is a scopey type and they tend to sell better a bit later on in the season ...

"She is a very classy individual—over the last three weeks, I've been telling everyone at home to study her, as she is such a well-put-together sort."

Final Figures

By close of play Friday night, the filly had slipped from fourth to sixth on the all-time list as Stroud and KHK Racing's seven-figure spend included their record-breaking purchase. That demonstrated the strength of the market which recorded its best ever aggregate, average, and median figures.

For the first time in its history the sale broke into eight-figure territory with turnover reaching a staggering €11,658,300 (US$12,241,215) during more than 10 hours of frenetic trading on at Fairyhouse Friday.

That figure was generated by the sale of 212 lots for a clearance rate that Tattersalls Ireland will be delighted by—88% of the 237 horses offered were sold. The average price of €54,992 (US$57,742) was up a massive 26% on the 2024 average of €43,634 which itself was a high point for the sale while the median, at €32,000 (US$33,600), grew by 14% year on year and was seven points higher than sale-record median of €30,000, set in 2023.

During Friday's action, 17 juveniles made a minimum of €150,000 with the total number of six-figure transactions coming in at 30 which equated to 15% of the horses sold.

Commenting on the success of the sale, Tattersalls Ireland CEO Simon Kerins said:

"This year's Tattersalls Ireland Breeze Up Sale has been extraordinary, with all previous records well and truly surpassed. From the outset, we were confident that the catalog we had assembled—thanks to the support of our vendors—would deliver a strong sale. The positive feedback from purchasers throughout the lead-up only reinforced that belief."