Selling
One of my favourite weeks of the year – the Tattersalls Ireland Derby Sale held in Fairyhouse. A select sale of just over 400 of the best 3 yr old National Hunt Stores of their generation – and a sale at which we have been lucky enough to sell some lovely horses in the past. Just last year we sold one of the nicest horses we have ever offered – a Kayf Tara gelding out of Miss Bailly, who went on to win his Irish Point to Point and fetch £420,000 at the Cheltenham Festival Sale in March. This year we had transferred a couple onto the ‘Racing Team’ so we were only offering one at any of the store sales, and fortunately our tall, well bred son of Muhtathir was accepted for the Derby Sale so we headed out there on Monday morning to enjoy the week and see how the sale went.
The horse had been out in Ireland for a few weeks and was met at the sales by Francis Quinn who would be consigning him for us under his Railstown Stud banner. The horse arrived at the sales healthy and well and passed his sales vetting with no bother early on Monday morning. The horses that are offered at the store sales all go through two vetting procedures, first they are vetted at home, and are then re-examined by a team of vets assembled by Tattersalls when they arrive at the sales ground. They are given a thorough examination of wind and limb – their breathing tested by lunging both left and right, and any inspiratory noises are investigated, the results of which are published on the website and announced at the rostrum as the horse enters the ring. Passing both of these examinations is critical, as the vets findings can obviously dramatically alter the saleability of any horse. No bother for us, now it was up to the buyers to see who wanted him.
The sale was scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, so it was very encouraging to see so many people on the sales ground on Monday inspecting the stock. Tuesday is set aside for viewing day, but with so many top class horses on offer the top buyers would inspect almost every horse on offer and therefore need a couple of days to get their work done. Our lad was going down well, but he was not the typical type of horse you would see at a Derby Sale – he was a lighter framed horse, who carried less condition than a lot of the horses on offer but was incredibly athletic and light on his feet. He was not going to be everyones cup of tea, but we were confident that he would find a new home if we marketed him right, which meant fixing his reserve at the right level to encourage the right men to follow him into the ring.
Busy sales ground on Tuesday!
He was equally busy on Tuesday, and it looked like we had settled on a value that we felt he could achieve – but at public auction you are very much in the lap of the Gods, and you get what you get when the hammer falls. I often say – that it is the most pressurised thing I do – when we go racing there is obviously pressure, but if a horse is beaten or runs below par, we usually get the chance to go to the races in 3-4 weeks when we can hopefully put on a better show – when we are selling stock – we get one chance, and when that hammer falls – that is the result, there is no going back in a few weeks time to put it right. Obviously you can set a reserve, but that in itself is a tricky business – we are there to sell – set it too low and you may not have enough interest to get the bids up to the level that you thought you would achieve, and set it too high, and no one will follow the horse into the ring, and you will end up with no interest in him/her – so the reserve has to be very carefully considered. By Monday evening we had pretty much decided roughly where his value was and where to set his reserve but after the first day selling on Wednesday it was clear that the middle market – from 30-60,000 Euros was pretty sticky, and there were a fair few horses being led out unsold. It was a nervy couple of days – as we were not due to sell until around 4pm on Thursday. In the meantime it was good to catch up with so many friends over there. I make a point of not looking at horses unless I have a reason to – and as we definitely have enough horses at this stage, I was not in the market to buy anything – saying that, we did have to have a little glimpse of Maria’s Benefit’s half brother by Walk In The Park, who was being consigned by Peter Nolan on behalf of his breeder, Charlie Carter. What a horse he was, a beautiful specimen, and it was no surprise to see him sell for over 200,000 on Wednesday. Great for Charlie, who has had such a journey with the family. The Dam has now sadly died, and he lost a very nice (and expensive) mare he had bought to replace her – so he very much deserved this result! Charlie is a former Kilkenny hurler, and when he was asked if he felt the pressure when selling a store, he replied that real pressure was running out in front of 80,000 for an All Ireland Final in Croke Park – ‘That’s pressure!’ he said.
A packed sales ring see Maria's Benefits half brother sell! He was a beautiful horse!
Thursday was sale day for us – a few headline horses hitting big numbers, but still tight enough in the middle market. Thankfully the sire of our horse is still very fashionable, and they all still wanted a Muhtathir, and as he was one of the last chances to buy one – there was enough interest in him. He really had a walk to him and there was a fair bit of interest as he walked around the parade ring before entering the ring. When he did finally get into the ring, the bidding was a bit slow, and when he reached his reserve, it almost dried up completely which would have left us a fair but short of what we wanted for him. Thankfully the auctioneer was very persistent and kept working away, finally getting him up to 50,000 – which is the exact mark that we had put on him at the start of the week. He was sold to Denis Murphy and will next be seen in an Irish Point To Point. We have sold a couple to Denis before, and hope that this horse is as lucky as the previous two who went on to make £145,000 and £220,000 for him after winning their races.
I do not like to rush home and catch a late flight out of Dublin after a sale in Ireland, preferring to have a relaxing evening, and early night, and get a flight out mid morning the next day, so a chance for a couple more Guiness at the sales, and a meal at the hotel. Most years I stay at The Pillo in Ashbourne, but I have to say that I will probably not stay there again – the room was spacious and clean as always, but the air con was not working, and it was like a sweat box for the first couple of nights, the shower seemed to have a mind of its own, as did the food service in the bar – with some folks not even getting their food one night. The beer was OK though!
So that was our week in Ireland – filed under ‘satisfactory’
Back home – all bar one of the horses on their holidays. Just Reflexion Faite in training in Newmarket, and she is in good form, and working nicely. She is ready to run again – and will have another run at 6 furlongs in the next couple of weeks, after which she will switch to Nurseries. Tomorrow the first of our National Hunt horses head back into work. Greyval heads back to Ravenswell Farm, and Cloud Dancer will come in from the field at Ivy Lodge Farm and commence pre training with Jason. Both were winners last season – and have exciting seasons ahead of them this year! Our two year old by Blue Bresil, ‘Barry’ has completed his breaking in, and his 6 weeks of ‘Primary School’ have come to an end. He is a horse chocked full of promise, and one that Jason is very taken by. It is very easy to forget that he is only 2, he has done everything asked of him, and shown a wonderful attitude to his work. He heads back to The Elms tomorrow, and his 3 yr old full brother – Old Blue Eyes is heading back on the return trip. OBE will have another spell with Maguire before heading into training with Donald McCain in a few weeks when Jason thinks he is ready. I have already told you how much we like Barry, his full brother, and his elder full brother is also highly regarded, but has been off injured after placing on his only bumper start. His half brother Dino Bellagio is a dual bumper winner, so Old Blue Eyes has an awful lot going for him – there are limited shares remaining in him – he is by one of the best National Hunt sires around, and his half brothers are very exciting prospects – have a look at him on the For Sale page and get in touch – come and have a look at him – and get involved – he is very highly recommended and it was good to see another of his relations sell for 100,000 last weekend – he is heading to Paul Nicholls! It was good to catch up with Donald McCain while over in Ireland. He is really looking forward to getting Dino Bellagio back into training and we agreed on a little plan for him. He will head back to Bankhouse Stables tomorrow, and Donald is eyeing up some nice targets for him in the autumn. It is no secret how much he thinks of DB, but it is still nice to hear the sort of ideas he has for him!
Barry having a rest!
Most of the others will head back to their respective yards the week after (commencing 10th). With just Tintagel Queen and Volkovka not heading back to work for another couple of weeks after that, although they will go on the walker from the middle of July. Both are mares that are best seen on a soft surface and therefore there is no need to have them, match fit – to be simply working at home as the ground is too quick on the tracks. Intrepide Sud will return to pre training a little later.
Itchy Feet - larking around on his holidays!
I said last season that I felt we had the best group of horses we had ever had, and so it proved with our best ever numbers – now we have to do it again – and with all of the horses on the team very capable of winning, and the new horses looking as exciting as last years draft, if not more so – we are confident that the 2023/24 season will be as good if not better than the last one! We do have limited shares available in a few horses, although they are getting thin on the ground now – All three of our new horses this season are highly recommended, not just by me, but By Jason Maguire who has broken them all in and done all the work with them. There is the chance to buy shares in a Blue Bresil gelding (Old Blue Eyes) a very nice filly by Jukebox Jury who is already a half sister to a black type performer, and looks to have a very bright future – she goes into training with Alan King, and has a very nice resale value when her racing days are over. We are also offering a rare opportunity to get involved in a beautifully bred filly by Mahler who goes into training with Fergal O’Brien – she is out of a black type mare who is a half sister to a Group 1 winner in the USA, and three black type performers over obstacles. There is no capital outlay, and shares are priced at an all inclusive £30/week – which as it says – covers all costs, you receive 100% of your share of her prize money, and stable visits are at your convenience. All three are listed on our FOR SALE page, have a look and get in touch!
Until next week – have a great week – by the time I write next week – I will be another year older - but almost certainly no wiser! A fun week planned though – which we will tell you about next Sunday.
