Records Shattered at Tattersalls Ireland Breeze Up Sale

In an exceptional one-day session with multiple records broken at the Tattersalls Ireland Breeze Up Sale, a colt by Night Of Thunder (Lot 138) became the highest-priced breeze-up horse ever sold in Ireland when purchased by Stroud Coleman Bloodstock for €580,000.

The Yeomanstown Stud-offered colt headlined a superb day of two-year-old sales that produced a record turnover for the seventh year in succession, the day’s aggregate topping the €11 million mark for the first time in the sale’s six-year history, with a turnover of €11,658,300, an increase of 21 per cent from last year’s figure of €9,599,500.

It was also the sale’s sixth year producing a record average price of €54,992, the first time this statistic has exceeded €50,000, and an increase of 26 per cent on 2024. This year’s best-ever median of €32,000 is an increase of 14 per cent on last year’s sale.

The record figures were underpinned by an unprecedented four horses, all of which sold for over €300,000, 31 lots who achieved a six-figure sum, and the session’s superb clearance rate of 88 per cent, the best produced so far at a European breeze-up sale this spring, and a repeat of last year’s achievement.

Through the week, the sales ground had a truly international atmosphere with enthusiastic visitors from 15 different countries, including first-time buyers from Malaysia and Qatar, as well as regular Tattersalls Ireland clients from the UK, the Middle East, Italy, Scandinavia and the US.

Anthony Stroud, who bought ten lots and was the session’s leading purchaser with an outlay of €1,761,000, said of his record-breaking purchase: “He is a very good individual, and, of course, he is by Night Of Thunder – and with 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. He is for KHK Racing, but there is no trainer in mind yet.”

Out of the black-type winner Mambo Light (Kingmambo), the dam of six winners including the Group 3 winner Le Juge, the colt was pinhooked as a yearling by Yeomanstown Stud at the Tattersalls December Yearling Sale for 100,000gns and David O’Callaghan reflected: “It was a big throw then, but we did think we’d got him at a good price. He is a special horse, and he has not let us down.

“The main buyers received him well and we are very thankful to Anthony Stroud for buying him and the underbidders for their involvement.”

Stroud, again buying for KHK Racing, went to €475,000 for a colt by Starspangledbanner (Lot 94) sold by Cristiano Martins’ C.A.J. Stables.

It is by far the best sale ring result for the two-year-old consignor Martins and he said: “It is a fabulous result. He was bought at Tattersalls December Yearling Sale for 37,000gns, and he has always shown himself to be very smart, and has never put a foot wrong. Every day here he has pulled out well and showed himself off. We were expecting him to sell well, but not to that level.

“He is a lovely strong horse. I don’t think he is fully developed yet, and the buyers could see that he is a horse for next year. He was just a lovely horse to have in the yard.”

Of his previous best, Martins laughed: “I sold the good sprinter Clarendon House for 130,000gns, it is a big difference!”.

Richard Brown of Blandford Bloodstock was the first to strike for a €300,000 plus purchase, the buyer going to €340,000 for the Street Sense filly (Lot 45) sold by Michael Fitzpatrick’s Kilminfoyle House Stud.

Brown said: “Physically she is a stand-out 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.

“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.”

Fitzpatrick, who bought the good-looking filly last year in the US for $40,000, added: “She is a very sweet filly and has been a pleasure to do anything with. I brought her here because she is a scopey type and I thought she would suit this later sale.

“She is a very classy individual and has thrived in the last month. I have been telling everyone at home to study her as she is such a well-put together sort.”

The fourth horse to sell for over €300,000 was Katie McGivern’s Derryconnor Stud-offered colt by Wootton Bassett (Lot 226), the well-bred individual out of the Oasis Dream international black-type-winning mare and producer Black Haku.

“He goes to trainer Richard Hughes,” said purchaser Ger Morrin after going to €320,000 and outbidding Ted Durcan and Mark McStay for the imposing colt.

Morrin signed the docket for Grandeville Racing and he added: “He is for owners Sean and Bernadine Mulryan, and they have had a bit of luck with Richard with Bracken’s Laugh. We are going to give this colt some time, he is more of a three-year-old and a big scopey sort. He is a very well-bred horse, and he is by a sire that we really love!”

It was a fine pinhooking result for Katie McGivern, the colt having been bought last autumn for €70,000.

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 catalogue 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.

“The sale has produced a record turnover, up 21 per cent on 2024, a record average, a record median, a record top price. The clearance rate of 88 per cent is the highest of any European Breeze Up Sale this year, and underscores the demand for horses from this sale.

“Our close collaboration with Irish Thoroughbred Marketing has undoubtedly played a key role in expanding the global appeal of the sale, and it is hugely rewarding to see horses now heading to all corners of the world.

“Coordinating a sale of this type requires a huge amount of work and organisation, as it’s staged across two venues. Ensuring the safety of horse and rider is our main priority, and I would like to thank Peter Roe and his ground staff for producing a perfect surface at Fairyhouse Racecourse.

“I would like to wish all purchasers every success with their new acquisitions, and we look forward to following their progress with interest.”