€400,000 Walk The Talk Leads Historic Derby Sale To Record Breaking Results

A new record for a National Hunt store horse was set at the Derby Sale for the second time in two days when the three-year-old Karaktar gelding Walk The Talk was bought by Mags O’Toole for €400,000.

The sale capped a remarkable renewal of the leading National Hunt store sale, which delivered a record and unprecedented turnover of €20,885,500, alongside an all-time average high of €63,879, and a joint second-best median of €48,000. The figures have cemented this year’s Derby Sale as the most successful in its history.

The enthusiastic demand over the two-day sale produced sensational trade throughout – ten horses sold for over €200,000, and 23 horses sold for €150,000 or more, the most at any store sale this spring, 59 lots fetched a six-figure sum, both records for the Derby Sale, and a superb 89 per cent of the horses offered found new owners.

The average and median figures compared with 2025’s renewal were up by 20 per cent and 12 per cent, while turnover produced an 19 per cent increase. The second day average of €66,633 and turnover of €11,061,000 are new records for a single session at the Derby Sale.

Walk The Talk (Lot 302) certainly did what his name suggests, and the half-brother to this season’s Grade 1 winner Talk The Talk from the immediate family of the talented black-type Goshen and Elimay has imprinted his name into the history books.

O’Toole only joined the bidding action at €310,000 after Tom Malone, JP McManus and Paul Holden had cut out the early phases; her final bid blew her rivals out of the running, Malone the last man in, and drew gasps from the sale ring audience.

O’Toole was alongside Rob Acheson, the son of Brian Acheson of Robcour fame, and she said: “We looked at nearly every horse on the ground. Rob, who’s a very good judge, said from day one, ‘I don’t know what we’re buying here, but I know what we’re not going home without!”

“I know it sounds an awful lot of money, but four years ago Brighterdaysahead was €310,000 and others have made €350,000 and that’s the market. We’re huge fans of Talk The Talk and this horse has everything; looks, movement, pedigree.”

Asked if she thought the horse would command that sort of figure, she laughed: “Absolutely not! We’ve bought three, the standard is fabulous and the market is hot. They’ve produced some beautiful horses here.”

Acheson added: “We’ve tried to get into the family before, but it hasn’t come to fruition. When an opportunity comes along to get into a family you’ve been desperate to get into, you must give it a go.

“We were both mad keen to get into the stallion again. We’ve been waiting for the progeny of his better mares to come through. We’ve had two so far [Kala Conti and Kamikaz Du Plessis] and they’ve both won multiple races, so we’ve been playing the waiting game. It’s been three years since we bought one.”

Of plans he outlined: “He’s going to go to Paddy Kennedy to be broken-in and we’ll make a decision about a trainer. The half-brother ran in a Grade 1 at four and he seems like a forward horse, so we’ll get ready to kick on with him.”

Consignor John Bleahen is no stranger to success at the Derby Sale, but he was emotional when discussing the enormity of today’s events in the famed sale ring.

“It was a very lucky find,” said Bleahen. “He came from breeder Lume Vergette, an English lady who lives in the south of France, she is a lovely woman and a friend, and we have been very lucky from the farm [Haras de Faydeau].

“I owned the horse with my brother Hugh, and a lot of the credit goes to him. We went to the farm on a second trip to see another one, and he spotted this horse – we looked at the foal together and bought in about ten seconds, he was an easy buy as you just don’t come across them. Then for the ‘double green’ horse Talk The Talk to have done what he did…”

Thanking his team, Bleahen said: “I have the best guy in the world working for me Wesley Hayes. He drives 45 minutes every day to me, and I can go to France and sleep in cars looking for stock knowing he is taking care of the whole thing – he is my eyes and a friend.

“It is credit to them all, they live and die by the horses, they are the ones coming back at 11pm to give electrolytes, water and hay them.”

Lot 312, a son of the hot sire Golaith Du Berlais, was sold for €260,000 to Ian Ferguson by Ger Hannon’s Ralahine Stud; Hannon having pinhooked the bay gelding at the November National Hunt Sale for €40,000.

“I bought him here when Goliath Du Berlais hadn’t had a runner, and I probably gave a good price for him, but he was always a gorgeous model,” said Hannon, bloodstock representative for Tattersalls Cheltenham. “I bought him from Sean Gorman of Cleaboy Stud, a great man to buy off.

“Shortly after I bought, he looked cheap as the sire took off! This lad is a stunner and I have been looking forward to bringing him to the Derby Sale. My family has had great days here. My father is gone three and a half years, and it is so special to have my mother, my wife and children here.”

The gelding is the first foal out of the unraced Masked Marvel mare You Chase, a daughter of Yosille (Blue Bresil), a Listed hurdle winner and Grade 2 placed in France.

The seven lots sold over the two days by Goliath Du Berlais achieved a turnover of €1,108,000 and an average price of €158,286.

The Nirvana Du Berlais gelding Shallaho (Lot 241), a first foal out of the No Risk At All dam Shannone, an own-sister to the 10-time winner, four-time Grade 1-winning chaser and Willie Mullins-trained Allaho, was bought by Harold Kirk and Willie Mullins for €250,000.

Kirk said of the Sluggara Farm-sold gelding: “He was one of my top picks, he is the most gorgeous horse and comes from the Allaho pedigree. Nirvana Du Berlais has had two Grade 1 winners in his second crop, and this lad was always going to make a lot of money, he is a most beautiful horse.

“Allaho was a superstar, and this horse is very similar in shape, movement and size. He is gorgeous for a first foal, even when he was walking around the parade ring, he went around like a king. This is the closest thing he will get to a racecourse, yet he never put foot out of place, his mind looks very good and he comes from a good vendor.”

The week’s leading buyer numerically and by spend was Monbeg Stables with 37 horses bought for an outlay of €1,619,000, while the sale’s leading consignor Peter Nolan Bloodstock sold 22 horses for a total of €1,474,500.

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

“For the second day in succession the Derby Sale has produced phenomenal trade. Today illustrates that the appetite and desire to get involved in National Hunt racing is strong as ever.

“We assembled a catalogue that attracted buyers from all over the UK and Ireland, and they regularly went head-to-head across the two days. This resulted in trade never witnessed before at the Derby Sale, with turnover reaching almost €21 million.

“A total of 10 lots have sold for €200,000, while 23 lots were sold for €150,000 or more. The opportunity to sell Lakefield Farm’s Walk the Talk at a record price of €400,000, means that the highest priced store ever sold at public auction, is again at the Derby Sale. It is a privilege to see that level of quality remain in a Derby Sale catalogue, and the feeling from early on was that he would attract a considerable level of interest.

“This trade would not have been possible without the support of our vendors. If we don’t have a catalogue, we don’t attract the buyers to Fairyhouse. The opportunity to sell such a high-quality bunch of Stores was an honour, and long may the Derby Sale retain its’ status.

“A special mention must also go to the Irish point-to-point fraternity whose presence ensure a buoyant market across all levels. The Irish point-to-point field remains a trusted source of talent for trainers, and results during the spring exemplify the demand for Irish point-to-point horses.

“My thanks to our own team who worked hard to attract the horses and the people. I would also like to commend Irish Thoroughbred Marketing who play a big role in maintaining our connection with clients, and their work compliments the efforts of our superb in-house marketing team.”

“There is always a special atmosphere when the Derby Sale is at its best, and over the last two days that was certainly the case. We are proud of what has been achieved and grateful to everyone who played a part in making it such a memorable sale.”

Derby Sale Part II, in partnership with MSL Mercedes-Benz begins at 10:00am tomorrow.