Historic Week as September Yearling Sale Breaks Every Record

Records were shattered at the best-ever Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale, the exceptional results ensuring the two-day sale surpassed all statistical benchmarks by a considerable margin.

The €18,759,500 turnover, the first time €13 million has been exceeded, is a 51 per cent increase on 2024, and the new record average and median prices of €42,635 and €37,000, are up 48 per cent and 54 per cent on last year’s figures.

The unrelenting demand over the two days produced an outstanding 93 per cent clearance rate that was consistently over 90 per cent throughout the sale. In total, 25 horses were sold for six-figure sums, bettering the previous record by 15, while 52 horses sold for €75,000 or more compared with 24 in 2024.

Leading purchaser Rabbah Bloodstock bought 27 horses for an outlay of €1,978,000, the first time one purchaser has spent over a million at the sale, and five purchasers each spent over €400,000.

Eight of the Rabbah Bloodstock purchases were bought for six-figure sums and David Ryan said: “I have never seen the sales ground like it was on the Sunday, and we knew we were going to be busy. It has been a strong sale, and we really feel that we have bought well.

“Fair play to Mr Jaber he has got stuck in; it is great for the Irish bloodstock industry and for everyone. We have worked closely with our trainers, and they all had an input. The horses will be started in Ireland and will be allocated after Christmas.”

The leading consignor was The Castlebridge Consignment, which sold 37 horses for a consignor’s sale record of €1,933,000, the draft including the top lot and three of the top five. In total, five consignors achieved turnovers over €500,000.

Bill Dwan of The Castlebridge Consignment said: “It has been an incredible two days, superb trade, we have never been as busy here showing and we have been coming here a long time now. We were delighted to offer the top lot on behalf of breeder Hamwood Stud – he is a superb colt and was very well produced by the farm.”

Dwan added: “The success on the track has been so strong, and we have all been reaping the benefit this week. It is good for the business, long may it continue, and it has been a great effort by Tattersalls Ireland and ITM to get so many international clients to the sale.”

Those international visitors, who came from all corners of the globe, were busy throughout the two days with horses purchased by connections from the US, UK, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Poland, Czech Republic, Libya, Italy, France, Spain, Germany, and Thailand.

The Day 2 top-priced lot also became the top lot for the sale when selling for €200,000, the colt by Starspangledbanner (Lot 369) bought by trainer George Scott and J S Bloodstock.

Scott, whose September Yearling Sale graduate Caballo De Mar won the Group 3 Deutsches St Leger at the weekend, said of the January-born colt: “He has been bought for owner Gary White, who bought Command The Stars here last year. This colt is a big physical, by an excellent stallion, out of a Galileo mare and from a really good consignor.”

He added: “All credit goes to the sale company they have got some really good stock here; it has been a really successful sale.”

The colt is out of the Galileo mare Broderie Anglaise, a half-sister to the Group 3 winner Hearthstead Maison, from the family of the Group 1 winners Groom Dancer and Plumania.

The only Blue Point in the catalogue became the 27th horse bought over the two days by Rabbah Bloodstock (Lot 443). She cost her purchasers €190,000 and was sold by the Hassett family’s Monksland Stables.

The filly is the first foal out of the Galileo mare Firebolt, a daughter of the two-time 1,000 Guineas-placed Lightning Thunder, and Orla Hassett said: “That has blown our expectations out of the water, as has this week. To see big players take each other on for her was fantastic, and we never in our wildest dreams thought this could happen.”

Richie Hassett added: “We decided to use Blue Point as he had been getting some good prices with his first-crop of yearlings in 2022 and we love the Shamardal line – she was the first mare he covered that year.”

Rabbah Bloodstock also secured Lot 291, a filly by Sea The Stars, with a single bid of €160,000, Cormac Farrell and an online party the underbidders.

The filly is the first foal out of the Kingman mare Vouchsafe, a half-sister to Moonlight Cloud, winner of six Group 1 races, and from the family of the champion three-year-olds Generous and Imagine.

“She could have been in October Book 1,” said Ryan after purchase. “She is beautiful, she has a serious pedigree, the physical is there and, when the boss saw this morning, he loved her.”

Also sold for €160,000 was Lot 343, the only lot by Kingman in the catalogue, the colt bought by trainer Harry Eustace.

“He has been purchased for a couple of Aussie clients through Will Bourne,” said Eustace. “He has been bought to be a three-year-old, and the aim is to get him to Royal Ascot then into Australia.”

The well-bred colt is the first foal out of the juvenile winner and Group 2 May Hill Stakes fourth-placed Banshee. She is a half-sister to Biographer, a Listed winner and Group 2 placed, and from the family of the champions Hector Protector and Bosra Sham.

Tattersalls Ireland CEO Simon Kerins commented:

“This has been an extraordinary couple of days, and it is safe to say we are absolutely thrilled. Every key record has been well and truly shattered – the turnover increased 49%, number of six-figure lots, the average and median, and most importantly a record clearance rate of 93 per cent. The phenomenal demand we have witnessed reflects the rapid ascendency of the September Yearling Sale and despite our presale optimism, the level of trade we have seen has exceeded our most optimistic expectations.

“We knew we had assembled our strongest ever catalogue, the result of huge work by our bloodstock and marketing teams and the support and trust from our vendors, in supplying such a high standard of yearling. The three Group 1 successes of September Yearling Sale graduates at this year’s Royal Ascot elevated the sale to a new level, and the continued progression that we have seen over the past number of years has given us a powerful platform to market from, and Irish Thoroughbred Marketing’s support has as always, been invaluable.

“On the sales ground on Saturday and Sunday the footfall has been exceptional and the feedback from vendors was hugely encouraging. There was a plethora of buyers remarking on the high standard of yearling, which gave us confidence, and from the very first lot on Tuesday, the level of demand in the ring was breathtaking. The figures we have achieved would have been unimaginable five or six years ago and shows the confidence vendors and indeed purchasers now have in this sale. We are confident that we can build on the success of this week, doing as we did this year, keeping the numbers catalogued at an optimum level. We have welcomed buyers from the US, UK, Poland, Czech Republic, Libya, Germany, Italy, Spain, France, the USA, Thailand, and the Middle East, along with owners, trainers and agents from Ireland and the UK, plus the supportive breeze-up fraternity. A special thanks must go to Mr Jaber Abdullah whose spend has contributed strongly to a record-breaking renewal. We are very grateful for all the existing and new buyers support and for the confidence they continue to place in the September Yearling Sale.”

Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale Part II concludes tomorrow at 10am.

All lots are eligible for the €250,000 Tattersalls Ireland Super Auction Sales Stakes 2026 at The Curragh.