O’Dwyer Strikes With Top Price Purchase On Second Day

This year’s National Hunt Store sale season, headlined by June’s record-breaking Tattersalls Ireland Derby Sale, once again responsible for selling the highest-priced three-year-old store horse of the year, came to its seasonal conclusion with the second session of the Tattersalls Ireland July Store Sale.

Over the two-day sale 296 horses were sold for a turnover of €2,617,650 an average price of €8,843 and a median price of €6,000. The second session’s top price was €50,000 and over the two days 13 horses sold for €30,000 or more, an increase on 2024.

In a repeat of the first day’s result, the second session’s star turn was again a gelding by Order Of St George sold by leading consignor Liss House, this time the three-year-old was purchased by Darren O’Dwyer Bloodstock (Lot 306).

The gelding is out of the five-time-winning, Listed-placed Yeats mare Little Miss Poet, while his second dam R De Rien Sivola boasts black-type from a second placing in the Grade 2 Prestbury Juvenile Hurdle at Cheltenham.

O’Dwyer has personal experience of the family, saying: “I rode the mother and I know all about her. She was a good mare, and for me this gelding is a standout today. He will go down the point-to-point route and will be for resale, and he comes from a good consignor.”

That good consignor is Niall Bleahen of Liss House, and he said: “This is a big strong horse, and is out of a mare called Little Miss Poet so perhaps he shouldn’t be as big as he is!

“She won a bumper at four, so that will help with the precocity of this horse. He missed the Derby Sale as he got cast in his box so was a late withdrawal then.”

Leading Irish point-to-point jockey and consignor Rob James said after purchasing Lot 393, a gelding by Poet’s Word for €35,000 from Peter Nolan Bloodstock, that he was heading home, but, after he saw Lot 546, a three-year-old gelding named Milton A La Motte (Born To Sea), James gave in to temptation to stay on the sale ground and followed the Rathturtin Stud-consigned gelding through the ring.

The delay to James’s journey proved worthwhile as he was the successful purchaser of the wildcard entry at €42,000.

“I had a filly by Born To Sea last year and I was lucky with her,” he reported. “Denis [Cummins] took me down to look at this horse, and I liked him. Hopefully, this lad will be as lucky as the filly – they are both solid sorts. He is a great walker, a hardy looking sort, his dam was a two-time winner and her two runners are both winners.”

Boardsmill Stud stands the exciting young National Hunt sire Poet’s Word, and the farm offered Lot 322, a gelding by the stallion and out of Market Niche (Old Vic), a half-sister to the Irish National winner Niche Market.

The three-year-old gelding was bought by Thomas Hughes for €35,000, who said: “I bought this one for Pat Byrne from Galway. The gelding has an outstanding pedigree and is by a very promising young sire. He is a nice-sized horse, and a good mover. He looks to me to be a racehorse and has a good attitude.

“This is a horse for the future – I am trying to get going as a trainer and horses like these can help.”

The busiest buyer at the sale was agent Tomas Janda – he and his clients from the Czech Republic clients made quite an impact over the two days with ten successful purchases.

Tattersalls Ireland CEO Simon Kerins commented:

“The Store season concluded with this week’s July Sale, which remains an important final opportunity in the National Hunt Store calendar. It follows a month after a hugely successful renewal of our Derby Sale. This week’s sale does however illustrate the challenges faced by vendors and whilst a significant number of Store horses have already gone through the sales ring this year, it would be remiss not to acknowledge the challenges that face vendors at this level of the market as witnessed by this sale’s clearance rate. We will review all aspects of our Store sales at the end of the year.

“This summer’s Store sale season has delivered standout results with the Derby Sale being a particular high point. It produced the highest-priced Store sold in Ireland this year, and across every key metric it significantly surpassed last year’s strong figures. A record-breaking 38 lots sold for €100,000 or more, while a spend of €10 million on day two, was a record for a single session at the Derby Sale.

“Irish point-to-points play a crucial role as the grass roots of National Hunt racing, and this week’s sale has seen good support from handlers. The sale produced some smart four-year-old winners during the spring, and it was encouraging to hear purchasers immediately earmark spring targets between the flags.

“I look forward to seeing this group of graduates build on the success of past graduates of this sale.”

All horses catalogued and offered in the July Store Sale are eligible for the €100,000 Tattersalls Ireland MSL Mercedes-Benz Sales Bumper at Leopardstown on 28th December 2026.