SENSATIONAL RESULTS AT TATTERSALLS IRELAND SEPTEMBER YEARLING SALE

There were plenty of interested parties and underbidders included Ronan Griffin, Norman Williamson, Harold Kirk and Jim Ryan, but it was the Lily Corporation who was successful, adding to its haul of 11 others bought over the two-day sale.

“He is a lovely horse and we were looking for a middle-distance type,” said Ananios Antoniadis of the colt from the Classic-winning family of Love Divine and Sixities Icon.

Trainer Ger Lyons purchased the second top lot of the day, going to €55,000 for a colt by Dark Angel (Lot 543) from Torard House. In total, Lyons purchased eight horses through the sale, including an Iffraaj colt (Lot 403) sold by Taroka Stud out of Dance Of Light for €52,000, a Dark Angel colt from Cooneen Stud for €30,000, a Dandy Man colt (Lot 356) from Ballyhane for €40,000 and a Piccolo colt for €50,000.

“We wanted one by Dark Angel,” said Lyons, “and the Piccolo is a gorgeous type. Both are for the Sean Jones draft.”

Consigned Baroda & Colbinstown Studs, the Piccolo achieved a handsome pinhooking result, the colt having been purchased for just 9,000gns at the Tattersalls December Sale by Noel Redmusson and the late Derek Larkin.

Day 2 saw a continued improved average of €15,321, an aggregate of €3,539,100 and a median price of €11,500, while over the two days 470 lots sold for €6,912,400 at an average of €14,707 and a median of €12,000, increases of 43%, 26% and 30% on 2012.

At the conclusion of the best set of yearling sale results since 2007, Tattersalls Ireland Managing Director Roger Casey said: “This has been a vibrant sale from start to finish and represents the fourth consecutive year of growth for our September Sale. 

The key indicators of average, median and turnover are all significantly higher than last year, we have witnessed the second highest price achieved at this sale, and the clearance rate is the second-highest achieved in the last 11 years.

We have had an excellent few years with our graduates on the racetrack and buoyed by this success the sale has gone from strength to strength and is widely recognised as a real source of value and quality.

Our graduates continue to be the best form of promotion possible and that, coupled with the combined and tireless efforts of the Tattersalls Ireland Team, the network of Tattersalls International representatives and Irish Thoroughbred Marketing, resulted in an abundance of purchasers arriving at the complex from Sunday morning.

The sale now consistently attracts visitors from all corners and the volume and diversity of these purchasers has been extraordinary this week with 14 countries represented overall in addition to the largest number of individual buyers from the UK seen here in recent times.

Our sales race continues to be an attractive incentive for purchasers too, and we look forward to seeing another successful renewal of the race at The Curragh in 2014.

Those supportive vendors who have chosen the September Sale to sell their commercial yearling have been more than satisfied with the prices attained over the two days and we will continue to work with our vendors to improve this sale further in 2014. We now look forward with optimism to our next flat sale the November Yearling Sale on November 17.’’