Lightning strikes twice for Night Of Thunder on Day 2 at Goffs UK

Written by Brian Sheerin, TDN Europe

Cover image courtesy of Sarah Farnsworth/Goffs UK

With another 60 yearlings standing out in the field at home in Westmeath, it was important for the team at Tally-Ho to begin the domestic sales season with a bang, and that's exactly what they did in sending out the top lot at the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale this week – the Blandford Bloodstock-bought Lot 278, a filly by Night Of Thunder (Ire).

On Tuesday, Mark McStay had gone to £230,000 (AU$390,000) to secure a colt by the stallion (Lot 170), but it was Tally-Ho's first foal out of the five-time winner and Listed-placed Thiswaycadeaux (Ire) (Theywayyouare {USA}) that topped overall and Day 2 proceedings.

Finishing the sale as leading consignors, the Mullingar-based Tally-Ho played a significant role in the excellent figures posted over the two days at Doncaster.

Of the 406 horses offered at the sale, 363 were sold, representing a clearance rate of 89 per cent. The aggregate was up by a whopping 20 per cent to £15,987,500 (AU$27.2 million), while the average was up eight per cent at £44,043 (AU$75,000) and the median rose nine per cent to £35,000 (AU$60,000).

Goffs UK Managing Director, Tim Kent, said; “The last few days have been absolutely outstanding and, on behalf of the team, we must thank everyone that has made this sale such an incredible success.

“We were confident we had a good catalogue coming into this week, but you can only hope that others agree and while one noted industry professional said that we 'were not missing anyone', another noted that there were 'better horses here this year'.

“These comments are great to hear in the build up to any sale but the level of the market can only really be measured in the sales ring, and those comments certainly came to fruition with an outstanding trade from start to finish and a wonderful atmosphere throughout the sales complex.

“This helped to deliver 23 horses that sold for a six-figure sum while seven made £200,000 (AU$340,000) or more. This was matched by an impressive 89 per cent clearance rate and a top price of £240,000 (AU$410,000).”

Tally-Ho steals the show

The sale’s overall top lot was bought by Blandford Bloodstock on Day 2 on behalf of Jurgen Sartori, and that transaction ensured Tally-Ho finished as the leading consignor.

Sartori is perhaps best known for owning horses in Germany, including Penja (Fr) (Camelot {GB}), who he bought out of Jean-Claude Rouget's yard at the Arqana Arc Sale last October for €1.2 million (AU$1.7 million).

Roger O'Callaghan, of Tally-Ho Stud, is not in the business of counting chickens but he knows what a good horse looks like and, perhaps the most pleasing aspect of Tally-Ho’s performance over the two days was the fact that a wide range of their own stallions produced the goods.

Notably, the newest of them all, Inns Of Court (Ire) was prominent, his yearlings purchased by a host of top breeze-up consignors like Star Bloodstock, Longways Stables and Kilminfoyle House Stud, with the most expensive of them all going to Robson Aguiar.

“A lot of the breeze-up people have bought yearlings by him, and rightly so. Hopefully, it's a sign of things to come,” O'Callaghan said.

Aguiar went to £125,000 (AU$215,000) to secure Lot 77 by Inns Of Court on behalf of Amo Racing on Day 1. However, O'Callaghan predicted the best was yet to come for the stallion.

“He's not the only nice horse by him. The lads who look after him in the yard every day bought one, Gary Halpin and Sean Davis bought another off our farrier Matty Smith, so hopefully, they get rewarded.”

Halpin and Davis are not exactly new faces on the breeze-up circuit, given the jockeys have ridden breezers at the sales for many of the top consignors in recent years, but the pair are hoping to grow their own operation this year.

After selling a Galileo Gold (GB) filly last season, Halpin and Davis now plan on putting together a string of breezers to go with the Inns Of Court colt, Lot 127, bought from Baroda Stud for £55,000 (AU$95,000).

Halpin explained; “We underbid a few and the Inns Of Court was the only one we got in the end. He's a nice colt with a good page so he should get into any of those classy sales next year. Myself and Sean have been riding breezers for a few years now and we sold a Galileo Gold filly last year for a few quid. Hopefully, we can grow the operation.”

Of the 17 yearlings offered by Inns Of Court, all of them found new homes for a total spend of £623,000 (AU$1.05 million). That averages out at a respectable £36,647 (AU$62,000) per yearling sold.

It was not just the first-season sire Inns Of Court who punched in respectable results for Tally-Ho. Their resident stallions Kessaar (Ire), Cotai Glory (GB), Kodiac (GB) and Galileo Gold (GB) did well in the ring.

“The sale has been very good," O'Callaghan said. “I can't imagine anyone will be complaining. Everything we brought, we sold, but that's nearly always the case.”

Tally-Ho sold 24 horses at Doncaster over the two days. They cleared £1,544,000 (AU$2.6 million) and averaged £64,333 (AU$110,000).

Only Baroda Stud, who sold 14 yearlings at the sale, came close to those figures with David Cox's operation netting £793,000 (AU$1.3 million) at an average of £56,643 (AU$96,000), highlighted by the New Bay (GB) colt, Lot 211, that was knocked down to Peter and Ross Doyle for £200,000 (AU$340,000) on Day 1.

Havana Grey lights up sale

The sun hasn't stopped shining down on Whitsbury Manor Stud ever since the progeny of its first-season sire sensation, Havana Grey (GB), hit the track this season.

The knock-on effect of the brilliant season that the young stallion is enjoying with his first runners was felt in the sales ring, not more so than when the stud sold Lot 234, a Havana Grey filly, to Jake Warren for £230,000 (AU$390,000).

The daughter of the Showcasing (GB) mare Showstoppa (GB), who has already produced four winners including G2 Sandy Lane S. winner El Caballo (GB), is set to join Clive Cox.