A striking gray daughter of Starman shot to the head of the market at the Tattersalls Ireland Breeze Up Sale May 22 when bringing €360,000 (US$417,600, €1=US$1.16). A protracted round of bidding featured contributions from the likes of Mark McStay and a team that included Ken Condon. However, the decisive bid eventually came from Stuart Boman of Blandford Bloodstock.
"I'm slightly surprised we had to push that far, but she was the one filly here that really got my imagination going," Boman said. "We work very hard as a team and spend a lot of time looking at every aspect, but certain horses you see really capture your attention and she was one of those from the second I saw her in the pre-breeze.
"She's not just a 5-furlong filly. She's got a massive stride, her time was very good. She sustained it the whole way and galloped out very well. She's a filly who'll get 7 furlongs. They're hard to buy, but I'm delighted we got her."
The filly was bred and offered by Tally-Ho Stud and is out of a Zebedee half sister to dual group 1 winner Fairyland. There are also several notable breeze-up graduates in the pedigree, as the dam is also a half sister to the group 2-winning and group 1-placed Now Or Never. Champion sprinter Dream Ahead is another generation back.
"She comes from a great vendor, they're great breeders and it's a family Blandford have had a lot of luck with," Boman said. "Richard (Brown) bought Dream Ahead from the breeze-ups many years ago. The mare has done a good job and is unlucky not to have left a stakes winner.
"Starman is going from strength to strength. The Tally-Ho stallion machine is flying. They're a great group of people and I couldn't be happier to buy a horse of that standard from them. She'll stay in Ireland and go to Joseph O'Brien."
The intensity of trade built as the session progressed, so much so that the €360,000 mark was hit for a second time as evening rolled around. Michael Donohoe, standing with Emmet Mullins, made a determined play for a Rockfield Farm's St Mark's Basilica colt, but had to give best to a buying team from Saudi Arabia who signed the ticket in the name of Abdul Rahman Saeed Al Sayed.
"Maybe we'll leave him in England," the purchaser's representative said. "We have so many friends who are trainers, but maybe Richard Hannon. This horse's pedigree is very good, he's a good-looking horse and he did a good breeze."
The colt, whose dam is a half sister to the high-class One Voice, was knocked down to Mark Grant at 75,000 guineas at last year's Tattersalls December Yearling Sale.
Tradewinds scores with St Mark's Basilica colt
Tradewinds Stud pulled off one of the day's bigger touches when a St Mark's Basilica colt picked up for 26,000 guineas realized €230,000 to the bid of Ken Condon, who signed the ticket as Osborne Lodge Racing.
The Cheveley Park Stud-bred youngster is out of Preening, a listed-winning daughter of Dutch Art.
"Over the moon," Tradewinds' Alex Power said. "I think I just got lucky the day he was bought. You overpay for most things, but he was probably bought about right. He's been an easy horse to sell because I was behind him 150%, and since he was broken in, we thought he was a little bit different.
"His breeze was class, and whether they're a 5-furlong horse or a mile-and-a-quarter horse, the good ones have that speed. He had that, but he'll probably get further than most."
Although the youngster was knocked down to Curragh-based Condon, the handler said this youngster's future lies in the United States having been secured on behalf of owner Jim Tilton.
"The sire is doing very well and has obviously created a very good impression," the trainer said. "Even though this particular horse is a May foal he has a lot of balance and quality and athleticism. Jim has been lucky buying horses here to go to the States. Given a little bit of time I think this will be a lovely horse for the future. He galloped well and has a nice pedigree so everything stacked up. He'll be trained by Brendan Morris when he gets to the U.S."
