Tattersalls Ireland Set For a Strong September Sale

Tattersalls Ireland could lay claim to pound for pound the strongest sale on last year's European circuit. Buoyed by three graduates striking in three Royal Ascot group 1s, the 2025 September Yearling Sale saw turnover skyrocket by 51% to €18,759,500, while the median price rose an even punchier 54% to €37,000. With this year's September Sale duly having been heavily oversubscribed, chief executive Simon Kerins is hoping that buyers' enthusiasm for the three-day event matches that of their counterparts bringing horses to market. "It's always challenging managing any sale, but that's particularly true at this sale this year on the back of what happened here 12 months ago," he said. "With all the records we broke last year, there's been an incredible demand for places." Kerins is acutely aware that another strong showing from this year's September Sale will have implications far beyond Tattersalls Ireland's own bottom line. "We're just one of the spokes in the wheel of the industry," he said. "We love to see people doing well and nothing gives us more satisfaction than people making money. I used the analogy at times that, if breeders make money, we make money. "It's possibly a crude analogy, but it rings true. If people do well here and get rewarded in the sales ring, which is the only barometer for so many commercial breeders, then they'll want to come back again." While the demand for a spot in the catalog is undoubtedly a nice problem for the Tattersalls Ireland team, it is a problem nonetheless. "All summer people have been saying, 'I couldn't get a yearling into the sale' or 'I got one in when I usually get five or six,'" Kerins continued. "Some people will feel aggrieved, but a lot of them are understanding that the sale has progressed after it took a massive leap forward last year. "That created a huge challenge for us this year, having to keep numbers tight. The ideal number is around 700; we've a little bit more than ideal, but we're not far off. "We've had to turn horses down that we might've got wrong, but you have to make a judgement call. We know it'll be a challenge to reach the heady heights of last year, but we're hopeful. If we could consolidate it'd be nice." Although Kerins stressed that some among the number will have applied for slots in multiple sales, this year's 760-lot catalog has been whittled down from "around 1,500 to 1,600" entries. This larger pool of horses means that, while numbers have risen from last year, with the part one catalog up from 505 lots to 540, Kerins is confident there has been no dilution of quality—quite the contrary. "There's a better type of yearling here, no doubt," he said. "A lot of people have sent us horses that they might've taken to Britain in the past, those October Book 2 type horses. It's really gratifying to see those horses coming here. It's reassuring that what you always felt could happen has come to pass. Matching last year's figures is always going to be a challenge, but we have a very nice bunch and the vendors have sent us so many good types with good pedigrees." Among the eye-catchers on paper are the No Nay Never (IRE) brother to grade 2 scorer No Nay Hudson (IRE) (Lot 35, Glenvale Stud); a brother to Flying Childers Stakes (G2) winner and first-season sire Caturra (IRE) (84, Tally-Ho Stud); a Sea The Stars (IRE) filly out of a daughter of group 1 performer Laugh Out Loud (104, Castledillon Stud); a St Mark's Basilica (FR) half sister to group 1 performers Delphinia and Delano Roosevelt (212, Castlehyde Stud); a colt by Nathaniel (IRE) out of a half sister to Pinatubo (IRE) (237, Whatton Manor Stud); and a Sioux Nation half sister to the listed-winning Jabaara, who also finished second in the Falmouth Stakes (G1) (258, Tinnakill House). "The American market has been strong, particularly at the top end, although that's not always the best barometer for Europe," Kerins said. "France has been very good at the top end as well, and the two domestic sales in the UK have been stronger at the top. The market has been less forgiving for those that don't have commercial appeal, there's no question about that." The three-day sale begins Sept. 22 at 10 a.m.