Tattersalls Ireland Newsletter (Issue 3)

Issue 3

June 2021

DERBY & SUMMER STORE SALE PREVIEW

DERBY SALE INTERVIEW: TOM MALONE

IN CONVERSATION WITH MARK O'HARE

What better way to start the Fairyhouse 2021 Sales season but with the hugely anticipated Tattersalls Ireland Derby Sale.

Preview cont...pg 3

Top Irish bloodstock agent, Tom Malone who is now based in the UK, tells us why he never misses the Derby Sale.

Interview cont...pg 5

Mark O'Hare tells us what is special about Honeysuckle.

Interview Cont... pg 4

WHAT'S INSIDE Pg 2: - Interview with Tattersalls Ireland CEO Simon Kerins Pg 3: - Derby & Summer store sale preview cont'd...

- Key dates you need to know Pg 4: - Mark O'Hare tells us what is special about Honeysuckle Pg 5: - Tom Malone interview cont'd...

- News Pg 6: - Quick fire round with Jamie Codd - Tattersalls Cheltenham round-up Pg 7: - In Conversation with consignor Richard Busher

CATCH UP WITH CEO SIMON KERINS THE flagship Tattersalls Ireland Derby Sale marks the first live auction at the Fairyhouse Sales complex in 2021 as the leading players in the National Hunt sector make a welcome return in search of future equine stars.

For Simon Kerins he has a heightened sense of anticipation ahead of its arrival. The long-standing member of the Tattersalls Ireland team took charge in his new position as CEO in January and is eagerly awaiting the arrival of vendors and buyers alike for what will be the first live sale at the complex under his leadership.

“It has been a long time coming and frankly we are chomping at the bit. The Derby Sale is our flagship National Hunt sale and we deliberately kept the catalogue tight this year because we wanted to keep the quality at a premium,” said Kerins who joined Tattersalls Ireland in 2000.

Renovation work carried out earlier this year

“The vibes are good and we have a great catalogue. I think buyers will be pleased when they see the catalogue – the pedigrees are outstanding and I think the horses will match the pedigrees.

“It has been unusual and strange in terms of the new normal being the very opposite of what you would have expected it to be two years ago, but in the new position I have learned plenty already.

“I am very lucky and I don’t say it lightly, there is a really good team here at Tattersalls Ireland that know their roles and are thinking outside of the box and finding different ways to navigate our way forward.”

Having successfully introduced online sales last year as part of those innovative efforts, 2021 will not only see a new CEO for the Tattersalls Ireland team and the first phase of renovation works on the sales complex, but also a brand new store sale with the inaugural edition of the July Store Sale next month.

Derby Sale Preview

It is an addition that Kerins feels will aid buyers as has already been proven by the introduction of the May Store Sale which is scheduled to return to its traditional calendar slot in 2022.

“The point-to-point men are such a critical part of our buying base now and they want the horses as early as possible so that they can get the horses broken and put them out on grass and I think July was always in our mind because of that.”

Alongside his additional new managerial responsibilities, Kerins continues to carry out inspections and is part of the team finalising the final line-up of exciting flat prospects for the Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale.

Registration will be required to attend the sale, please click on the above link to complete Medical Questionnaire and also read the Tattersalls Ireland Sales Day Protocols.

“It is a sale that is going from strength to strength. We had a record price of £325,000 last year, a record number of horses making £150,000 and we have had some fantastic graduates recently with Helvic Dream winning the Tattersalls Gold Cup,” he explains.

“You also have Gustavus Weston who won the Group 2 Greenlands Stakes on Guineas weekend and he cost €55,000 at the sale. It is a really good sale and we are hoping to keep it tighter this year. I feel it has enormous potential to grow.”

The events of the past 15 months have may rocked the globe in an unprecedented manner, but with brighter skies ahead, Kerins is now looking forward to guiding the business into the future and building on the growth that he sees within it.

Competition Time...

To be in with a chance to win a Tattersalls Ireland Stormtech jacket and matching gilet, answer the following question.

What female jockey features on the front catalogue of both the 2021 Derby Sale and the May/July Store Sale catalogues?

Email your answer to competition@tattersalls.ie The winner will be notified by Monday, 26th June 2021 (T&Cs apply).

2

Key dates you need to know July Entries close August NH Sale Thursday 1st July 2021 Entries close September Yearling Sale Tuesday 6th July 2021 May Store Sale Wednesday 14th July 2021 July Store Sale Thursday 15th July 2021 Tattersalls Ireland July Show 24th - 25th July 2021 August August NH Sale 10th - 11th August 2021 September Tattersalls Ireland €300,000 Super Auction Sale Stakes, Champions Weekend at The Curragh Sunday 12th September 2021 Entries close November NH Sale Friday 17th September 2021 September Yearling Sale 21st - 22nd September 2021 Entries close €100,000 Tattersalls Ireland George Mernagh Memorial Sales Bumper Wednesday 22nd September 2021 September Yearling Sale Part Two 23rd September 2021 October Entries close November Flat Sale Thursday 7th October 2021 November November NH Sale 5th - 12th November 2021 Cheltenham November Sale 12th November 2021 December Cheltenham December Sale 10th December 2021 Nominations closing for the Goresbridge Breeze Up Sale

Derby & Summer Store Sale Preview THE words ‘Derby Sale dominance’ accompanied all of last season’s major National Hunt festivals, as the industry-leading sale was responsible for producing more Grade 1 winners than any other store sale.

No fewer than eight horses who climbed the Prestbury Park hill in front last March had come under the hammer at the Derby Sale, including a staggering five of the Cheltenham Festival Grade 1 winners.

Honeysuckle was the undoubted queen of that quintet with her Champion Hurdle victory, and on foot of supplementing that victory with her eighth Grade 1 success at Punchestown a month later, the great and good of the sport now returns to the Tattersalls Ireland sales ring for the 2021 edition of the Derby Sale to source the next crop of Grade 1 stars.

This year’s sale features the siblings of no fewer than 14 Grade 1 winners among the 400 top class stores which have been selected.

Last year’s Grade 1 Champion Bumper victor Ferny Hollow was bought by JJ Bowe at the 2018 Derby Sale and now Ken Parkhill’s Castletown Quarry Stud will offer his Westerner-sired ownbrother as lot 131, with own brothers of Bravemansgame (lot 28) and Death Duty (lot 129) adding real star quality to the catalogue.

Frank Motherway’s Yellowford Farm had an unforgettable November National Hunt Sale here in December when consigning the top three grossing foals, all of whom were by the soughtafter sire Walk In The Park, and in lot 216 they offer a half-brother of the 22-time Grade 1 winner Hurricane Fly that is sired by the Grange Stud resident.

The catalogue also features siblings of Fiddlerontheroof, Frodon, Ballycasey, Don’t Touch It, Macs Joy, Champ and Benefficient among others.

Click to view Lot 216

TELMESOMETHINGGIRL (pictured below) brought Cheltenham Festival glory for the May Store Sale when leaving her rivals trailing in her wake in the Grade 2 Mares’ Novice Hurdle.

The Stowaway mare epitomized why the sale has proven so popular with point-to-point connections having previously won the opening four-year-old maiden of 2019 after being bought at the 2018 May Sale, with further blacktype honours during the season for Hometown Boy and Nada To Prada, whose journey to big race success began at this sale before a point-to-point education.

A quality 204 stores feature among this year’s catalogue representing leading sires such as such as Flemensfirth, Getaway, Fame and Glory, Kayf Tara, Milan, Mount Nelson, Presenting, Shantou, Soldier of Fortune, Walk In The Park, Westerner, Yeats and many more, with 255 stores selected for the inaugural July Store Sale on July 15th.

3

IN CONVERSATION WITH MARK O'HARE

“SHE is even better than you thought she was. We knew she was good, we knew she was tough, did we know she was this fleet of foot – no we didn’t,” declared Nick Luck on Racing TV in the immediate aftermath of Honeysuckle’s devastating performance to land the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham in March.

That six and a half-length defeat of Sharjah propelled Honeysuckle to the top of the sport, a journey which traces its origins back to the 2017 edition of the Derby Sale when this three-year-old daughter of Sulamani caught the eye of Mark O’Hare as he propped up the rail of the parade ring moments before she came under the hammer.

“I was just doing my usual thing of standing about the ring to see if anything caught my eye. The first time that I saw her was only five or ten minutes before she went into the ring,” said the Banbridge native.

“I loved the way that she moved when I saw her, she was just very athletic in the way that her whole body moved and I followed her into the ring. Thankfully she only went for handy money and I was able to get her.”

O’Hare has been a mainstay of the point-to-point circuit, principally as a rider where he is noted for having ridden winners in four different decades in that sphere. However like so many of his peers, he has successfully turned his hand to producing young horses through the pointing system.

Having been knocked down to the Co. Down man for just €9,500 Honeysuckle was always destined to appear in the pointing fields with O’Hare and wasted no time in beginning the work to lay the foundations for her competitive bow which would come at Dromahane just ten months later.

“She was very straight forward from day one, I broke her in and kicked on with her and she was always a pleasure to deal with. But it was only really after landing over the last at Dromahane that I knew just quite the potential that she had.

“She was that laid back at home, now she never disappointed, but she wasn’t a mare that would have been a show off at home, she only ever did what she had to do and only went away twice. She had popped around after racing at Tyrella and then she went over hurdles at the Curragh.

“I gave her a kick landing out over the last at Dromahane to see what I had and she sprinted to the line on heavy ground. Sara (O’Hare) was there with me on the day and I came in laughing to her and said this is a useful mare.”

With O’Hare in the saddle and carrying the colours of his wife Sara for handler Gerry Cosgrave, Honeysuckle had made the best possible start to her career when defeating the subsequent dual listed winner Annie Mc by 15 lengths.

The ensuing three years have been paved with success – 12 to be precise for Honeysuckle – including no fewer than eight victories in Grade 1 company, and Honeysuckle’s festival triumphs have featured as part of a notable personal spring spectacular for O’Hare which were supplemented by the exploits of both Belfast Banter and Livelovelaugh.

“To see her, Belfast Banter and Livelovelaugh all win, I got a great kick out of it for about a month. It was just brilliant to have been a part in horses like that when they were youngsters.

“Even if I had nothing to do with Honeysuckle, it is lovely seeing a mare taking on the boys and able to hold their own and remain unbeaten. There is always that bit of extra excitement when a horse is unbeaten.”

Having called time on his race-riding career at Listowel last September, his farrier business servicing Banbridge, Downpatrick and Lisburn occupies much of his time now, however the quest to find that the next Honeysuckle continues, having acquired five foals at last year’s Tattersalls Ireland November National Hunt Sale.

4

IN CONVERSATION WITH: TOM MALONE THERE is little that can keep Tom Malone away from the Tattersalls Ireland Sales complex each and every June, with the Derby Sale dates some of the first to be inscribed in his diary each year.

After a rare Covid-enforced absence from last year’s blue-ribbon sale when travel restrictions forced the former jockey to conduct his bidding remotely, his appetite to return to the leading National Hunt store sale has never been stronger.

“You know that the quality is always there, you know that the pedigrees are there and you know that they do a good job. I have always had a very successful time at the Derby Sale,” said Malone.

“I have bought some proper nice horses from the Derby Sale over the years and when you are looking for that classy type of horse you know where to be going to find it and you have to keep going back.

“It really goes without saying that if you have 400 of the best blue breds in the one place you are going to get quality animals. One of the first good horses that I bought was for €16,000 at the Derby Sale, it was Lalor, and it has rolled on there.”

Recent years have seen Malone particularly active in the store market, which has in part been as a result of a change in tact by British champion trainer Paul Nicholls.

“We both decided that spending three or four hundred grand on a pointer, the owners didn’t want to, or couldn’t match it, to buy the very top ones that we wanted. We ended up underbidding so many good horses and buying first division horses instead,” explains Malone.

“We decided four years ago that we would look at buying some better class stores and start that way. Paul has built up a lovely academy where we buy the horses as stores, they spend a year with Will Biddick where they are broken in and have all the baby work done on Paul’s premises, so that they are using all of his gallops from a very early stage.

“That way when they come to Paul’s the following season it’s like they have always been there and he can get on training them.

“We were over looking at a field of 24 four-year-old’s there recently, and in it there were 14 individual bumper winners who had been bought as stores, two horses who had been placed and the rest were unraced. That was the haul we had in one field and it is definitely an approach that is working.”

Of those unraced horses that are yet to take to the track, Malone who sourced Grade 1 winners for both Nicholls and David Pipe last season, singles out a Walk In The Park filly that is a half-sister to the 2016 Irish National hero Rogue Angel, as one to watch out for in the autumn, having secured her at year’s Derby Sale for €110,000.

It is not just the Ditcheat trainer that Malone returns to the Fairyhouse complex on behalf of in search of future stars, having also been pivotal in the sourcing of new stock for both Pipe and Jamie Snowden in particular as he now dedicates himself solely to the National Hunt sphere.

“At the start I was trying to do flat and National Hunt but I was just spreading myself too thin,” he admits.

“Now I have Paul Nicholls, David Pipe, Jamie Snowden and trying find the very best horses that I can for them. They can’t be at the very top of their game if I’m not finding fast horses for them.”

TATTERSALLS IRELAND LAUNCH VENDOR PRIZE FOR THE SEPTEMBER YEARLING SALE Tattersalls Ireland are delighted to partner with Overlander to provide September Yearling Sale vendors with the opportunity to drive home in a brand-new Overlander R160 2-Stall horsebox.

The horse box will be presented to the vendor of the horse that wins the €300,000 Tattersalls Ireland Super Auction Sales Stakes at the Curragh Racecourse on Irish Champions weekend, commencing in 2022.

Additional details on www.tattersalls.ie

5

Tattersalls Cheltenham 2021 Sales Round-Up

Nine Cheltenham Festival winners and fifty-eight Black Type races won by Tattersalls Cheltenham Sales graduates during the course of the 2020/21 season continues to endorse the Cheltenham Sales as the leading source of point to pointers sold to race on the track.

Grade 1 winners included: Belfast Banter, Chantry House, Envoi Allen, Monkfish, Shishkin and Sir Gerhard.

Quick Fire Round with Jamie Codd, Tattersalls Ireland

What is your best winning moment?

It would have to be the six winners in Tinahely point to point back in October 2011, where I won every race on the card. It really doesn’t get much better than that!

What are you most proud of?

I’m most proud of my family; Mam and Dad, two sisters Zoe and Lisa, my late brother William, my wife Robyn and two children Lottie and Penny. They have been with me all along, and it’s nice to have them on my side.

How did you get through lockdown?

Not much changed for me – with the exception of the first major lockdown when HEIV OICE none of us could do anything or go anywhere; after that racing got goingTand was able to race away. We got the sales off the ground in December, and I’ve been working ever since.

What’s the last TV show that you binged-watched?

Power What do you treasure the most?

My two children, Lottie and Penny.

If you could go back in time what horse would you love to ride?

Desert Orchid – he was so iconic back then and what he achieved was phenomenal. He was a horse that people warmed to, and brave as a lion.

The hallmark of the three Cheltenham Spring sales which were relocated to Park Paddocks, Newmarket has been the sustained strength and depth at every level, as witnessed by the exceptional clearance rates of 93% or more at our last three sales.

The Cheltenham May Sale brought to a close what has been a challenging season for the point-to-point sector on a high note, selling the two highest priced point-topointers at public auction this May. Forthcoming Sale Cheltenham November Sale Friday 12 November Cheltenham December Sale Friday 10 December

If you could have a super power, what would it be?

To be able to see into the future.

What does your dream weekend look like?

I like to keep it very simple with just being around the family at home.

What’s next on the ‘to do’ list?

The plan is to get the farm at home back working to a manageable level with Dad, and keep building the bloodstock side of the business at Tattersalls Ireland.

NEW APPOINTMENT Tattersalls Ireland are delighted to announce that Orla McKenna (pictured left) has taken on the role of Bloodstock Manager since Margaret O'Neill retired at the end of 2020.

Orla has worked alongside Margaret since 2006.

6

IN CONVERSATION WITH: RICHARD BUSHER DECEMBER 29th 2020 is a day that will live long in the memory of Richard Busher, the bloodstock agent and consignor who has swiftly become one of the principal players within the store market in a relatively short time.

Watching from his home in Co. Wexford, a thrilling 85-minute period during the afternoon witnessed two of the horses that he had sold at the Tattersalls Ireland Derby Sale enjoy Grade 1 success.

Bravemansgame winning the Challow Novices' Hurdle at Newbury

Monkfish, already a special horse for Busher having supplied him with his first Grade 1 winner when enjoying Cheltenham Festival glory nine months earlier, landed the Neville Hotels Novices’ Chase at Leopardstown, swiftly followed by the ten-length victory of Bravemansgame in the Challow Novices’ Hurdle at Newbury.

“We couldn’t believe it that the two of them won Grade 1’s on the one day. We were all at home watching it on the TV and we got a right kick out of it,” said Busher who sold Monkfish to Cormac Doyle for €36,000 at the 2017 Derby Sale, with Doyle’s elder brother Donnchadh acquiring Bravemansgame from him for €48,000 a year later.

The Grade 1 double is all the more significant given that Busher had only bought his first foals from the Fairyhouse sales ring in 2011.

Now his booming operation has expanded to acquire a 78-acre farm in Ballycogley which houses approximately 70 horses, representing a notable ten years of growth for the man who left school at the age of 15 before spending over a quarter of a century at sea with his fishing business.

Monkfish winning the Neville Hotels Novice Despite retiring from fishing in 2015, taking to the sea continues to be a lucrative route for Chase at Leopardstown Busher, who has found particular fortunes when sailing from the nearby Rosslare Harbour to France, the country that has brought him Bravemansgame, Gringo D’Aubrelle and Setme Straightmate among others.

Success in the sales ring would prove to be a welcome change of fortunes for the family who lost their fishing business which was being run by Busher’s daughter Dinah, when their vessel, Ellie Adhamh, sank off the West Cork coast in late March, when thankfully all onboard were winched to safety.

“About seven years ago I went over to France with Sean Tiernan and Bernard Stoffel,” he explains. “They gave me a run down on the set up over there and we bought seven or eight horses that first year. I have been going over by myself these last two or three years and I get around to the different farms that I have been to over the years.”

Such was the impression that Bravemansgame in particular had made on him as a two-year-old that Busher returned to France and bought his dam Genifique who was in foal with a full brother of Bravemansgame at the time.

That son of Brave Mansonnien (Lot 28) has now turned three and is at the heart of the eight-strong Busher Bloodstock consignment for this year’s Derby Sale. “He is similar to Bravemansgame, maybe a bit racier looking and is a big horse at 17hh. I am hoping that there will be plenty of interest in him.”

Much of that interest may well come from the point-to-point handlers in his native Wexford who have struck gold on more than one occasion with his Derby Sale consignment and there is an undoubted sense of pride when Busher recalls Donnchadh Doyle describing him as the luckiest man that he has ever bought a horse from.

More of that luck will be on offer to vendors in the Fairyhouse complex as he is joined by his son Adam, and Darragh Berry for the biggest week in their calendar.

“It is the highlight of the year for us and you get a great buzz when you have a horse in the Derby Sale. There is always a great atmosphere and you would be losing sleep in the run up to it hoping that everything goes well.”

7

Tattersalls Ireland Ltd, Ratoath, Co. Meath, A85 VY48, Ireland