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| Sumita Pawar |
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The Tattersalls Ireland Breeze-Up Sale is the final event on the main European breeze-up circuit and represents the culmination of two outstanding sales seasons for Roderic Kavanagh of Glending Stables.
In the previous year, Kavanagh achieved remarkable success with a colt sired by Havana Grey, which he purchased as a yearling for 42,000gns and later sold as a breeze-up horse for 625,000gns. This colt, named Vandeek, went on to win the 2023 Gr.1 Prix Morny and Gr.1 Middle Park Stakes under the Crisfords, and is set to make a seasonal return at Haydock on 25th May.
This year, Kavanagh replicated his impressive pinhooking feat with the final Galileo yearling offered at auction. He acquired the colt for 125,000gns in December and sold him for 1 million guineas last month.
While achieving such outstanding results at the beginning of the year is a blessing, Kavanagh is keenly aware that it also presents certain challenges.
"Obviously we got off to a great start, and in one way that took the pressure off for the rest of the year, but you can't close your eyes and not see the reality of it; there are probably more horses available than there are people to buy them," Kavanagh said. "You wouldn't be getting carried away with yourself, but fundamentally if you bring nice horses to the market you are going to go okay."
Kavanagh is set to bring a strong quartet to Fairyhouse for the final sale of the season. The quality of the horses available has increased in line with the success of the Tattersalls Ireland Breeze-Up Sale. The 2023 edition of the sale produced two juvenile group winners - Kairyu and Letsbefrankaboutit, as well as listed winners Ballymount Boy and Fun With Flags.
There's a shift in the traditional view of breeze-up horses, with the success of horses like Trueshan reshaping perspectives. Ambiente Friendly, a breeze-up graduate, has put himself in the running for Gr.1 Derby glory with a victory in Lingfield's classic trial. A win at Epsom for this son of Gleneagles would mark another milestone in the evolution of sales perspectives.
"Last year was a vintage renewal in terms of the graduates that have come out of it; Kairyu, Fun With Flags, Ballymount Boy," said Kavanagh. "It's great to see those kind of horses coming through the sale because it gives a lot of confidence in the product that is coming out of the sales—they are being produced better and better all the time; I've never seen breezes as good as this year.
"The general standard of the horsemanship at these breeze-up sales has gone so high, it's a very competitive game and horses are being very well-produced."
Kavanagh isn't surprised, as he's observed how the growing discernment and exceptional riding skills of practitioners are significantly influencing both the horses and the sales.
"Very few nice horses are missed through the breeze-up selection process, I think," he said. "Regardless of times and things, it's very thorough and they're getting more and more professional at identifying them.
"It's great to see the variety in horses that are coming through the breeze-up system, they're not all whizz-bang Royal Ascot 2-year-olds. They have longevity and careers."
Purple Lily, a daughter of Calyx and a runner-up in the Gr.3 Paddy Twomey's Salsabil Stakes, has also come from last year's sale. She is currently in contention for the Gr.1 Irish One Thousand Guineas before the 24th May declarations. Additionally, Glending Stables is offering a Calyx filly out of the listed 2014 Prix des Lilas third Delhi, who bears a resemblance to Purple Lily, the featured horse on the sale catalog.
The catalog is brimming with promising prospects right from the beginning, and Glending Stables' lineup includes a standout in Lot 7. This lot features a second-crop son of the prominent first-season sire Blue Point.
Furthermore, there is a bay colt out of Timpani, a winning Raven's Pass half-sister to the 2008 Gr.1 Preis von Europa second Poseidon Adventure, who showcased impressive speed during a breezy morning at Fairyhouse in May.
"The Blue Point horse is probably the star attraction," said Kavanagh. "Blue Point needs no introduction and hopefully he could have a classic winner at the weekend; Rosallion looks good and he's a carbon copy of him, we are excited and hopefully the market takes to him.
"He's a fine, big, strong horse and he has taken till now to fill out his frame. That's why we targeted this sale with him."
Group Two winner Catalina Cruiser, a son of Union Rags who stands at Lane's End Farm in Kentucky, may not be well-known to Europeans. However, Kavanagh is enthusiastic about the filly by this second-crop sire and believes she will attract a specific segment of buyers at Fairyhouse.
He said, "The Catalina Cruiser is only just 2, she was born May 22, but she's a lovely, big, rangy, scopey filly. We're very excited by her and think she could be one for the desert."
Other American stallions represented at the sale include American Pharoah, Bernardini, Bolt d'Oro, Complexity, Demarchelier, Game Winner, Higher Power, Karakontie, Kitten's Joy, Maximum Security, Medaglia d'Oro, Munnings, Oscar Performance, Real Solution, Street Sense, Twirling Candy, and Union Rags.
A notable feature of the sale is the diverse group of international buyers brought together by Tattersalls Ireland and Irish Thoroughbred Marketing, evident from the many languages spoken around the sales ground and the racetrack nearby.
This is the final opportunity of the breeze-up season for Kavanagh and other consignors to see how their horses perform in the market, with the sale beginning at 10 a.m. local time on Friday.