TATTERSALLS chairman Edmond Mahony put it bluntly when the final hammer fell at the Tattersalls Breeze Up Sale on Thursday evening. He said: “It is clear that there are challenges in the current marketplace, challenges which reflect wider economic realities.”

These forces combined to produce a disappointing clearance rate of 72%, though the average was largely unchanged. The median declined by 10%, and with many fewer horses sold, turnover fell by some 17%.

Eleven lots realised 100,000gns or more in this section of the sale.

The top lot was Danny O’Donovan’s daughter of first-season sire King Of Change who was knocked down to Oliver St Lawrence and trainer Bryan Smart for 180,000gns, the pair having seen off the attentions of Henry Lascelles. It was a superb pinhooking result for the consignor who purchased her for £20,000.

Last week O’Donovan sold another filly by the same sire for £280,000 and a Sioux Nation filly for £300,000. A week previously, O’Donovan parted with yet another King Of Change filly for 80,000gns. All three were bought by O’Donovan and agent Adam Potts as yearlings for relatively small sums.

O’Donovan, standing alongside his ownership team of Adam Potts and journalist Brian Sheerin, was all smiles. “I thought she might make about 130,000gns, but to get to 180,000gns is incredible. It is life-changing money. The pressure is off. I am just grateful that everything has come together this year. King of Change is my hero now!”

The top-priced filly is from the immediate family of Group 1 winners Slade Power and Ebro River.

Leading consignor

The highest priced colt was Lackendarra Stables’ son of Mehmas, Billy Jackson-Stops emerging on top at 160,000gns on behalf of Opulence Thoroughbreds.

This followed a protracted bidding duel with Ross Doyle.

The result was another strong result for Lackendarra’s Eddie Linehan, who purchased him for 55,000gns. The February-foaled colt is a grandson of Australian Group 1 winner Lone Rock.

Lackendarra Stables was the leading consignor, having sold four lots for 347,000gns. Linehan said: “We brought four to the sale and sold all four, and all for a bit more than expected. We are delighted.” The colt will be trained by Andrew Balding.

Blandford Bloodstock secured the next two highest priced colts, including Yeomanstown Stud’s son of Mehmas who was knocked down for 150,000gns to Richard Brown, with Edgar Byrne as runner-up. The agent said: “He has been bought for Sheikh Rashid and he goes to Richard Fahey. I love the stallion - he is a very serious sire of two-year-olds.”

The February-born colt is out of the Redoute’s Choice mare Camisole, whose dam is a half-sister to the Grade 1 Preakness Stakes winner War Of Will and to Irish champion two-year-old Pathfork.

The other colt to realise 150,000gns was Longways Stables’ son of Hello Youmzain, and it was Brown who struck again for the March-born colt, with bloodstock agents Oliver St Lawrence, Ed Sackville and Ross Doyle among those thwarted. “I seem to be cornering the market in Hello Youmzain stock; that is the third one I have bought this breeze-up season,” laughed Brown. “I have bought him for Sheikh Juma.”

The colt will reportedly go into training with James Tate. He is out of the two-year-old winner Dream Dreamer, and was a good pinhooking result for Longways’ Mick Murphy, having been bought for 35,000gns.

Blandford’s spending spree also included a son of Masar for 130,000gns from Cormac Farrell on behalf of Middleham Racing. He will join Archie Watson.

Heading to Dubai is the Quality Road colt out of the multiple Group 1 winner Alice Springs, secured for 140,000gns by Colm Sharkey. The Coolmore-bred was sold through Willie Browne’s Mocklershill.