MUCH has been said about the domination of French-bred horses at the top end of the National Hunt racing, and the figures backed it up in 2024. French breeders produced 25 of the 48 individual horses to win the 74 Grade 1s run in Ireland and the UK in 2024.
In comparison, 16 were bred in Ireland, six in Great Britain and one in Germany. A high number of the 48 were sourced by current connections from French trainers – 18 to be exact, but it is heartening to know that 21 learnt their trade in Ireland, with point-to-point handlers. That includes one bought unraced on the recommendation of their handler.
With so many private purchases, it’s difficult to know what connections paid for their future stars, but it’s usually safe to presume that they paid a pretty penny for any horse with form. Eleven of the point-to-point graduates were reoffered by their handlers at public auction, with nine finding a buyer on the day. Eight of those sold for six-figure sums, with four fetching between £400,000 and £570,000.
The only one to not reach the £100,000 mark was The Jukebox Man, bought by Highflyer Bloodstock’s Tessa Greatrex for £70,000 at the Goffs UK Tingle Creek Sale. Now a Grade 2 and Grade 1 winner on both his starts over fences, he was bought off the back of his impressive debut win for Mary Doyle in a four-year-old maiden at Turtulla.
Another man’s treasure
There must have been factors limiting his price and the €3,000 John Phelan paid for him as a foal at the Goffs December NH Sale may be an indication of his conformation, or maybe buyers dismissed his pedigree, as he is the first winner from eight foals out of his dam.
He’s by a less-than-desirable stallion in Ask, but as we’re reminded time and time again, any sire is capable of getting a good horse. In fact, last year’s Grade 1 winners were sired by 38 stallions, yet commercially, the focus is much smaller. More on that later.
In terms of horses reoffered with French form, again, just one sold for a five-figure sum, and Royale Pagaille’s price of €70,000 is even more of a mystery. He was bought by Guy Petit at the Arqana Autumn Sale after finishing second in a listed chase at Auteuil for Francois Nicolle. Granted, he was beaten 12 lengths, but he finished 20 lengths clear of the third, and was already a half-brother to two blacktype winners at the time.
Sport of kings
Of last year’s Grade 1 winners, just three were bought unraced at public auction by those who raced them in their finest hours. Fastorslow cost €100,000 at the Arqana Summer Sale, Brighterdaysahead cost €310,000 at the Tattersalls Ireland Derby Sale, and Grey Dawning cost €40,000 at the same sale.
This is a National Hunt feature, so I won’t dissect the equivalents on the flat, but it is interesting to note that in the same year, seven Group 1 winners in the UK and Ireland were directly sourced at public auction by current connections. They weren’t cheap either, ranging from 140,000gns to 350,000gns, but isn’t it surprising that four of their National Hunt counterparts (the pricey point-to-pointers) cost even more? Particularly given that flat colts and fillies boast far higher residual value.
This is something that I find very concerning for the jumps sphere, where both fans and those directly involved are feeling an increasing imbalance between the major operations and the small man. Securing raw material of the necessary calibre appears to be a near impossible task for National Hunt owners and trainers on a budget.
A major factor is the dominance of point-to-point handlers at the store sales, which was apparent once again in 2024, despite a sodden season limiting their opportunities to race and resell. They accounted for four of the top six buyers at the Goffs Arkle Sale, and two of the top three at the Tattersalls Ireland Derby Sale.
Straight to the source
Having said that, it’s certainly not impossible for owners and trainers to succeed on a budget at the sales, and Grey Dawning was the best example of that from 2024’s Grade 1 winners. The Turners Novices’ Chase victor was bought by Brendan Bashford for owner Robert Kirkland for €40,000 at the Derby Sale, where he was consigned by Castledillon Stud on behalf of breeder Grange Stud.
The grey son of Flemensfirth is much the best performer out of the unraced Milan mare Lady Wagtail, herself a half-sister to multiple graded winner Teaatral. Amusingly, his second dam was group-placed over six furlongs, finishing third to subsequent Group 1 winner Pharaoh’s Delight in the Princess Margaret Stakes.
While I’m disheartened by the eye-watering sums that many of the Grade 1 winners cost, a number of the point-to-point graduates were originally bargain buys at the store sales. €28,000 was the price Leamore Horses and the Crawford brothers each paid for Dancing City and Jasmin De Vaux respectively at the Goffs Arkle Sale, the source of four top-flight winners in total in 2024.
The sales top spot, however, went to the Tattersalls Ireland Derby Sale, with six scorers, followed by the Arqana Autumn Sale with five winners. Tattersalls Ireland’s August NH Sale provided the cheapest Grade 1-winning store of 2024, with PJ Cosgrave having paid just €12,000 for Nickle Back there.
Potters Charm came close at the Arkle Sale, bringing €15,000 from the Happyvalley Syndicate, while the €30,000 paid for Slade Steel at the Tattersalls Ireland May Sale was also excellent value in hindsight.
Fantastic foal finds
End users targeted the 2024 flat foal sales in an attempt to find value, with examples including footballer Ryan Kent purchasing two through Daniel Creighton for 200,000gns apiece. Paddy Twomey was also active and, after buying a Havana Grey filly for 130,00gns, said: “I might not get the chance to buy her if she went to a pinhooker.”
The two highest-priced foals at the Tattersalls Ireland November NH Sale were bought to race, and consignors were well-paid, with Nicholas Bertran de Balanda giving €110,000 for a No Risk At All colt from Coolmara Stables, with Jerry McGrath matching that price for Clonmult Farm’s Saint des Saints colt.
While those prices are hardly bargain-basement level, they’re still much lower than the €350,000 top price at the venue’s Derby Sale. There is surely plenty of value among the less commercially-bred stock, too, when you consider the foals’ median price of €11,500 compared to the Derby Sale median of €38,000.
Granted, there is the cost of keep between buying a foal and racing them, but that period is becoming shorter, with the introduction of two-year-olds to the two major Irish store sales in 2025. Besides, imagine if you only paid €16,500 for an eight-time Grade 1 winner? That’s what Barry Geraghty and Warren Ewing paid for Constitution Hill at the Tattersalls Ireland November NH Sale.
He went straight to point-to-pointing, as did Ballyburn and Banbridge, both bought by Ian Ferguson at the same sale and later trained by Colin McKeever. Form increases horses’ value, but so do pedigree updates.
Dream updates
Katie Rudd bought unbeaten Challow Novices’ Hurdle victor The New Lion as a foal from Little Lodge Farm at the 2019 Tattersalls Ireland November NH Sale for €45,000. Shortly before his breeder Robert Chugg passed away in February 2022, he messaged Rudd to say he thought the family was about to “take off”, and he was right.
The following season, The New Lion’s full-sister impressed on her first three starts over hurdles, before finishing second to Irish Point in the Grade 1 Mersey Novices’ Hurdle. Her sibling was purchased privately by connections from Rudd, without ever making it to a store sale, and he has proven even better than the family’s previous flagbearer.
He was one of two Grade 1 winners last year by the late Kayf Tara, his tally matched by Doctor Dino, Flemensfirth, Saddler Maker and Saint des Saints. Blue Bresil went one better, while Walk In The Park led the way with four. None of these names are surprising, but there were 31 other stallions who each sired a Grade 1 winner last year, which doesn’t explain the market’s and breeders’ focus on a precious few elite.
A smaller operation, which has enjoyed a terrific 12 months, is Eric McNamara’s and his best horses were cheaply sourced by the trainer himself as horses in training. Frankendael, who won a €100,000 handicap hurdle in September, set his trainer back 13,000gns at the Tattersalls Autumn HIT Sale, while his Munster National hero Real Steel cost £27,000 as a nine-year-old at the Goffs UK Spring Sale.
Bargain of the year
I’ve ventured out of Grade 1 territory here and, of course, there are plenty of bargains and feelgood stories to be found. Instead, I’ll nominate just one inspirational result from 2024, that may otherwise get lost, as they have yet to score on the big stage.
The name Shecouldbeanything couldn’t be any better suited to the Malinas mare, whose 11 career wins include three listed hurdles, a Grade 3 chase and a listed chase. Gordon Elliott’s charge has placed in another three graded races and wasn’t disgraced when fifth of five in the Grade 1 Drinmore Novice Chase, where only five lengths covered the field.
With earnings of over €190,000, she has more than repaid the £68,000 paid by Elliott and Aidan O’Ryan for the bay at the Tattersalls Cheltenham April Sale, but it’s for her previous sales history that I’m impressed. Patrick Turley sourced his 13-length debut winner at the Tattersalls Ireland May Store Sale for €5,000, which hardly set Timmy Love’s world alight.
The young pinhooker had paid €1,400 for her at the Goffs December NH Sale, where she was sold by her breeder Damien Duncan. A Malinas filly foal wouldn’t have been on many pinhookers’ lists, but her granddam Best Wait finished third to Like-A-Butterfly and Sacundai in the Royal Bond Novice Hurdle.
On the subject of broodmares, who are regularly overshadowed by their matings, 24 of those who produced a Grade 1 winner in 2024 were winners themselves, with nine achieving blacktype status. Another nine raced without winning, while 15 never made it to the track.
Back to the subject of Shecouldbeanything’s sire, Malinas. He is no longer with us, but he’s a good example of a sire who was perfectly capable of getting you a talented horse, but without any Grade 1 flagbearers, found little favour in the sales ring. At this stage of the 2024/2025 NH season, he is currently joint second in the sires table by blacktype horses, matching Shantou’s 10. Walk In The Park is a clear leader with 23, but Malinas is still bettering his much more commercial counterparts.
Analysing sire performance is for another day, but this one example shows that commercial appeal isn’t indicative of performance. That goes for both the breeders sending hundreds of mares to one stallion, as well as the buyers clamouring for their stock. There is even less evidence supporting that when applied to new stallions.
Yes, they could be anything, but that isn’t necessarily a good thing.