RICHARD Hughes and Michael O’Callaghan will train the two top-priced lots at Thursday’s Tattersalls Guineas Breeze Up Sale in Newmarket.

Hughes, acting with agent Ted Durcan, paid 200,000gns for a Zoffany colt consigned by Cormac Farrell, while O’Callaghan gave the same amount for a Time Test colt offered by Willie Browne’s Mocklershill.

These were the highest prices paid at this sale since 2018. A total of 13 lots sold for 100,000gns or more and the average price paid was up 18% on last year.

The Zoffany colt is out of the listed placed Monsun mare Guardia, the own-sister to champions Getaway and Guadalupe. To secure the colt, Hughes had to see off the determined effort of underbidder Jamie Piggott, stood alongside owner Jon Thompson.

Farrell said: “I am absolutely delighted, I came here expecting to get a nice price but you never know until you get the breeze out of the way, it is great that people liked him. We have been patient with him as he is a big, rangy horse. It is amazing that he can breeze so fast, I’d say he is a very good horse, and it sounds silly to say but we did come here thinking we might be able to top the sale. It is great that he has done what we hoped he would do.

“I think he might be a freak, he can do sectionals like a six-furlong horse, not a horse wanting a mile and a half. He could just be exceptional and he has shown us that from the very minute we started with him.”

Farrell purchased the colt at the Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale for €55,000 and he recalled: “We thought we were giving plenty of money for him at the time as he was a big, raw yearling, but at the same time we were very happy to have bought him. People laughed at me when I said we were going to breeze him and I could see why – in December he looked like an overgrown yearling still but he has thrived since!”

Hughes revealed: “He is for an existing client. I didn’t think he should be able to go as quick as he has done, and with the backbone of his pedigree a top class staying German family, he has to be good. He is nice, big, loose horse. I will probably turn him out for some May grass now, I think it will do him good and we will get him in in a month or so and look to ready him for an October maiden.”

The Zoffany colt was sold as a foal for €35,000 at Goffs by Castletown Stud.

Another Crypto Force?

O’Callaghan had to get the better of underbidder Richard Ryan to secure the Time Test colt out of the Galileo mare Lady Glinka.

The Mocklershill consigned colt was bought by Pier House Stud at the Tattersalls December Foal Sale for 67,000gns and Brendan Morrin reported that the decision was made quite early to breeze this colt rather than sell as a yearling.

“Willie does five or six breezers for us every year,” said Morrin. “This horse has a lot of Galileo in him and Willie has done a fantastic job on him. We decided we’d hang on and wait for the breeze rather than sell as a yearling, sometimes this plan doesn’t work when buying them as foals but we have been lucky today. He went to Willie’s in January unbroken but we handled him with the sales yearlings. Willie makes all the decisions as regards sale plans, we go to the best and send these horses to him!”

Browne commented: “He is a magnificent-looking horse, he looks a racehorse, he is a great walking horse and has a great mind on him. I thought waiting for this sale might give him a bit of extra time and he was a standout today. We have had a great run with the horses sent to us by the Morrins.”

O’Callaghan saw the likeness in this horse to his Group 2 Beresford Stakes winner Crypto Force, who was from the second crop of Time Test and was purchased by the trainer for 160,000gns at last year’s Guineas Breeze Up Sale.

“This is a lovely, quality horse, and I hope lightning can strike twice - we bought Crypto Force here last year and he was also out of a Galileo mare. This horse breezed well, he has a lovely action and was a bit green in his breeze, but we can forgive him that,” said O’Callaghan.

Three lots each made 150,000gns - a Profitable colt from Malcolm Bastard, a Congrats filly from Katie Walsh, and a colt by Farhh from Tally-Ho Stud.

A $20,000 Keeneland September purchase, the Congrats filly was bought this week by Oliver St Lawrence for the Fawzi Nass ownership team, and she goes into training with Jamie Osborne. She is a granddaughter of Impossible Time, a champion older mare in Canada in 2010. “She is a filly put up to us by Jamie,” St Lawrence said. “A nice, big, scopey filly, she had done an okay time for a ‘non-fast’ filly. As she has a US pedigree, she could ship to run in Dubai if that works after the season ends here. She is not an early May filly.”

The Profitable colt was a 32,000gns yearling buy at the Tattersalls Somerville Sale and was sold here to agent Richard Ryan on behalf of Teme Valley and Opulence Thoroughbreds. Clive Cox is favourite to train the colt, Ryan said.

Tally-Ho’s Farhh colt made €29,000 as a foal in Arqana. His new owner is Rabbah Bloodstock and he will be trained by James Tate.

Another notable transaction on the day was the 115,000gns paid by trainer John McConnell for a Magna Grecia colt from Yeomanstown Stud.