THURSDAY’S one-day store sale at Tattersalls Ireland ended with a clearance rate of 71%, two points ahead of last year, which was respectable given current market conditions. All other metrics declined by 10%.

Topping the session at €45,000 was a three-year-old French-bred Bathyrhon filly from Pa Doyle’s Galbertstown Stables.

Sourced as a yearling in France by Gerry Hogan for just €9,000 and already named Lady Blackmore, the filly was sold to Colin Bowe and James Kenny.

A half-sister to a winner and out of a five-time winner, the filly’s pedigree received a significant boost when a half-sister to the dam produced the Grade 1 Tolworth Hurdle winner Jango Baie.

Kenny, who produces horse with his father Liam, said: “I love her, she has a very good temperament, has a lovely way of going, walks well, and has a lovely presence. Her sire has not done a whole lot wrong. Hopefully we will see her out in the point-to-point field.”

The sale came during a particularly buoyant period in the early evening of the sale, and her price bettered that achieved a lot earlier by John Bleahen’s Lakefield Farm with the sale of a son of Jack Hobbs for €42,000 to prolific purchasers Monbeg Stables, this one for Sean Doyle.

The gelding is out of the bumper-winning Presenting mare Penelope Pips, and that mare’s grandam Auntie Dot was a legend for the Webber family in the 1980s, winning 18 times.

Doyle said: “He is a big, strong horse, and very good mover, I looked at him three times today and he stood out every time I saw him. He comes from a good farm and we have had luck with them before. This is the first by the sire we have had, and I love to buy horses out of Presenting mares.”

John Bleahen added: “I paid £10,500 for him as a foal and he was then as he was today, he just walked. Though I am a fan of Jack Hobbs, there is a lot of Presenting in him from the mare. I had some shrewd men on him, with Warren Ewing and Sean Doyle and Mick Goff. They have been lucky with our horses in the past, and it is all about repeat business.

Three lots later and another Bleahen brother was in the news, this time Niall. His Liss House sold a son of Affinisea to Stuart Crawford for €40,000, Bred by Whytemount Stud, the gelding was bought as a foal in the same ring by Bleahen for €11,000.

Crawford said: “We will get him home, get him broken in. He might be a bit more of a bumper horse, but he is a nice type.”

Commenting on the day’s trade, Tattersalls Ireland CEO Simon Kerins said: “The trade today has indeed been selective, consistent with what we witnessed at the earlier store sale this month. However, it was pleasing to see an improvement in our clearance rate compared to last year’s sale. Whilst the market has been challenging at this level there has been a real sense of pragmatism by the vendors.”