Top Price of €92,000 for Walk In The Park Colt
Pinhook purchaser Richard Frisby added a third Walk In the Park to his five 2024 November National Hunt Sale foal purchases when going to a sale-topping €92,000 for the Ballincurrig Stud-consigned colt out of the Astarabad mare En Vedette (Lot 509). It was a day marked by strong competition with 16 lots surpassing €50,000.
A Listed hurdle winner in France, En Vedette is the dam of five winners from six runners, including two black-type performers – Sabrina (Yeats) and Lady Adare (Sholokhov).
Her stock has been doing very well in the sales ring and her 2020 gelding by Flemensfirth made €140,000 at the Derby Sale in 2023, bought by Tom Malone and Paul Nicholls.
"This colt has everything," said J J Frisby, the team having outbid Coolmore’s Gerry Aherne to secure the February-born colt. "It is a good price. She is still quite a young mare, and has had some good sales ring results."
The only colt in this week's sale by the British-based dual-purpose sire Golden Horn made €74,000, the March-born foal out of Mill Quest (Milan) sold by Glen Stables for Kieran and Billy Kenneally (Lot 576).
"The mare was barren that year, she is owned in a family syndicate and a brother in the UK came up with the idea so we took the opportunity to send her to England to be covered," said the brothers when chatting outside the colt's stable. "We are delighted, he was a lovely type and, although we were hopeful, you can never be sure what is going to happen. He has a lovely temperament, great movement, everything you would want."
It was something of a poignant sale – the colt is out of the Milan mare Mill Quest, and she, like most of the individuals on the pedigree page, was bred by the Kenneally's mother Cathy, who sadly passed away at the end of October.
The colt was bought by Kevin Ross Bloodstock and Ben Case on behalf of Lady Jane Grosvenor and Ross said: "The sire is doing well, the mare was a tough mare and she won nine times. He was one of our picks, a lovely type, a lovely mover. I think this is the first National Hunt type by the sire we have bought and he will be for resale.”
Ross was also responsible for the day’s third top price, this time buying alongside Chris Jones’ Killeen Glebe Stud, the partnership spending €72,000 on a filly by Poet’s Word (Lot 463).
Bidding on the balcony, Ross had to see off Joey Logan, whose first bid was at €60,000 and Anna Ross laughed: "I would have preferred it if we had got her for that!"
She added: “We knew we'd have to go strong, and you have to go for the ones you want, and she is the best foal we have seen here. There is quite a good word now about the sire, and the trainers seem to be liking them.
“This filly is very well made, a lovely mover and she has a stunning pedigree – there is black-type in every dam and she is a great first foal out of the mare. She has been bought for Chris Jones’ Killeen Glebe Farm and will be coming back for resale."
The filly's dam Ballyshannon Rose has her own winning black-type – she won a Grade 2 novice chase at Thurles and finished Grade 1 fourth in the Champion Novice Chase at Punchestown. She is a half-sister to Three Stripe Life, a Grade 1 winner of the Mersey Novices Hurdle and three-times Grade 1-placed.
The November National Hunt Sale concludes tomorrow, with the sale starting at 10am.