Tattersalls Ireland hosts the nation’s sole breeze-up sale at Fairyhouse on May 22-23 on the back of a series of boom results within a sector that is ever-growing in popularity
The breeze-up market on both sides of the Atlantic this spring has produced a succession of incendiary returns, like a Hollywood blockbuster crammed with increasingly enormous explosions by a dynamite-happy director.
The Tattersalls Ireland Breeze Up sale, at Fairyhouse racecourse on May 22-23, is the next instalment of the franchise, and the fireworks are likely to continue.
There was a sale record at the Craven Breeze Up in Newmarket, when a Havana Grey colt was sold for 1,750,000gns to Amo Racing after a veritable blizzard of six- and seven-figure purchases.
Tattersalls Ireland Breeze Up Sale 2025 catalogue
The sale-topper at the OBS Spring Sale in Florida was in the same ballpark, a Tiz The Law colt who fetched $1.5m when snapped up by a partnership headed by West Point Thoroughbreds, and then the sale record at the Doncaster Breeze Up was smithereened by Godolphin’s successful £1m bid for a son of Mehmas.
The Fairyhouse affair is Ireland’s only breeze-up sale, and the catalogue for this year’s sale – the screenplay for another sequel, to stretch the analogy – is a real page-turner, with a deep ensemble cast of high-quality stallions and mares.
Sire sensation Wootton Bassett is joined by several Coolmore compadres including No Nay Never, Sioux Nation and St Mark’s Basilica, while other major players include Havana Grey and Mehmas as well as Acclamation, Dark Angel, Kodiac, Lope De V
ega, Night Of Thunder, Oasis Dream, Sea The Stars, Showcasing and Too Darn Hot.
Prominent graduates
Prominent graduates of the Tattersalls Ireland Breeze Up Sale include G2 winner Layfayette and G3 winners Claymore, Letsbefrankaboutit, Onesmoothoperator and With Thanks, plus Irish Oaks third Purple Lily, while last year’s auction showcased subsequent G3 Cornwallis Stakes winner Coto De Caza, who fetched a final bid of €270,000 from Stroud Coleman Bloodstock.
“Coto De Caza was a highlight for us last year and we’ve bought quite a few good ones at Fairyhouse,” says the agency’s Matt Coleman.
“The Tattersalls Ireland Breeze Up always has the most strength in depth of the breeze-ups in terms of the buyer base, and Irish Thoroughbred Marketing do a very good job of promoting it. There are horses for big-spending clients and for those on what you’d call a more mainstream budget, and we have Scandinavian clients who like to be very active there.
“The quality of the catalogue has been increasing every year – part of the reason for that is the Brexit situation. It’s more compl
icated and expensive for Irish vendors to send their two-year-olds to Tattersalls or Arqana, so a lot of them are staying put and improving the standard at Fairyhouse year on year.
“Anthony [Stroud] and I will be there later this month and hopefully we can find another Coto De Caza. Several vendors have already told me they’re sending very smart horses to breeze, so it should be another exciting sale.”
Early excitement
The excitement this year could start as early as Lot 8, a brother to 2021 Oaks runner-up Mystery Angel sent up by Kilminfoyle House Stud. A Cotai Glory half-sister to the aforementioned Purple Lily comes just a little later at Lot 27, one of a substantial consignment from Tally-Ho Stud, while hard on her heels at Lot 43 is a St Mark’s Basilica half-brother to G1 July Cup and G1 Prix de la Foret winner Limato, from Ard Erin Stud.
Other potential sale-ring flashpoints include a Wootton Bassett colt out of a sister to G1-placed Gustav Klimt (Lot 82, Mocklershill), and a son of Medaglia D’Oro – in the headlines again recently through his Kentucky Oaks winner Good Cheer – out of a half-sister to Breeders’ Cup Classic runner-up Improbable (Lot 187, Bushypark Stables).
Among the wildcard entries is a colt by Cotai Glory (from Killdallan Farm) who traces back to the renowned Moyglare family of Belmont Stakes winner Go And Go and Irish Derby runner-up Casual Conquest, alongside a son of Kodi Bear out of a half-sister to Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf winner Hootenanny, consigned by Lacka House Stables, the source of Coto De Caza.
“If they breeze well, they’ll sell well,” says Michael Byrne of Knockgraffon Stud in County Tipperary, who with his son Stephen was the leading consignor at the recent Tattersalls Guineas Breeze Up sale at Newmarket.
“That can be a bit frustrating, if you know you have a nice horse but he or she doesn’t clock as well as some others, but that’s just the way it is. It’s all on time.
“We start working them in November, they put in a lot of graft, two and a half months cantering, before we ask them to do strong work. We use Willie Browne’s gallop and Tommy Stack’s gallop and we get a good idea of what they can do before they go to the sales.”
Deceptive appearances
Appearances may still be deceptive, as Byrne explains in regard to the Ten Sovereigns colt (out of Impressive Victory) who led his sale-topping consignment in Newmarket.
“He has a big, long stride, so it can be a bit deceiving to watch him gallop as he might not look to be going that fast – but he was very good on the clock.”
Knockgraffon has seven two-year-olds in the catalogue at Fairyhouse and Byrne highlights another son of Ten Sovereigns (ex Araajmh, Lot 16), from the family of G2-winning sprinter Invincible Army, as a potential highlight of the draft.
“He’s a very nice colt, very strong, a real two-year-old type,” he says. “I also like the Starman colt [ex Cin Cin, Lot 41], he’s tall, a little narrow, but looks like he’ll make a lovely racehorse in time.
“There’s also a nice pair of colts by Lucky Vega, one out of She Loves A Night [Lot 202] and the other out of Maktabba [Lot 136]. We’ve a nice bunch of horses going and I’d be hopeful for them.
“It’s always good trade at Fairyhouse, always good demand from buyers. If they like what they see and the clock backs it up they’ll spend money.”
Byrne’s Ten Sovereigns colt is one of almost 40 in the catalogue nominated for the 2026 Swedish Derby and Swedish Oaks series, a further incentive for the increasing number of buyers jetting in from Scandinavia.
“The Tattersalls Ireland Breeze Up Sale has experienced extraordinary growth year on year and an incredible number of purchasers have attended in recent years from across the globe,” says Tattersalls Ireland CEO Simon Kerins.
“The quality throughout the catalogue has continued to grow exponentially and this year’s catalogue is our strongest yet. There will be a horse for every level of the market and our graduates continue to excel on the racetrack, which is the best advertisement for the sale. We’re really looking forward to it.”
• Visit the Tattersalls Ireland Breeze Up Sale 2025 website and the Irish Thoroughbred Marketing website
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