Aloha Update Boosts Collegelands Consignment

The sales that take place throughout a normal year are usually a good marker to set your calendar by. But in a year where nothing has been normal, the calendar has well and truly been flung from the window along with the familiarity of set venues.

While most things have changed some have stayed the same, one of those being the friendly and warm chat you are guaranteed to have with Ciara Lyons of Collegelands Stud.

Collegelands Stud was set up by Austin and Ciara Lyons in 1996 primarily to house their own broodmare band which consists of between five to 10 mares. While the stud is a labour of love for the husband and wife team the consignments that can be found at foal and yearling sales are made up of horses representing themselves, friends and family.

“We're a group of friends and relations and there's a good mix of us,” says Ciara. “We come together and enjoy the craic and everybody has a bit of an input at sales time. As regards to home, it's just myself and Austin apart from the boarders in the springtime. When we have yearlings, and when friends and relations have kept yearlings too, that's when the consignment comes back on board for the yearling sales.”

At the Tattersalls Ireland September Sale Collegelands will offer five yearlings in total with four of those in Part I. Heading the draft is lot 4, a Mastercraftsman (Ire) half-brother to Group 2 winner Aloha Star (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}) who since the catalogue was printed has finished third in the G1 Keeneland Phoenix S.

“He's a lovely colt, good walking with a great attitude about him,” Lyons remarks. “He belongs to a very good friend of ours, Patrick Beirne. He bought the mare, Zain Art (Ire) (Excellent Art {GB}), in 2016 and looking at the page there's an abundance of 2-year-olds the whole way down.”

The second lot of the draft (lot 206) is a Zoffany (Ire) filly who comes from a strong black-type family that includes Volkan Star (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) a Group 3 winner this year in France. This is the first foal for the mare Jowana (Ire) (Dutch Art {GB}) and on the choice of Zoffany for her first cover Lyons says, “We thought he was commercial for us at the time. He is a good-looking horse and he's underrated as a sire.”

Zoffany recently sired G1 Goffs Vincent O'Brien National S. winner Thunder Moon (Ire) and has over the years sired many classy 2-year-olds. Of the yearling filly Lyons says, “she's a smart-walking filly and she looks a sprinter. She's built like a bull.”

Rounding off the draft for Part I are yearlings by first-crop sires El Kabeir and Cotai Glory (GB). Lot 255 is by the latter and Lyons says she is content with how they are going in the ring so far.

“The Cotai Glorys are selling quite well. The mare, Madam Macie (Ire), was rated 98 herself,” she says. “By all accounts, from the Cotai Glorys I've seen and from what other people tell me, they're very nice types.”

Cotai Glory stands at Tally-Ho Stud alongside current leading first-season sire Mehmas (GB), who Lyons has a yearling by in Part II of the Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale as lot 556.

Of El Kabeir, Lyons recalls her first impression of the stallion.

“We saw him at Yeomanstown and loved him, absolutely loved him, and just thought we have to use him,” she says. “He just seemed to be the right type of horse for Tinder (Ire). She had a rating of 96 and as a 2-year-old she was placed in a Group 3.”

The yearling himself (lot 418) “seems to be a stronger, heavy type. He has a lot of neck and he has a lot of quality about him,” Lyons adds.

Although a regular on the Irish sales circuit, Collegelands Stud has never had a consignment in England so when the news came that the sales were moving across the sea Lyons could be forgiven for having some trepidation about the move. “It's a bit scary, you know,” she says. “We're going into the unknown hoping that we will get sold over there. I think, so far, the clearance rate has been very good [at the other yearling sales] and if we're realistic about the horse's price and not living in dream world, we should be okay.”