Coulsty

With a little help from above, Stephen Byrne of Knockgraffon Stables enjoyed an emotional fillip during a time of unimaginable heartache when selling his Coulsty (Ire) colt for €200,000 just over two weeks after his brother and former jockey Michael died in tragic circumstances.   The sales ring can be a magical place. Full of dreams and disappointments, but on Friday, Tattersalls Ireland was full of tears. And smiles. Lots of smiles.  An understandably emotional Byrne said, "It's been a very rough couple of weeks but my brother Michael was looking...

It is a question that has long fixated the bloodstock industry: which stallion can be caught as he rises to the top? As we know, those good stallions can be hard to find. Opportunity is naturally a key element to early success, but a stallion still needs to make the most of the chances afforded to him and for every one that lives up to expectations, there will be also be plenty who flop. As often said, horses are a great leveller and with that in mind, there is also...

The fee for Rathasker Stud's Bungle Inthejungle (GB), sire of this season's G1 Nunthorpe S. winner Winter Power (Ire), will remain at €8,000 for the 2022 covering season. The 11-year-old son of Exceed And Excel (Aus) already has a son at stud, Rumble Inthejungle (Ire), and is also the sire of the G2 Lowther S. winner Living In The Past (Ire). He is joined on the Rathasker roster by Coulsty (Ire), a son of Kodiac (GB) who has been represented this year by the American Grade I winner Shantisara (Ire),...

Rathasker Stud has released the 2021 covering fees for its four stallions, with all bar one having been dropped in price. Bungle Inthejungle (GB), sire of this season's G3 Cornwallis S. winner Winter Power (Ire), who has won four of her nine races in a busy juvenile campaign, will stand at €8,000, down from €12,000 in 2020. The stud's stalwart Clodovil (Ire) was represented by a new Group 1 winner this season in the Prix Marcel Boussac heroine Tiger Tanaka (Ire) and he has had his fee reduced from €8,000...

Let's not forget, however great the lure of the sales ring or a wafting cheque book may be, thoroughbreds are bred to race. In the case of Prince Khalid Abdullah, Coolmore and Peter Brant, it could be said that we have three owner-breeders who are somewhat immune to commercially-based decisions when it comes to keeping a horse in training. Nevertheless, they are to be commended for racing on mares of the calibre of Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}), Magical (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and Sistercharlie (Ire) (Myboycharlie {Ire}). At 'only' five, Magical...

On a banner weekend for his sire Kodiac (GB) (Danehill), Coulsty (Ire) made a mark of his own on Sunday when Eve Johnson Houghton trainee Enduring (GB) justified market support to garner the six-furlong Unibet Thanks The Frontline Workers Maiden Auction S. at Kempton and become the first winner for the Rathasker Stud-based freshman. 1st-Kempton, £5,400, Mdn, 6-21, 2yo, 6f (AWT), 1:13.51, st/sl. ENDURING (GB) (c, 2, Coulsty {Ire}--Yearbook {GB}, by Byron {GB}) was sent off as the 5-2 joint-favourite coming back from a June 3 debut fourth tackling five...

Monday heralded the first day of perhaps the strangest turf season any of us will ever witness. From Wednesday, Ireland has gone from racing behind closed doors to joining the rest of the Europe in learning to cope with no racing action at all. There is now uncertainty over when the next 2-year-old race will take place but three of this year's 30 first-season sires in Europe are already off the mark with a first runner, with Buratino (Ire), Prince Of Lir (Ire) and Markaz (Ire) each having been represented...