Young Sires: Who's Backing Who To Be A Success In 2024?

With the foal sales at Goffs and Tattersalls confined to the rear view mirror, perhaps now is the time to get a good gauge on the young sires coming through. 

Bragging rights belong to St Mark's Basilica (Fr), who topped the December Foal Sale at Tattersalls when a filly by the multiple Group 1-winning stallion out of Oaks winner Talent (GB) sold for 575,000gns. 

The St Mark's Basilica sale-topper was consigned by Ashbrittle Stud and bought by agent Jill Lamb on behalf of Newsells Park Stud, with the former labelling the filly as the nicest foal that she had seen by the stallion. 

Add that result to a 180,000gns colt to Camas Park Stud, a filly to Ronald Rauscher for 175,000gns and a colt to Yeomanstown Stud for 130,000gns, it's fair to say St Mark's Basilica stamped his authority as a force to be reckoned with.

Space Blue (Ire) was the other big name whose first foals were eagerly anticipated at Goffs and Tattersalls. A colt by the Kildangan-based stallion caught the attention of Baroda Stud at €140,000 at Goffs while the triple Group 1 winner enjoyed solid trade at Tattersalls with a filly making 95,000gns and two colts selling for 80,000gns apiece. 

'Yeomanstown Don't Come Up With A Bad One Too Often'

Peter Kelly summed Supremacy (Ire) up at Goffs when, after selling his half-brother by the stallion to Group 3-winning juvenile Caught U Looking for €180,000, he said, 'Yeomanstown don't come up with a bad horse too often.' The early signs are that the O'Callaghans could be on to a decent one with Supremacy with 31 foals selling at Goffs for an average of €30,952.

The Six-Figure Lots For Starman

Three foals–two colts and a filly–by Starman (GB) have cleared six figures between Goffs and Tattersalls. Two of those were snapped up by Tally-Ho Stud, where the Group 1-winning sprinter will stand at €10,000 for 2024. Jimmy Murphy of Redpender Stud was another notable supporter of the stallion when signing for a Starman colt for €120,000 at Goffs. 'Flash' Conroy, Timmy Hyde of Camas Park Stud and the Gleeson brothers were other notable buyers.

Vega Looking Lucky

One of the stories to emerge from Goffs was the positivity at which the market met Lucky Vega (Ire). The Group 1-winning juvenile, who stands at the Irish National Stud, achieved sales of €75,000, €72,000 and €65,000. The support continued at Tattersalls last week with Tinnakill House Stud selling a half-sister to Prix de l'Abbaye runner-up Good Vibe (Ire) (Dream Ahead) for 82,000gns.

Nando The Surprise Package

Fellow Irish National Stud-based stallion Nando Parrado (GB) could be viewed as something of a surprise package. Standing for just €6,000, he achieved a rock-solid average of €17,800 for 20 foals sold at Goffs with three foals clearing €30,000. A 20,500gns average for six foals sold at Tattersalls represented another good innings for the son of Kodiac (GB) who makes plenty of appeal to breeders operating on a budget.

Alkumait Packing A Punch

Similar comment could apply to Alkumait (GB), the Showcasing (GB) half-brother to 2,000 Guineas winner Chaldean (GB) (Frankel {GB}), who stands for €5,000. Two foals by Alkumait sold for €32,000 and €30,000 at Goffs, with top judges Shane and Alex Power of Tradewinds signing for the latter.

Lope Y Looking Good

A 100,000gns colt capped a memorable debut performance for the foals by Lope Y Fernandez (Ire). Standing at the National Stud for £8,500, Lope Y Fernandez is averaging more than double that fee on 50 foals sold in Britain and Ireland. He has earned the plaudits of some top judges and, along with a 100,000gns colt sold at Tattersalls, Kelly Equine also signed for a colt by the stallion for 78,000gns.

Top Judges Row In Behind Pinatubo

Of the stallions with their first runners next year, it seems as though Pinatubo (Ire) is the one that the majority are rowing in behind. It was a fair achievement for Pinatubo to finish third in the sires table at Tattersalls in terms of aggregate. Granted, Pinatubo was well-represented with 14 foals selling throughout the week, but perhaps the metric to concentrate on here is that his average of 115,500gns and aggregate of 1,617,000gns is greater than what the brilliant first-season sire Blue Point (Ire) achieved through the very same representation. For Blue Point's 14 foals, he cleared an average of 109,929gns and an average of 1,539,000gns. Could Pinatubo chart a similar path next season?

Strong Support For Ghaiyyath

The strength behind Ghaiyyath (Ire) continued last week, with 10 foals selling for an average of 97,500gns, but most interesting was the support from within. Godolphin signed for just four foals last week, two of which were by Ghaiyyath–a colt and a filly respectively to the tune of 540,000gns. That followed on from a bumper performance from Ghaiyyath at Goffs where 23 foals sold for just shy of a €50,000 average and an aggregate of €1,127,500 which made him the second-highest performing stallion at the Irish sale. The figures held up at Tattersalls last week with 10 foals selling for an average of 97,500gns. It's probably an understatement to describe the Darley operation to be in good health with a view towards next season. Rare has there been a more exciting time for the outfit. 

Earthlight Adds To The Excitement At Darley

Earthlight (Ire) adds to that excitement at Darley. There were just six foals by the stallion at Tattersalls and they averaged 63,800gns. But the real story was how punters couldn't get enough of foals by Earthlight at Goffs with Yeomanstown Stud, Camas Park, Ballyphilip and Manister House Stud all featuring on the list of buyers where 13 sold for an average of €56,770.

Good Vibes Behind Mohaather 

Of the other stallions with runners next year, Mohaather (GB) is one who continues to earn the respect in the ring. Not only does Shadwell have eight horses by the Group 1-winning miler to look forward to next season, but plenty of shrewd buyers snapped up yearlings by Mohaather this year. The foals were equally well-received with Mark Dwyer, Eddie O'Leary, 'Flash' Conroy and Shadwell themselves signing for foals by the big-walking stallion at Tattersalls.