‘The Tattersalls Ireland Breeze-Up Sale Got Me Going And I’m Not Afraid To Support It’

[Wandering Eyes]

Tattersalls Ireland, RATOATH – Oh what a feeling it is to be playing with the house's money. Eoin McDonagh, one of the most upwardly mobile handlers on the circuit, finds himself in that very position after a bonanza of a breeze-up season and he bids to end the year with a bang at the Tattersalls Ireland Breeze-Up Sale – the sale that got him going. 

And he has a strong chance, too. His eight-strong Shanaville Stables draft features juveniles by Hello Youmzain, Starspangledbanner, Lope De Vega, Sioux Nation and more. And McDonagh admits to having saved some of his best bullets until last.

“I have a good, solid bunch of horses and I am not afraid to support this sale,” the 35-year-old said. “This sale got me going a few years ago and it continues to go from strength to strength every year since. The footfall here last year was phenomenal and it seems to be strong already here this week again. And not just at the top end, which seemed to be strong at every breeze-up sale this year, but the market from the bottom right up to the top has historically been extremely strong at this sale. That's why we love coming back and hopefully this week will be the same.”

Things have been humming along pretty sweetly for McDonagh ever since the Craven Breeze-Up Sale where his 30,000gns yearling purchase by Starspangledbanner rocked into 200,000gns. Jackpot. But the cards have kept on falling his way all year and, following another good week at Arqana, there is optimism in the air ahead of what has traditionally been known as the final big sale on the European breeze-up circuit. 

He said, “I've had a great year – turned simple pinhooks into good money and I'm ahead for the year. Things are good and I'm fortunate I had a few nice horses. We'd a very good sale at Arqana selling a Palace Pier filly with a nice page for €165,000 and a Blue Point that we sold for €75,000. They both made a profit. I think the best result of the year so far was the Starspangledbanner colt we sold at the Craven – he sold for 200,000gns after we bought him for just 30,000gn as a yearling but I really do hold him in high regard. He was actually named Golden Conquer this week and I think there will be big things to come from him. He's based with Roger Varian and the vibes seem to be good.”

He added, “I had 15 breeze-up horses last year and we upped it to 18 this year, which is the most we have ever had. I think we bought a lot more quality last year – did a lot of shopping at Book 1 and 2. We actually bought three of the cheapest horses in Book 1 last year and they all blossomed into lovely horses so it worked out well. I took a chance on horses by sexy sires who might have been falling between the cracks.”

To that extent, McDonagh has come into the breeze-up game from a different angle. Having cut his teeth in National Hunt racing, a sphere in which he knows, loves and continues to operate well in, McDonagh revealed that it did take some time to refine his eye to what the market wants and appreciates on the level. 

He explained, “I love National Hunt racing, I always have done, but as far as running a business goes, this works well. I spent a couple of years with Con Marnane when I was younger and that just opened my eyes to what scale there is on the Flat. We've been relatively successful at the breeze-up game throughout a short period of time but every year you are learning something new and adapting. I try to give myself a good chance with sire-power and pedigree. If you have that, you can get buyers to the door and, if they have done a nice breeze, it's an easy sell. I'm not afraid to think outside the box either.”

He added, “I have always been sucked into those big-walking horses at the sales but I have learned that you don't need that big exaggerated walk for the Flat. Those horses tend to be slow so, when you come to this game from a National Hunt background, you need to adapt and change your eye to a certain degree. I'd often look at a yearling and be quite forgiving because I'd imagine what they would look like when they are trained up at the breeze-up sale. That forgiving mindset has worked in my favour. Take the Starspangledbanner for example. He was quite a heavy yearling but he came back a much better two-year-old and just transformed into a lovely horse with a bit of training. So I'm not afraid of taking a chance and trying to turn these yearlings into nice, athletic horses.”

While a number of the Shanaville horses found themselves in the top 50 on the unofficial times sheets following Thursday's breeze, you won't usually find many of McDonagh's horses breaking the clock as a rule. Instead, the young handler remains committed to the later-maturing types, a modus operandi that has served him well thus far.

He concluded, “I was never really tempted to get sucked into those fast, early types, because if they don't clock well, you've a long way to fall. On top of that, they are not worth much after Royal Ascot. Concentrating on the mile/mile-plus horses has served me well and I think it's the area of the market that suits us best. With those sharper, quicker horses, you have a shorter shelf life. If you have a horse with size, scope and movement, people will look at them with a view towards them being three-year-old types and some buyers might even be thinking of a horse that would go dual-purpose. I prefer to think long-term and the international market for those horses is very strong when you have a good one.”

The Tattersalls Ireland Breeze-Up Sale, which produced classy performers Diego Ventura and Coto De Caza last year, gets underway at 10am on Friday.

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