Spirits were raised at the Tattersalls Ireland Breeze-Up Sale on Friday when so many consignors who were feeling pain for the majority of the sale season enjoyed a much-needed shot in the arm on a day when when a Starman filly and St Mark's Basilica colt shared the spoils for top lot status at €360,000.Tally-Ho Stud supplied the joint sale-topping Starman filly, who was strikingly similar to high-profile 1,000 Guineas-winning graduate Sky Lantern, that went the way of Blandford Bloodstock agent Stuart Boman on behalf of trainer Joseph O'Brien. The Starman filly was due to be ridden by popular rider Michael Hussey in her breeze, but Tally-Ho Stud's Roger O'Callaghan explained how the outfit were forced to scramble for a last-minute deputy when Hussey unfortunately broke his leg after suffering a spill halfway during the breeze. “Lovely filly,” O'Callaghan said. “I thought her breeze was brilliant. Michael Hussey was supposed to ride her but he broke his leg after he took a fall on another one of ours during the breeze. Leigh Roche got on her last minute and sure we know the rest. But Hussey had ridden her all year and was mad looking forward to riding her. To be honest, it took a lot of the good out of it yesterday for me. I felt brutal for Hussey. I think he ran into a fence post.”On the market, he added, “We had a great sale and they all sold in the ring. I'd say nobody can complain. But it's the best sale of the year because everyone feels that they have a chance of competing and that is a good thing. It was a tricky year on the whole and I think everyone was negative in April. A bit of sun on their backs, people have woken up.”There was a genuinely feel-good atmosphere in the air on Friday which translated through to the closing figures. Along with the fact that nine horses sold for €200,000 or more, the figures stayed steady across the board with a 36% rise in the median to €43,500 and a 14% rise in average to €62,628. The clearance rate dropped by only 1% to 87% compared to last year's figures while the turnover rose by 3% to €12,024,500.Speaking about the Starman filly, Boman said, “It slightly surprised me that we were pushed that far, but she is the one filly who really got my imagination going. We work very hard as a team and certain horses really capture your attention, and she was one from the moment I saw her in the pre-breeze.”He added, “She is just a lovely filly – she is pretty hard to miss due to her colour and has those lovely big ears. She is a quality filly, she had a good look at everything, takes it all in, has a massive stride, from great vendors and breeders. Starman is going from strength to strength and the Tally-Ho stallion machine is flying! Her owner is to be decided but Joseph O'Brien will train her.”Tally-Ho also sold a Dubawi Legend colt to Hill Of Allen Stud for €300,000, which copper-fastened their status as the leading vendors at this sale with 13 juveniles selling for €1,106,000.Meanwhile, Saudi Arabian trainer Abdul Rahman Saeed Al Sayed paid the same price for a St Mark's Basilica colt from Rockfield Farm. “He liked his breeze, his pedigree is good and he is a very good-looking horse,” said the trainer's cousin and representative Khalid Al Sayed. “We will discuss with the new owner, but we might leave him in England to be trained – we have so many friends in Newmarket.”Jason Titley, who won the 1994 Grand National aboard Royal Athlete, has been in charge of the Rockfield Farm consignment this year.The consignor commented, “He has been a very straightforward horse all the way through. Lovely big horse, great stride and attitude. The sire is going great and his brother Respond won at Chester earlier this month so all came together well.”'Wise' Pinhook Pays Off For HoranIn just his second season consigning under his own Ballynure Park Stud banner at the breeze-up sales, Jerry Horan enjoyed a day to remember when his Starspangledbanner colt was knocked down to Anthony Stroud for €325,000. It represented an outstanding piece of pinhooking from Horan who sourced the colt for just €36,000 at the October Yearling Sale at Arqana.Horan said, “He had a lot of fans in fairness, but when they're at that level you're never quite sure where they're going to land. It's savage. It's a rollercoaster following the bidding, you're on a different planet when they get to that level. It's brilliant though.”The consignor added, “He was a good scopey horse as a yearling and I just like the sire and the pedigree so I said I'd take a chance on him. He's found everything very easy all year. I'm delighted it's all come together. I've only really been treading water at the other sales so it's great to get a twist out of him just to keep me out of trouble.”Stroud went on to heap praise on Horan, saying that the colt was “wisely bought” as a yearling. He also shared how he felt the Tattersalls Ireland Breeze-Up Sale was the strongest sale, in terms of a middle market at least, of the entire season.Stroud said, “He was very wisely bought as a yearling. He has done very well, he did a very good breeze and impressed, and we are very happy to have him. Owner and trainer to be decided.” He added, “Of all the sales I have been to this season, I think here has been the strongest for the middle market and there is a depth. Tattersalls Ireland and ITM have done a very good job of getting people in.” Another Power-Packed Pinhook For Tradewinds StudThrough Classic-winning trainer Ken Condon, American-based owner Jim Tilton has been an emerging force at Irish sales in recent times, and he continued his recruitment drive for potentially-smart turf runners to bring back to the States through lot 99, a €230,000 St Mark's Basilica colt.Offered by Tradewinds Stud, the St Mark's Basilica represented another shrewd piece of pinhooking given Alex Power sourced the colt for just 26,000gns from Cheveley Park Stud at the Tattersalls December Yearling Sale.“Over the moon,” Power said. “I think I got lucky the day he was bought. You overpay for most things but he was probably bought about right. You're always hopeful and he's been an easy horse to sell because you're behind him 150 per cent. Since he was broken in we thought he was a little bit different. His breeze was class, and whether they're a five furlong horse or a mile and a quarter horse, the good ones have that speed. He had that, but he'll probably get further than most.”He added, “We're delighted, we'd have taken that result at Christmas. It's down to the horses and the staff. There's a big team around us, we do very little, and our breeze-up jockey is one of the best around. We're getting guidance from one of the best week in, week out.”Twomey Adopts Tried And Trusted Path To Success On Behalf Of Bond ThoroughbredsPaddy Twomey has developed a canny knack of unearthing the best horses out of this sale in recent seasons and the Golden-based trainer will be hoping to enjoy more luck with the progeny of Sioux Nation after going to €200,000 to secure Roderic Kavanagh's filly by the stallion. Purchased on behalf of Bond Thoroughbreds, who are reportedly trying to put together a group of speedy fillies that might one day visit their own stallion Maranoa Charlie at Tally-Ho Stud, the Sioux Nation posted one of the fastest breezes on Thursday and certainly fits that criteria.Twomey, who landed the winning bid online, said, “The breeze-ups have been very lucky for us and the Tattersalls Ireland breeze-up sale has been particularly lucky. We have managed to buy a nice horse out of this sale for the past number of years. City Of Memphis, Letsbefrankaboutit and Yellowstone Lake came from this sale and they were all by Sioux Nation so it's great to get another one by him. She's a nice filly and it's great to get her on behalf of Bond Thoroughbreds. They have invested a lot of money into the industry in recent times and obviously have a stallion in Maranoa Charlie to try and support. They want speedy fillies and hopefully this filly can develop into a nice prospect for them.”“Out Of Body Experience” For O'Donnell With Bayside Boy FillyChristine O'Donnell couldn't have wished for a better first foray into the breeze-up market by transforming her €20,000 Bayside Boy yearling into a €175,000 show-stopper.Bidding on behalf of Rabbah Bloodstock, James Tate held off serious opposition from BBA Ireland's Michael Donohoe and Anthony Stroud.The result sparked huge scenes of emotion from the Bramblestown operation, which is headed by O'Donnell, whose partner John Bourke was responsible for unearthing the filly at Goffs last October. Fighting back the tears, O'Donnell said, “I'm not usually this emotional, I sell horses all the time! It's just surreal. It's all been extremely straightforward, since the moment we got her she's just been a dream. This is my first ever breezer, my darling better half picked her out in Book 2 of the Orby! “I just so happened to go into the wind test and saw her gallop and said 'I have to have some of this filly' so I bought half with my mum. I've prepped her for the sale. I rode her in most of her pieces of work, John did a few bits too, and Pierce Gallagher got up on her once too. He's done a great job.” “I mainly produce event horses. I've evented up to four star level, been to a couple of world championships; I love that and have a lot of lovely horses at home. Something just drew me into breezing and it's a similar system to what I do currently. I tried to put a lot of the eventing grounding into practice with the breeze-up filly. It's been very satisfying and enjoyable.” O'Donnell added, “It's kind of like an out of body experience really! You can just sit back and let it happen. She hasn't been put back in her stable all week. She's been super busy but so well behaved, she's got a great attitude. If they were all this easy we'd do it all the time but I think she's just a special filly.” Along with delivering the filly to the marketplace at fever pitch, O'Donnell was aided by the fact that her half-brother Westport is now unbeaten in three starts for George Boughey. Not only that, but her young sire Bayside Boy, who is based at Ballylinch Stud, has gotten off to the best possible start with six winners from just ten runners. The post Record Trade At Tattersalls Ireland A Much-Needed Boost For Breeze-Up Sector appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.