Con Marnane

Ballyhane Stud resident Sands Of Mali (Fr) (Panis) became Europe's latest first-crop sire to get off the mark when his Florian Guyader-trained daughter Hide The Evidence (Ire) shed maiden status with a two-length debut win over five furlongs in Monday's Prix du Medoc at Bordeaux. Bred by Joe Foley's Ballyhane Stud, Hide The Evidence fetched €10,000 at the Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale when knocked down to Con Marnane. Racing in the colours of Marnane's daughters Amy and Olivia, the filly could be Royal Ascot bound, according to connections. Con...

The search for the next Vandeek (GB) (Havana Grey {GB}) just became a whole lot tougher. That's not to say that separating potential Group 1 winners apart from the near-200 horses who breeze up the Rowley Mile is an easy task to start with.  However, the howling wind, vertical hailstorm and torrential rain added a whole new dimension to the breeze at this year's Tattersalls Craven Breeze-Up Sale.  They tell us year after year that the times don't matter. That they only serve as just another piece of the jigsaw...

Everybody is searching for that flagbearer. Be it a jockey, trainer or an owner, the hunt for a horse capable of taking in big-race riches, that's the lure Breeze-up consignors are no different. Being associated with good horses is what sustains a business and keeps buyers coming back for more. That's what makes Sunday's Leopardstown maiden winner Ecureuil Secret (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) such an important horse in the career of Ryan Conran.  Having put down two big stints working for prominent breeze-up handlers Con Marnane and Thomond O'Mara, Conran...

Dozens of flights were cancelled, 34,000 homes were left without power, roads were closed due to fallen trees and race meetings were lost as Storm Kathleen raged across Ireland. Only Con Marnane could organise a BBQ in the middle of one of the worst storms the country has faced in months and it be deemed a success. The plan to stage Saturday's open morning at Bansha House Stables was first hatched when the Marnane family visited the Magic Millions Sale in Australia and, despite the weather in Tipperary, Con couldn't...

There were few more deserving winners at this year's ITBA Awards than Amy Marnane. At just 30 years of age, Marnane has crammed a lot in. From breeding to pinhooking and even consigning horses under her own name, Marnane has accomplished plenty in the industry, which led to her scooping the Next Generation Award.  Of course, that award was tinged with sadness after the death of Marnane's mother, Theresa, at the age of 61 in December.  In this week's Q&A, Marnane discusses how the bloodstock industry has served as a...

The bloodstock world is united in grief with the Marnane family following the death of Theresa Marnane on Saturday at the age of 61. An immensely popular member of the racing and breeding community, Marnane, along with her husband Con and daughters Amy and Olivia, was widely successful in many sectors of the business. The family's Bansha House Stables in Tipperary has long been successful at the breeze-up sales, with the top-class winners Rio De La Plata, Fleeting Spirit (Ire) and Amadeus Wolf (Ire) being among their many graduates. They...

Goffs chief Henry Beeby acknowledged the selective nature of the trade at the re-branded Part 2 Goffs Orby Sale where a €140,000 Night Of Thunder (Ire) filly led the way on Friday when selling from Derrinstown Stud to Macie and Kishore Mirpuri. That sale continued the theme of well-bred fillies commanding plenty of respect in the ring during Book 1 and Book 2 of this year's Orby Sale.  Lot 955 was purchased by the Polish agent Kishore Mirpuri on behalf of Macie Jodlowski, the leading trainer in that jurisdiction. However,...

By Emma Berry and Brian Sheerin "Everyone who is anyone" assembled at Kensington Palace ahead of one of the great weeks in world racing, and Goffs will be hoping that the star of its London Sale on Monday night will go on to be one of the stars of Tuesday afternoon at Royal Ascot. The G3 Marble Hill S. winner Givemethebeatboys (Ire) (Bungle Inthejungle {GB}) led allcomers when sold for £1,100,000 to Con and Neil Sands of Bronsan Racing. He will remain in training with Jessica Harrington and heads almost...

At first there are tears and then the words come tumbling out.  "We got a bit of bad news before the Curragh," Con Marnane explains. "Theresa's cancer is back again. That's why the whole thing was so emotional." Theresa is Con's wife and it is her yellow and black silks, made famous by Different League (Fr) (Dabirsim {Fr}) winning the Albany, that were carried to that stirring victory in the G3 Marble Hill S. by Givemethebeatboys (Ire) at Irish racing's HQ. He is one of two Royal Ascot-bound Bungle Inthejungle...

Share prices in Jessica Harrington's Givemethebeatboys (Ire) (Bungle Inthejungle {GB}), a leading G2 Coventry S. contender, took a spike on Thursday with the news that legendary jockey Frankie Dettori would take the ride on the colt at Royal Ascot on Tuesday. Givemethebeatboys, a gritty winner of the G3 Marble Hill S. at the Curragh when last seen, will be offered up for sale by his owner Con Marnane at the Goffs London Sale on the eve of the race. He is not the only horse that Marnane and Harrington will...

On December 3, 1995, the G1 Royal Bond Novice Hurdle was won by the Aidan O'Brien-trained Thats My Man (Ire). It is unconfirmed, but those may well have been the words uttered by John Magnier when he decided to appoint O'Brien to uphold the good reputation of his surname at Ballydoyle. This he has done with aplomb. From that December day at Fairyhouse until Sunday at the Curragh, A P O'Brien has been the name printed alongside 400 Group or Grade 1 winners. From his roots in National Hunt, he...

Alice Haynes and Ado McGuinness, who have emblazoned the value on offer at the breeze-up sales by hitting the ground running with their respective purchases this season, have described shopping in that market as a hugely important aspect of their business.  Well-known breeze-up consignor Eddie Linehan of Lackendarra Stables agrees with Haynes and McGuinness that the value has favoured the buyer when it has come to shopping at the middle to lower tiers of the market due to the amount of choice in that sector. However, Linehan, who admitted that...