Con Marnane

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...

Haras de la Barbottiere resident Donjuan Triumphant (Ire) (Dream Ahead) became Europe's latest first-crop sire to get off the mark when Florian Guyader trainee Snow Ghost (Fr) (Donjuan Triumphant {Ire}--Snow Spirit {GB}, by Verglas {Ire}), an €8,000 Osarus purchase last August, graduated over five furlongs in Saturday's €23,000 Prix de Gennetines at Moulins. Handily placed behind the leaders after an alert getaway in this second start, the 24-1 outsider quickened smartly to challenge inside the final furlong and was ridden out to deny stablemate Gotta Skedaddle (Ire) (Bungle Inthejungle {GB})...

The demand for American dirt-bred horses for next month's Goffs Dubai Breeze Up Sale has, according to Eddie O'Leary and Con Marnane, two titans of the game, provided consignors with a clear framework about what will and won't ring buyers' bells in the sales ring.  While Tom Taaffe, the client relations agent at Goffs, described last year's inaugural Dubai Breeze Up Sale as "a very good start," there is a growing confidence among consignors that next month can be even better, with Marnane admitting to have 'upped his game big...

The number of yearlings offered may have been halved since last year, but the key figures remained largely the same at the Osarus Yearling Sale at La Teste de Buch, with the median of €10,000 slightly up on 2021 and the average of €11,467 virtually the same. From an original catalogue of 150 yearlings, 131 were put through the ring, with 88 sold for a clearance rate of 67%, up from 63%. At the final fall of hammer, the aggregate stood at €947,500. Few of the yearlings sold would have...

David Marnane has warned that MRC International, the syndicate behind Tuesday's impressive Tipperary scorer Lady Tilbury (GB) (Bated Breath {GB}), are only just getting started and have much more to look forward to than the Royal Ascot-bound speedster.  Lady Tilbury is just the type you need for the Queen Mary S., according to Marnane, who revealed that of the 19 juveniles that the recently-formed syndicate own, some of the best have yet to grace the track.  No stranger to success at the royal meeting having managed Dandy Boy (Ity) (Danetime)...

by Chris McGrath NEWMARKET, UK -- The world certainly looks a different place from when these babies slithered into the straw. A less frightening one, thankfully, to many breeders, who have been relieved by a remarkable strength and depth in all levels of the market after the global economy absorbed the shock of Covid. So while the Tattersalls December Foal Sale opened in the customary low register, business on Wednesday unequivocally maintained the buoyant morale established in other sectors. Indeed, the clearance rate of 84% was a session record, and...

Group 1-winning sprinter Sands Of Mali (Fr) (Panis-Kadiania {Fr}, by Indian Rocket {GB}) has been retired to stud. It was not specified where he will stand. Owner Cool Silk Partnership tweeted on Tuesday, "on a day when a potential future flag bearer for us [Faora] wins on debut, our star Sands of Mali is confirmed to start his next career at stud. An absolute legend of a horse --our first and only Group 1 winner to date! Hugely talented and as @RichardFahey says, a machine on the gallops. "A clean...