Twirling Candy colt tops session at Tattersalls Ireland

A colt from the first crop of Lane’s End stallion Twirling Candy earned the highest price at Tuesday’s opening session of the Tattersalls Ireland September yearling sale, selling to Peter and Ross Doyle Bloodstock for $147,047 (115,000 euros).

The Irish-bred colt is the first foal out of the English stakes-placed Oratorio mare Blue Angel, who was purchased by BBA Ireland for $95,000 with this colt in utero at the 2012 Keeneland November breeding stock sale. Ruskerne Ltd. is listed as the breeder.

The colt made the trip back across the Atlantic as a weanling, offered at the following year’s Keeneland November sale, but finishing below his reserve with a final bid of $65,000. He was offered again three months ago at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky July yearling sale, where he sold to Blandford Bloodstock for $35,000.

The colt then returned to Europe and was sent through the ring at the Tattersalls Ireland sale by the Castlebridge Consignment. He hails from the family of Group 1 winner Bigstone and Group 3 winner Empowering.

"He's a very nice type and will be going to Richard Hannon," Ross Doyle told Racing Post. "We know the family as Richard Sr. trained the dam, Blue Angel, who was twice listed-placed. He's a hardy looking sort and there was quite a lot of Oratorio about him."

Twirling Candy resides at Lane’s End in Versailles, Ky., where he stood the 2014 breeding season for an advertised fee of $10,000.