Written by Brian Sheerin TDN Europe
Cover image courtesy of Goffs
Joseph O'Brien was the big winner on day one of the Goffs Orby Sale with the trainer coming away with a number of six-figure yearlings, including the €850,000 (AU$1.36million) Blue Point (Ire) half-sister to Classic contender Bay City Roller (Ire) (New Bay {GB}).
At A Glance
Of the 246 lots offered on Tuesday, 210 were sold at a clearance rate of 85 per cent. The turnover was up 11 per cent to €25,028,500 (AU$40.2million) while the average climbed 8 per cent to €119,184 (AU$191,000) but the median fell by 2 per cent to €80,000 (AU$128,600).
Day 1 sale-topper was the €850,000 (AU$1.36million) Blue Point (Ire) half-sister to Classic contender Bay City Roller (Ire) (New Bay {GB}).
Lope De Vega (Ire) enjoyed a sale to remember with Juddmonte and Godolphin, two of the powerhouse operations, signing for a colt and a filly by the stallion for €750,000 (AU$1.2million) and €550,000 (AU$884,000) respectively. The Ballylinch Stud-based stallion ended the session with a €2,097,000 (AU$3.2million) aggregate for eight yearlings sold.
Bloodstock agent Richard Knight struck for a St Mark's Basilica (Fr) half-sister to recent St Leger winner Jan Brueghel (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who is in quarantine for the G1 Melbourne Cup, on behalf of Salhia Stud for €460,000 (AU$739,000). The filly was consigned by Barronstown Stud.
Of the 262 horses catalogued during Tuesday's session, 68 were pinhooks, and after two withdrawals, 66 horses passed through the ring. A total of six did not meet their reserves and were buy-backs, leaving 60 yearlings marked as sold. Of the latter group, 43 made a profit, and 17 lots lost money.
Sale-topper has classic connection
Billed as one of the highlights of the sale, the sister (Lot 114) to the unbeaten G2 Champagne S. winner Bay City Roller (Ire) (New Bay {GB}) was bought by European clients Agrolexica International Trading BV, who confirmed that the filly would be on her way to Owning Hill.
The sale-topping figure almost brought Tom Whelan to his knees. Like Bay City Roller, the Blue Point filly was consigned by his Church View Stables on behalf of breeder John Connaughton, and there was little doubting what the result meant to those closest to the filly.
The delighted connections of the Blue Point (Ire) top lot at Goffs | Image courtesy of Alayna Cullen Birkett
Whelan said, “Ah sure I'm over the moon. I'd say I was half relaxed up until €500,000. After that, sure I lost the power in my legs! My legs started to go from under me. As the fella says, I came from a terraced house and worked hard all my life. To produce a horse like that–it's the dream of dreams. It's not a one-man job and I have two fellas at home. It's a big team effort to get these horses to the sales. Like Bay City Roller, this filly was bred by Mr Connaughton, who sends them to me for prepping. Bay City Roller has made the pedigree and, for the filly to get here in the shape that she did, everything just came together perfectly.”
“Ah sure I'm over the moon. I'd say I was half relaxed up until €500,000. After that, sure I lost the power in my legs! To produce a horse like that (Lot 114)–it's the dream of dreams.” - Tom Whelan
He added, “This is one of my biggest days in the game. I sold a horse of my own once for €220,000 while, on the track, I'll never forget a horse called Sea The Lion finishing third in the Ebor. He was bred by Mr Connaughton and, after the horse broke down, we essentially nursed him back to life. The advice was to put him down but we got him back and he won close to €200,000 in prizemoney. That was a great story to be associated with but I think this would have to rival it. We are living the dream.”
So, too is Joseph O'Brien. Along with the day one top lot, O'Brien will train the €500,000 (AU$803,000) Sea The Stars (Ire) colt (Lot 145) on behalf of an unnamed major owner-breeder while the trainer also signed for a Starspangledbanner filly (Lot 95) for €225,000 (AU$362,000). In total, O'Brien signed for just shy of €1 million (AU$1.6 million) worth of yearlings in his own name alone.
Joseph O'Brien | Image courtesy of Goffs
Confirming that the Blue Point was on her way to O'Brien, Ananias Antoniadis said, “She has been bought by a central European client and will be trained by Joseph O'Brien. She has a very good pedigree and has good conformation also.”
Juddmonte lands half-brother to Saffron Beach
Juddmonte may have earned a reputation for being one of the world's best owner-breeders but the outfit's recruitment at public auction has led to big-race success on the track, most notably in the case of 2000 Guineas winner Chaldean (GB).
The team added a Lope De Vega (Ire) half-brother to dual Group 1 winner Saffron Beach (Ire) (New Bay {GB}) (Lot 219) to the squad for €750,000 (AU$1.2 million) with general manager Simon Mockridge explaining why the Ballylinch Stud-drafted colt was a good fit.
Lot 219 - Lope De Vega (Ire) x Falling Petals (Ire) (colt) | Image courtesy of Goffs
He said, “At the end of the day, he's a half-brother to a very good mare and Lope De Vega has had a tremendous season. All the right reasons; good individual, very nice horse, we need colts. He was an obvious one for us. You've got to pay for a nice horse.”
Mockridge added, “What's important is that you've got to look for a horse with a stallion's pedigree and that's certainly what he's got. Lope De Vega has had a fantastic season and had two new Classic winners this year. He is without a doubt a horse we have to look to, as we saw with the Middle Park winner (Shadow Of Light) at the weekend. This horse looks as though he would fit into the programme quite well for us.”
“... he's (Lot 219) a half-brother to a very good mare (Saffron Beach) and Lope De Vega has had a tremendous season. He was an obvious one for us. You've got to pay for a nice horse.” - Simon Mockridge
All told, Juddmonte spent €1.64 million (AU$2.64 million) on three colts after adding a Kingman (GB) (Lot 226) and a Frankel (GB) (Lot 243) to the team later in the session.
Father and son team in clover with 550k Lope De Vega filly
The big results for Lope De Vega just kept on coming and John and Peter Fagan of Deerpark Stud enjoyed a moment to remember when the father and son team sold their filly (Lot 112) by the stallion to Godolphin for €550,000 (AU$884,000).
Out of the Group 2-placed Bletchley (GB), who Deerpark Stud sourced for 200,000gns (AU$404,000) through Suzanne Roberts at the Tattersalls December Mares Sale, the result on Tuesday proved to be well worth the wait.
Peter said, “We're absolutely delighted. She is a gorgeous filly and hasn't put a foot wrong since she has been here. All credit has to go to the team at home. From my father John, our manager Patrick Kirwin, Rachel Harvey and Suzanne Roberts, who bought the mare for us. Lope De Vega is a fantastic stallion and he has danced every dance this year.
“He's one of the best stallions in the world and is a fantastic broodmare sire on top of everything else. The mare cost us €200,000 and we had a few issues getting her in foal, but this filly was worth waiting for.”
Delight for Doherty as Night Of Thunder colt clears 500k
Forenaghts Stud manager Caoimhe Doherty could scarcely hide her emotions after the farm's Night Of Thunder (Ire) colt (Lot 79) out of Group performer American Apples (Fr) (American Post {GB}) sold to Billy Jackson-Stops and George Scott for €500,000 (AU$803,000).
Shrewdly bought at Arqana in 2021 for €130,000 (AU$209,000), American Apples has already repaid that outlay and there was no denying what the result meant to Doherty.
She said, “We work so hard and there's just so much pressure. When you come here with a really nice horse you hope you are going to get paid. Like, we are a really small team; we've only 15 mares and 10 yearlings this year. This is the highest-priced horse I've ever sold. Tony Smurfit gave me a massive job and I don't know why he gave it to me!”
Doherty added, “This is an amazing result and I just can't believe it. Tony and I loved the horse from day one. We love Night Of Thunder and are massively invested in him. This is the first foal out of the mare who we bought on one bid in France. She is the most beautiful mare and it's just so exciting.”
It was at this sale last year where, alongside Jackson-Stops, Scott stuck his chest out on Bay City Roller. Victorious Racing has now become an increasingly important backer to Scott's Newmarket stable and the trainer shared why the Night Of Thunder colt topped his wish list on Tuesday.
Caoimhe Doherty | Image courtesy of Goffs
The trainer said, “He showed himself better and better over the last couple of days,” said Scott. “Night Of Thunder has done phenomenally well and he's a really strong, forward-going sort of horse, just the type we try to buy. Obviously, we had a lot of luck at this sale last year, so we were keen to come back and find the standout horse in this year's sale. We felt he was the right horse.
“He's been bought for Victorious Racing, who we've had nine stakes winners for this year. It's been an exciting year and we're looking to build on that, if possible. He was the only horse we were concentrating on today and it doesn't often work out that you manage to get the only one you want. It's a relief and we were very much stretched at that point. We got the horse though and we're really excited about him.”
“Night Of Thunder has done phenomenally well and he's (Lot 79) a really strong, forward-going sort of horse, just the type we try to buy.” - George Scott
Top owner Harris finds potential suitor for top-class sprinter Mill Stream
Former breeder and owner of high-class sprinter Mill Stream (Ire) (Gleneagles {Ire}) Peter Harris marked his first trip to Goffs in over a decade by snapping up a Blue Point filly from a family he knows well for €580,000 (AU$932,000). Consigned by Castlebridge, Lot 166 hails from Sea The Stars (Ire) filly Copplestone (Ire), herself a sister to Irish Derby third Stellar Mass (Ire).
“I bred all of the family much earlier on, that's really why I wanted her,” Harris explained. “She is a really nice filly and is well-related. You've got to keep it going. She'll probably go to Adam Kirby to be broken in and then she'll go to Jane Chapple-Hyam. It is more than I expected to pay but not dramatically so.”
“I bred all of the family much earlier on, that's really why I wanted her (Lot 166). She is a really nice filly and is well-related.” - Peter Harris
Asked if his new recruit might one day visit Mill Stream when he retires to stud, Harris, who bought the filly through Anthony Stroud, replied, “It would depend on distance because we'll have to see what distance she will turn out to be best over. But at least it would be free if I did decide to do that! I could save myself some money. When I was training, I used to come here and buy 12 yearlings every year. That was a good number because you would fill the lorry with 12 horses which meant they didn't have to go anywhere else on the way home. The last time I was here was in 2008. I don't think there's any chance of us buying 12 but we have a list for tomorrow so who knows.”
