Records broken at Goffs UK, Godolphin snare seven figure Mehmas colt

By Brian Sheerin, TDN Europe

Cover image courtesy of Goffs

History was made at the Goffs Breeze-Up Sale when the first ever millionaire lot was sold in the Doncaster sale ring through the Katie Walsh-consigned Mehmas (Ire) colt who went the way of Anthony Stroud on behalf of Godolphin for that record-breaking sum of £1 million (AU$2.08 million).

The previous record for the Goffs UK Breeze-Up Sale had been held by the ill-fated Harry Angel (Ire) colt who sold to Michael O'Callaghan for £500,000 (AU$1.04 million) in 2023 while point-to-point graduate Regent's Stroll (Ire) (Walk In The Park {Ire}) was the most expensive horse ever sold in the Doncaster ring at £660,000 (AU$1.4 million) last year.

The sale revolved around Mehmas, who was not only responsible for the record-breaker, but had four of the top 10 lots and cleared an eye-watering £3,675,000 (AU$7.6 million) for 14 horses sold.

A delighted Walsh said after selling the top lot, “I'm delighted for the clients–he's not mine. He's owned by people from Scandinavia, the Ukraine, France–there's a big syndicate of people involved.”

The sale-topper was bought at the Goffs November Foal Sale by Anna Sundstrom and Filip Zwicky. However, he failed to turn a profit and was a vendor buy back at the Arqana August Sale last year. The decision to go down the breeze-up route clearly paid off in spades for the speedily-bred colt. He is out of Shamardal (USA) mare Rapid Reaction (Ire) who, along with achieving a rating of 102 herself, is a sister to rapid racemare Katla (Ire) (Majestic Missile {Ire}).

Walsh continued, “They gave (the syndicate) €140,000 for him as a foal and it wasn't happening for them as a yearling so they asked me if I would breeze him and he's been extremely straightforward from the get-go. Mehmas is obviously having a fantastic time and this horse has a lovely pedigree. He breezed nicely and is going to a very good team and operation. I hope he is extremely lucky for them.

“It's unbelievable. You just don't really know what's going to happen when you come into this sales ring. I just hope he can be lucky and go on and prove himself.”

Turnover climbed 12 per cent to £11,798,000 (AU$24.6 million) while the average jumped by 35 per cent to £84,272 (AU$175,000) and the median rose 4 per cent to £37,500 (AU$78,000). The clearance rate nestled at a respectable 83 per cent, which was up 2 per cent on last year's sale.

Speaking after signing for the top lot, Stroud said, “If the horse is there, the people are there. He did a very good breeze and is from a good consignor. I thought he'd sell well but, at the top end, it's difficult to work out where you are going to end up. I think you can sell a good horse anywhere and, if the horses are here, the people will be here as well. This horse is by a very good stallion and Katie does a fantastic job. He goes to Charlie Appleby.”

Breeze-Up momentum continues at Goffs UK

The breeze-up season got off to a pretty frenetic start at Tattersalls last week and it's safe to say that the momentum continued at Goffs with the first ever seven-figure sale and a rise in all of the key statistics.

Goffs UK Managing Director Tim Kent commented, “Thank you to everyone who contributed to an extraordinary day in Doncaster. In 1983 the company was just 21 years old and our late Chairman Harry Beeby said he had two dreams for DBS-now Goffs UK. One was to sell a Derby winner and we will continue to work towards that, but he also dreamed of selling a million-pound horse and it was fantastic to achieve this at a sale which he introduced to Europe in 1977. Today is a day that we will remember for an awful long time and is a real milestone in the evolution of the company, whilst it's particularly fitting that Harry's son Henry, the Goffs Group CEO, was on the rostrum for this historic event.

“But we can be proud of so much more than the top price from today. We've achieved a record turnover for this sale (up 12 per cent), a record average (up 35 per cent) and a record median (up 4 per cent) whilst four horses matched or exceeded the previous top price of £500,000, ten sold for £300,000 or more and 29 exceeded £100,000. A truly remarkable day by any measure.”

He added, “For a long time now, this sale has been threatening a result like this and its record on the track-particularly at Royal Ascot-is second to none in this category. And it's that Royal Ascot record that has captured the imagination of buyers who flock to Doncaster with the Royal meeting on their minds. In the build up to the sale, we travelled extensively throughout Europe, the Middle East and further afield to deliver an international buying bench active at all levels of the market. They all played a huge part in the success of today and to have so many buyers at the top end, most notably Godolphin and Blandford Bloodstock plus the all-important underbidders, was testament to the confidence that buyers have in this sale.

“We are extremely proud of all the Goffs team for what we have achieved today but none of this could have been done without the support of our vendors who delivered a superb catalogue of horses that really caught the imagination of buyers. Indeed, one yearling vendor has already messaged me to say that 'the glass ceiling in Donny has been properly smashed today' and we will now work towards achieving the same result at other sales throughout the year.

“Meanwhile, we will celebrate this historic day by raising a glass to Harry tonight as I know that he would be very proud of us all and we look forward to doing the same again in the winners enclosure at Royal Ascot.”

Godolphin continue to spend heavily at the Breeze-Ups

Godolphin spent 2.05 million gns (AU$4.48 million) at last week's record-breaking Craven Breeze-Up Sale and ended the day at Goffs as the second-biggest buyer behind Blandford Bloodstock–who spent £2,682,000 (AU$5.57 million)–with a similar outlay of £2.22 million (AU$4.6 million) on three lots. Along with the top lot, Godolphin also signed for a £720,000 (AU$1.5 million) Mehmas colt from Tally-Ho Stud and a £500,000 (AU$1.04 million) Kodi Bear (Ire) colt from Woodlands Lodge.

On Lot 42, the Mehmas colt purchased from Tally-Ho, Stroud said, “The market is lively (and is) following on from last week (at the Craven Sale). It seems that the better ones are obviously making the money and it's encouraging that we have so many people who want to have really good horses. Tally-Ho has a good tradition of producing breeze-up horses and the horse did a very good breeze. He passed all veterinary examinations and looked what he was meant to be-a really two-year-old. There is a good selection of horses. It's all very well the top being strong but I think it's important that the middle and down the food chain, that these horses are selling. It's really important that the clearance rates are good.”

Emotional day for Mick Fitzpatrick

Mick Fitzpatrick has sold his share of top-notchers, including recent Group 1 winner Believing (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}), but he admitted to getting caught up in the emotion that came with selling his Mehmas filly to Blandford Bloodstock for what was at the time a sale record at £650,000 (AU$1.35 million).

“I thought she was above the rest of them,” the Kilminfoyle House Stud man said afterwards. “She posted one of the quickest times and I did have her in a different league. I was hoping that the big players would all play for her. We sold Electrolyte, who got beaten a nose in the Coventry, to Richard Brown last year. Blandford Bloodstock also bought Striking Ambition off us so they've bought a couple of good horses off us, which is always a help.”

He added, “Selling Believing was also a help-a recent Group 1 winner by the same stallion in Mehmas. Millimetres make the difference in this game and a lot of things came together. It is exciting when a horse like this goes through the ring for that kind of money. If your heart doesn't race for this, it will never race. The one thing I'd say is that none of this would be possible without my staff. I have great staff, especially Pamela Coogan, and they make all of this possible so credit goes to them.”

Blandford Bloodstock ended the sale as the leading buyer with £2,682,000 (AU$5.57 million) spent on 12 lots, the lion's share of which was done by ace agent Richard Brown, who signed for Fitzpatrick's Mehmas filly.

He commented, “Obviously the stallion just goes from strength to strength. She did a fantastic breeze and we bought a good colt, Electrolyte, off 'Fitz' here last year. Electrolyte won a Group 3 and Archie Watson has high hopes for him this season as well.”

Asked if he anticipated going to what was at the time a record-breaking sum for the sale, Brown said, “No. I don't think there's ever been such a hunger for the horses at the top end of the market and we saw that last week at Newmarket. Looking at what's just happened there, that has obviously continued here. We'll give her every chance to be an Ascot filly. I think that this is a good Doncaster. It is a very well-assembled group of horses.”

Glending girls get the job done

The girls behind Glending Stables knocked it out of the park with their pinhooks at Donny to deliver a (roughly) £400,000 (AU$832,000) profit on two fillies sold by Too Darn Hot (GB) and Havana Grey (GB). The Too Darn Hot filly was sourced by Serena O'Flynn on behalf of her husband Cormac along with Roderic Kavanagh and his partner and respected vet Teresa Magalhaes.

The pinhooking success was made extra special given that Magalhaes and Kavanagh are expecting their first child this year. The £320,000 (AU$666,000) netted for the Too Darn Hot filly to Anthony Stroud will help pay for a few nappies, that's for sure!

Magalhaes said, “Myself and Rogie, along with Cormac and Serena O'Flynn, owned her. She has been super straightforward all the way through and Serena deserves all of the credit because she picked her out as a yearling [for 35,000gns]. She has been a favourite at home all year because she is a small filly but, in the last month in particular, she has developed beautifully. She just loves her job.”

The Havana Grey filly was purchased by Ollie Sangster for £150,000 (AU$312,000) and she provided her ownership group, that featured Annelie Rodde, Alice and Sophie Kavanagh, Fay Cort and Nicola Short with a major pinhooking profit given she was sourced for 32,000gns (AU$69,900) as a foal. Rodde said, “It's been a really good experience and we're delighted. Amazing result. A day we won't forget.”

Talking points from the sale

People may have thought they were hearing things when Nick Nugent said, 'well done to the young vendor' after Thomand O'Mara's Profitable (Ire) colt was knocked down to Blandford Bloodstock at £360,000 (AU$749,000). It was in fact O'Mara's son Niall who bought the colt for just €16,000 (AU$33,300) at the Autumn Yearling Sale at Goffs before reselling under the Knockanglass banner for such an impressive profit.

O'Mara said, “He's a very straightforward and uncomplicated horse with a lot of ability. He's gone to a very good team and we hope he's successful for them. We bought him at Goffs last year off Johnny Hyland. I don't own him–he belongs to my son Niall. He's 20 years old and it's a great result for him. He told me to buy a Ferrari at the sales and I said, no, you go and buy a house! He picked this horse out himself, actually, so it's great.

Sire power remains an important piece of the puzzle but the fact that a Kodi Bear (Ire) sold for £500,000 (AU$1.04 million) to Godolphin would suggest that the nice horse will always ring a bell. First-season sire Ubettabelieveit (Ire) also put his name in lights when Tally-Ho Stud's colt by the Mickley Stud-based inmate went the way of Anthony Stroud for £300,000 (AU$624,000).

A total of 15 horses sold for £200,000 (AU$416,000) or more, which is three more than last year.

Ciaron Maher purchases Sioux Nation colt

Ciaron Maher, along with Colm Sharkey, purchased Lot 144 for £150,000 (AU$312,000). He is a Sioux Nation (USA) colt from unraced mare Mufaraqaat (Ire) (Dalakhani {Ire}), who is a half-sister to G3 Cumberland Lodge Stakes winner Laraaib (Ire) (Pivotal {GB}). Laraaib and Mufaraqaat are out of Listed juvenile winner Sahool (GB) (Unfuwain {USA}). The colt was a €28,000 (AU$58,000) yearling pinhooked into this sale.