Exceed And Excel Colt the Star at Goffs

KILDARE, Ireland—Torrential morning rain failed to dampen the enthusiasm of buyers and traders as the second day of the Goffs Sportsman's Sale brought to a close a successful week of business at Kildare Paddocks. This second day was added after an oversubscription of entries were received and while there was an air of trepidation over the prospect of an extra day of trading, fears were thankfully unfounded when the session provided the highest priced Sportsman's Sale topper in 12 years. This was courtesy of lot 822, a colt by Exceed And Excel (Aus) offered by Derrinstown Stud on behalf of breeder Hadi Al Tajir that was hammered down to Joe Foley for €135,000.

After signing for the son of the Tamayuz (GB) mare Oriental Step (Ire) on behalf of Clipper Logistics Foley said, “He is a really nice colt and was very well produced. He has a stallion's page, is by a sire of sires and has every chance of being a smart racehorse, he certainly looks like one.”

The colt is a half-brother to Saffran (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}) who was an impressive winner of a maiden for Simon Crisford at Chepstow in June and further down the page the eye is drawn to such influences as Height Of Fashion, Nayef and Nashwan.

Overall it was a solid edition of the sale with the aggregate of €4,854,900 admittedly from a larger catalogue, up on last year's figure of €4,325,500. The clearance rate of 78.6% couldn't quite match last year's impressive 85.1%, while the average of €17,155 (-9.6%) and median of €13,000 (-13.3%) were also just shy of last year's totals of €18,971 and €15,000.

Commenting after the close of business Goffs CEO Henry Beeby said, “A two day Sportsman's Sale always provokes discussion and this year has been no different. The decision goes back to inspection time when we received a higher than ever number of applications from established vendors with the right types. That growth in demand flowed from a good renewal of the sale in 2018 and presented us with a real conundrum. Do we keep the sale to one day and upset large numbers of valued clients who have good yearlings or do we expand and risk supply outstripping demand? There is never going to be an answer that is 100% correct but first and foremost Goffs exists to serve Irish breeders by providing a viable market place for their produce so we decided to hold a two-day sale, committing extra resource to buyer recruitment.”

He continued, “Doubtless opinion will be split as to whether we made the right decision but we feel the results ultimately vindicate the move with a vibrant trade on both days especially given prevailing market conditions and the background of a volatile world economy. We have welcomed a wide variety of buyers from home, the UK, across Europe and further afield following a concerted effort from our network of international agents and the team at Irish Thoroughbred Marketing. Their presence meant that there was keen competition for those that appealed with a high of €135,000 today although the trends witnessed at every other yearling sale in 2019 were evident. That said a 79% clearance rate is perfectly acceptable and points to a trade of some depth. So as the week closes we can reflect on a market that soared at the top of Orby, headed by the second highest yearling filly price in Irish auction history amongst four millionaires, but tightened in the lower echelons notwithstanding a top Sportsman's price that was the second highest on record. These results clearly demonstrate the enduring demand for the best and that Goffs is absolutely the measure of any sale in the world at the top whilst perhaps highlighting some issues that may give pause for thought. As ever we are supremely grateful for the support of our vendors and wish every buyer success on the racecourse.”

Foley Looking To The Future

Before getting the top lot Joe Foley was already in pole position as the buyer of the session topper when he signed for a daughter of Raven's Pass offered by Clonsast Stud for €60,000. Foley, who bought this year's G2 Lowther S. winner Living In The Past (Ire) (Bungle Inthejungle {GB}) at this sale last year for €65,000 was again acting on behalf of Steve Parkin of Clipper Logistics and he was determined to add lot 737 to the team.

“We liked her a lot, she is a real athlete and we have a lot of faith in Raven's Pass as a future broodmare sire. She will come back to Ballyhane for her early education and we will decide on a trainer in the spring,” Foley said.

For breeder Pat McCarthy it was also good bit of business. McCarthy had bought the unraced mare Kirouna (Fr) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), a daughter of G2 Blandford S. winner Katiyra (Ire) (Peintre Celebre), for €22,000 from the Aga Khan draft at the Goffs November Sale in 2016 and his initial foray into the market place with the mare's first progeny has certainly been encouraging. He has a colt foal by Dawn Approach (Ire) waiting in the wings and Kirouna was covered this year by Decorated Knight (GB).

Murtagh's Perseverance Pays Off

Johnny Murtagh has been an active participant this week stocking up for next year and among his purchases on Friday was lot 798 from Mountain View Stud. The €55,000 son of Ajaya (GB) has plenty of stamina in his pedigree being related to the likes of Millenary (GB) (Rainbow Quest) and Knight To Behold (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) but Murtagh thinks the Invincible Spirit (Ire) influence will help add a gear or two.

“He looks fast,” he said. “He has plenty of size and scope too and is just a lovely horse. We've been trying hard all week and it hasn't been easy to buy. Every time I follow in one I like there seems to be plenty of others there as well and you just have to go that extra yard to land the ones you want.”

Gerry Hogan also paid €55,000 for daughter of Camelot (GB) late in the session. Lot 849's credentials were certainly done no harm by the recent exploits of her 2-year-old half-brother Helvic Dream (Ire) (Power {GB}). The Noel Meade trained juvenile has been impressive in winning twice this autumn and looks a lively candidate for the final of the Foran Equine Irish EBF Auction Race at Naas in two weeks' time.

Derrinstown Excel Again

The early pace was set by the fifth horse into the ring when lot 697 was knocked down to BBA Ireland for €43,000. The son of Exceed And Excel (Aus) was bred by Shadwell, who played such a pivotal role as a buyer during the week and consigned by its Derrinstown Stud. It was the BBA's Michael Donohoe who was doing the bidding, alongside trainer Michael Halford.

Afterwards Donohoe said, “I bought him for a syndicate to race and then hopefully to sell on. He's by a good stallion, from a nice family and he will go to Mick Halford.”

Donohue and Halford have previous form when teaming up at Goffs to buy a Shadwell bred yearling having purchased the Hong Kong runner Happy Dragon (GB) (Raven's Pass) in 2015 for €62,000. That horse went on to win a maiden at Naas for Halford when called Yulong Xionghu (GB) before being sold to continue his career in Hong Kong for John Moore, for whom he is a dual winner.

It's been a hectic week for John O'Connor and Ballylinch Stud between selling the Orby sale topper on Wednesday among 30 horses catalogued in total over the four days. The stud was also represented by the first crop of yearlings by New Bay (GB) and Fascinating Rock (Ire). It was a Ballylinch-consigned daughter of Belardo that caught the eye of Kevin Ross on Friday. Acting on behalf of Paul & Clare Rooney, Ross went to €45,000 to buy lot 774, a daughter of G3 Firth Of Clyde S. winner Majestic Dubawi (GB) (Dubawi {GB}).

“We like what we've seen of the Belardos so far,” said Kevin Ross. “He was a very good racehorse himself and this is a lovely filly. She is out of a very good mare as well so there was a lot to like about her.”

Also popular on Friday was an Acclamation (GB) filly sent up from Norelands Stud as lot 783. Her year older half-sister Justina (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}) has shown a decent level of ability this year for Jessica Harrington and the relation to Attraction (GB) (Efisio {GB}) was ultimately knocked down to Cormac O'Flynn for €47,000.

“Acclamation is a great sire and I just fell in love with this filly,” O'Flynn said. “The 2-year-old filly is fairly smart and it's a brilliant back pedigree as well.”

A route towards the 2020 breeze ups looks on the cards for lot 760, a colt by Cable Bay (Ire) bought by Willie Brown for €40,000. Offered by The Castlebridge Consignment the colt benefitted from a recent update when his half-brother Solemn Pledge (GB) (Showcasing {GB}), the mare's first produce, won for the first time at Redcar for Karl Burke. Another likely to be seen in that sphere next year is a Kingman (GB) filly (lot 778) bought by Cian Hughes for €40,000.