Beeby: 'We've Assembled The Highest Concentration Of Quality Irish Yearlings'

The hunt for the next Bay City Roller (Ire) (New Bay {GB}) is on at this year's Goffs Orby Sale, with Henry Beeby saying that he is convinced the sales house has never assembled such a strong group of yearlings to be offered at Ireland's premier yearling sale this week. 

Trained by George Scott, Bay City Roller stretched his unbeaten record to three in the G2 Champagne Stakes at Doncaster, and his connections harbour genuine Classic aspirations heading into the winter. 

Stakes winners Beechwood (Ire) (Le Havre {Ire}), She's Quality (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}), One Look (Ire) (Gleneagles {Ire}), Apples And Bananas (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB})–who added to his tally in the Goffs Million on Saturday–along with German St Leger scorer Prydwen (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) have flown the flag for the Orby Sale this season but Beeby says he is convinced that the quality on offer throughout the whole this week eclipses all previous sales here. 

He said, “I think we have a higher concentration of the elite horses from Ireland this year. The easiest way I can provide evidence of that is, last year we catalogued four Frankels, whereas this year we have eight. Sadly, a couple have had to be withdrawn but that could happen to any horse.”

He added, “So we have the horses and these horses attract the people. But after that, we put the icing on the cake, which is the bonuses. Maybe the cherry on that icing is how we look after all of the people who come here. We've got everything in place and there is a wonderful selection of horses on offer.”

It was bloodstock agent Billy Jackson-Stops who sourced Bay City Roller on behalf of loyal client and trainer George Scott. The colt won on debut for effervescent and passionate owner Clive Washbourne, before being snapped up by Victorious Racing, for whom he remained unbeaten with a victory at Chelmsford followed up by the Champagne Stakes success. 

Jackson-Stops is no stranger to buying top-class animals. During his time working for The Rogues Gallery, he sourced Royal Ascot winner Rogue Millennium (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), who fetched many multiples of an initial 35,000gns outlay when knocked down for 1.65 million gns at the Tattersalls December Mares Sale last year. Group class sprinter Rogue Lightning (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) also put the agent in lights when selling to Wathnan Racing for £1 million but Bay City Roller was arguably one of the most important horses that Jackson-Stops sourced at the time given his lofty price tag.

He recalled, “Bay City Roller was the most expensive yearling that I had ever bought up until last year. We had mostly been buying cheaper horses up until that point and, for him to work out as well as he has, it definitely gives you more confidence in your strategy.”

He added, “Clive Washbourn had said to George that, if he ever found something that he really liked at the sales, that he should let him know. Funnily enough, I was looking at what turned out to be Bay City Roller at Goffs last year when George rang me and said, 'by the way, if you find something that might suit Clive, we should put it to him.' I told him that I was literally looking at the horse who could do the job. He was one of the best horses I saw at the sale and thought he would be an ideal candidate. Clive is such a sports fan and is actually the dream person to work with. Such a purist. He just loves the game and is quite fun in that you never know what is going to happen with him. It keeps you on your toes!”

It was Jackson-Stops who sourced Prydwen from the Orby in 2019 for €30,000, and the admirable stayer sugarcoated what turned out to be a memorable weekend for the Scott stable when landing the German St Leger just 24 hours after Bay City Roller's triumph at Doncaster.

Scott and Jackson-Stops are not the only overseas buyers alive to the riches that can be sourced at Goffs, with British-based trainers leading home a one-two in the Goffs 500 on Saturday. In that case, it was the Ralph Beckett-trained Bolo Neighs (Ire) (Coulsty {Ire}) who beat Ed Walker's Mollie Foster (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}). 

The Goffs Million was a bit more parochial, with Joseph O'Brien's Apples And Bananas fending off his father's Antelope Canyon (Ire) (No Nay Never) in a race that attracted just 14 runners. That sort of a turnout was rightly deemed to be disappointing by the sales company given the level of prize-money that was on offer down to 10th spot, which is why some tweaks are being made with regards to next year's offerings. 

Beeby explained, “The number of runners in the race itself was disappointing. We have already tweaked things for next year and we won't be having the Goffs 500 race. What we're going to do instead is take that €500,000 and put it in bonuses in England. So we will have €1 million worth of bonuses next year, half of which will be in England. That decision was the result of British buyers, agents and trainers providing us with feedback and us taking that feedback on board. Things like the Goffs Two Million Series, if you don't take feedback on board and let them evolve, then they can become stagnated. We're trying to look at ways we can tweak and hopefully improve the series. The Goffs Million is brilliant because it's Europe's richest two-year-old race and provides a wonderful focal point on the eve of the sale with prize-money down to 10th place. 

“But it's the bonuses that have really added a new dimension to the whole thing. A €50,000 bonus attached to the two-year-old races really is fantastic and they have been won by horses who cost as low as €5,000 right up to €375,000, so it appeals to all agents. The bonuses have been dispersed throughout all types of races as well as racetracks so we really are trying to appeal to everybody. Having the bonuses in England next year will really capture the imagination and has definitely driven a number of buyers here this week who really want to be involved.”

He added, “It hasn't escaped our notice and it is arguably ironic that, when you go into any Goffs sale, the marketing from the other sales companies always ramps up. I have heard more about bonuses in other places in recent days purely because our bonuses are really catching people's imagination. There isn't another sale anywhere in the northern hemisphere where the horses catalogued can win €2 million. There just isn't. That is one of the USPs of Orby and it gives people an extra incentive.”

So what are the expectations heading into Orby Book 1 and 2 this week? There has been a notable tightening of the belts at the European yearling sales this year but that doesn't necessarily correlate to a lowering of expectations, according to the Goffs chief.

He revealed, “We looked at Arqana, which is probably the closest comparable to Orby Book 1, and there certainly seemed to be a tightening of the market. The stats at our Doncaster Premier Yearling Sale weren't quite on a par on last year but it was still a tremendous sale. We felt it was as strong as any sale this year. I don't think there is a lowering of expectations but there is an acceptance that the market has tightened and become more black and white. If you have the right type of horse, you are going to get well-rewarded. But it is very black and white. It isn't as grey as it used to be. In the Orby Sale, you have to have the right type of horse because there are premier yearling sales still to come. So we accept that. Sending a well-bred horse who doesn't quite match up physically and taking a bit of a punt is not going to work in the Orby Sale. The horse has to look the part as well as everything else. That's the great challenge with assembling horses for this sale.”

If there is one area that Goffs are keen to improve upon this week, it's Book 2 of the Orby Sale. The figures posted during the two-day session 12 months ago fell way below what was expected and Beeby has outlined measures taken by the sales company to drive interest in Book 2 this week. 

He said, “We were very disappointed with Orby Book 2 last year. We have incentified with ITM for buyers to stick around for Book 2 this year.  Jack Davison came to Orby Book 2 last year and, along with Barry Lynch, gave €5,000 for Lightning Bear (Ire) (Kuroshio {Aus}). He has won €100,000 with that horse. He won a €50,000 bonus at Down Royal and finished third in the Goffs 500 at the Curragh over the weekend. If that doesn't demonstrate why you should shop from start to finish at Goffs this week, I don't know what will. Those Book 2 horses have the same access to the bonuses on offer as the Book 1 horses so there's no reason why people shouldn't shop throughout the week.”

The Orby Sale, which features a host of horses by some of the world's best sires, including Frankel, Dubawi, Kingman, Sea The Stars, Night Of Thunder-and a Blue Point (Ire) half-brother to Bay City Roller–and more, gets underway on Tuesday at 10am.