The delayed Goffs February Sale concluded on Thursday with Part 2, a session of 84 short yearlings. The difficulties presented by offering young stock in an online format were highlighted by a large number of withdrawals from the original catalogue of 228, and a clearance rate of 42%.
The 35 horses to have found a buyer returned an average price of €10,311 and median of €8,000, and they added €360,900 to the overall tally for the sale which had to undergo both date and format changes.
“Selling weanlings in March without proper viewings was never going to be ideal but circumstances dictated that was the only option if we were to hold the sale,” said Goffs group chief executive Henry Beeby.
“When we were forced to further delay it by the latest Level 5 lockdown being extended we considered simply cancelling and directing the entries to the yearling sales in the autumn. However, several vendors made contact to implore us to give them an outlet so we staged today as a service to those who wished to present their weanlings to the market.”
The five bestsellers represented both codes at the opposite end of the distance spectrum. Ballinaroone Stud's colt by popular National Hunt sire Walk In The Park (Ire) (lot 506) led the way at €35,000. The son of the unraced Presenting (GB) mare Charming Present (Ire) is a half-brother to four multiple bumper and hurdle winners and was signed for in the name of Thursday Bloodstock.
Two colts from the first crop of Ascot Gold Cup winner Order Of St George (Ire) were also among the table-toppers, sold for €20,000 apiece to trainer Philip Kirby (lot 367) and to Peter Molony of Rathmore Stud (lot 471).
Among the most in-demand of the Flat-bred stock of the session were fillies by Australian sprinters Exceed And Excel (Aus) and Zoustar (Aus). The former, lot 374, was sold by Mark and Elaine Clarke's Wardstown Stud for €26,000 to BC Bloodstock and is a half-sister to the Chester listed winner Copper Knight (Ire) (Sir Prancealot {Ire}).
The filly from the first European crop of Tweenhills stallion Zoustar (lot 453) hails from a family which has been very much in the news in recent seasons. Her winning dam Tschierschen (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}) is a half-sister to new Shadwell resident and G1 Sussex S. winner Mohaather (GB) (Showcasing {GB}), whose half-sister Roodle (GB) (Xaar {GB}) produced the G1 Queen Anne S. winner Accidental Agent (GB) (Delegator {GB}) for owner/breeder Gaie Johnson Houghton. She was bought from Baroda Stud for €25,000 by Italian trainer Bruno Grizzetti, who also purchased lot 406, a colt by Cotai Glory (GB).
Beeby concluded, “The results are predictably mixed with a clearance rate that speaks volumes but there was some spirited bidding for those that stood out and we are sure that several will be shown to have been value when they are reoffered in a normal yearling sale later in the year. Once again, Goffs Online proved its worth with bids from around the world.
“We now turn our attention to our Timed Online Sale on March 24, after which our fervent hope is that the vaccination programmes in Ireland and the UK will allow a return to some normality as the year progresses and we look forward to welcoming horses and people back to Kildare Paddocks for the Land Rover Sale in June. Following that we are working towards a full programme of Goffs sales throughout the rest of the year on their scheduled dates and in their usual location, here in Kildare.”
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