Kingman's Queen Heads Goffs Foal Sale

KILDARE, Ireland—Once the thinner air of the upper tier of the foal market is reached, only the bravest pinhookers remain to do battle against those owner-breeders with a longer-term plan. The beauty of the Thoroughbred business is that each year at least one new player will emerge, intent on spending some serious money for the best bloodlines available, and thus it proved in the transaction of the most expensive foal sold at Goffs this week.

The breeder and the vendor of the Kingman (GB) filly in question are names which resonate beyond their Irish homeland. Paddy and Helena Burns produced the daughter of Juddmonte's rising star at their Loughtown Stud and entrusted Jacqueline Norris to conduct the consigning duties. Norris's Jockey Hall Stud has a well earned reputation for excellence and duly featured in two of the top five lots of the session, including the €350,000 market leader, and ended the sale as leading consignor by average.

On the other side of the deal, the buyer remains unnamed but Seville-based agent Francisco Bernal of Outsider Bloodstock was able to divulge that his Spanish client is prominent in the world of sport-horse breeding and is launching a fledgling venture into the Thoroughbred world. On her behalf, Bernal has bought three horses so far and he intimated that he will continue in this endeavour next week at Tattersalls. The Kingman filly will be sent to France before eventually going into training for her new owner.

Jacqueline Norris said of lot 600, “The Kingman filly was a queen. I'm thrilled for her breeder Paddy Burns. My team has done a wonderful job all week in difficult weather.”

Burns bought the filly's dam Splashdown (GB) (Falbrav {Ire}) from her breeders Luca and Sara Cumani of Fittocks Stud last December for 145,000gns. Now 12, Splashdown was successful both on the track and in the paddocks for the Cumanis, winning the Listed Ballymacoll Stud S. in their colours and breeding, to date, three winners including G3 Solario S. winner Aktabantay (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) and the useful multiple scorer Baydar (GB) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}).

For Norris, the day wasn't just a success as a consignor, but also as a breeder in her own right when selling a Sea The Stars half-brother to the listed winner and G2 Norfolk S. runner-up Mind Of Madness (Ire) (Azamour {Ire}). Lot 593, a son of the winning Oasis Dream (GB) mare Sioduil (Ire), was purchased by Camas Park Stud for €290,000.

“We had a lovely update yesterday as the 2-year-old half-sister [Reticent Angel] won again. I bred this colt so obviously I'm delighted,” she said.

Hard Act To Follow
“It has been as hard as ever to buy the good ones but there were more falling through the cracks than in recent years,” was the assessment of Goffs group chief executive Henry Beeby as he drew breath between the close of the first section of the foal sale and the start of the mares' sale.

The daily clearance rate at Goffs has risen from 59% to 73% to a much more buoyant 84% on the closing day of Part 1, during which 161 of 191 foals offered found a buyer. This brought the overall clearance for the three days to 72%—markedly down on last year's 81% when the sale was headed by a €1.1 million weanling. Figures overall were ahead of the trade seen in 2016. The aggregate last year had leapt by 43% to €25,515,750, so this year's tally of €20,311,000 represented a 20% shortfall from that lofty figure. The average fell by 11% to €42,315 but the median saw a rise of 4% to €28,000. Wednesday's trade added exactly €12 million to the overall takings. This too was down by 20%, as was the final-day average of €74,534. The median was €52,000 (-12%).

Beeby continued, “Last year's Part 1 Foal Sale was always going to be a hard act to follow as it recorded big rises in each area and was headed by the rarity of a millionaire foal sale topper. So we have seen a sale that is still ahead of 2016 but it must be accepted that one of the key messages to be taken away from the sale has been the lower clearance rates, especially on day one. This mirrored the commercial yearling sales and, as we pointed out a few weeks ago, should be a clear indication that the market is increasingly polarised.”

He added, “So the good ones have sold very, very well with several extremely happy breeders, especially throughout today, and we are grateful to them all for their ongoing support as it is they who make the sale such a success each year along with the huge group of buyers that descended on Kildare Paddocks from Saturday morning. Indeed, we have rarely seen the place as packed and the barns were just so busy for the last five days to illustrate the ongoing hunger for the best-bred foals on the market, and following so many excellent pinhooking results from last year. The advance in the three-day median also shows that there has been more consistency in the top half of the sale where there was the most activity.

“We now turn our attention to two days of breeding stock and look forward to another day of foals on Saturday mindful of several great pinhooking stories from last year's Part 2 sale.”

A Merry Notion For Galileo
The younger stallions may have had their chances in the spotlight but come the most prestigious day of the Goffs November Sale it was the turn of Europe's heavy-hitting brothers to take a dominant role in proceedings.

A quartet of Coolmore-bred weanlings by the champion sire Galileo (Ire) sold nowhere near as well as their pedigrees suggested they should, but leading the pack was a three-quarter sister to the 2016 Derby winner Harzand (Ire) (Sea The Stars {GB}) (lot 709). The May-born filly was bought by Hugo Merry at €300,000.

“It was just a notion, really, but I've bought her for myself, Jane [Allison] and a friend of ours,” he said. “How often are you able to buy into a pedigree like this? Galileo is a very good broodmare sire and the mare does it every time.”

Jim Bolger, as noted for his breeding achievements as he is for his training exploits, not to mention his contribution to the early success of Galileo, bought lot 570 for €160,000. The first foal is a daughter of the unraced Replete (GB) (Makfi {GB}), herself out of the champion racemare Banks Hill (GB). With Juddmonte's late blue hen Hasili (GB) as her third dam, the young Galileo foal's pedigree is certainly replete with black-type.

Flash Conroy signed for lot 680, the Galileo half-brother to G2 Lowther S. winner Besharah (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) at €170,000, while the half-brother to rising young Australian stallion Zoustar (Aus) (Northern Meteor {Aus}) was led out unsold at €85,000.

Big Stars Come Out
With 17 weanlings catalogued, it was always likely that Galileo's half-brother Sea The Stars (Ire) would feature prominently as Part 1 of the foal sale swung into top gear and he was indeed represented by a run of high prices through the day.

As previously mentioned, Jacqueline Norris's colt was the most expensive of the stallion's offspring, and of the six to sell for six figures, there was also success for Oak Leaf Stud, run by Willie Pilkington, which sold lot 590 for €220,000 to Jamie Railton.

“It's hard to find a Sea The Stars filly with that sort of profile. I like the Distorted Humor mare, it all worked for me,” said the pinhooker.

Pilkington, who bred the filly from the unraced Shared Humor, a full-sister to the Group/Grade 3-winning duo of Slow Pace and Funny Duck, added, “It's what you dream of really, we're over the moon. You never really know what's going to happen but she made more than we expected. I have's stopped smiling since she left the ring.”

Gay O'Callaghan of Yeomanstown Stud also picked up a pricey duo of Sea The Stars colts, going to €260,000 for a son of the G2 Qatar Prix Daniel Wildenstein victrix Pollyanna (Ire) (Whipper) (557) from Stanley Lodge, and later buying lot 719, a colt out of the listed-placed Hot Sauce (Ire) (Peintre Celebre) for €195,000 from Highfort Stud.

Another colt for whom it would be fair to have Classic aspirations is Oaklawn Stud's Sea The Stars son of Stealth Missile (Ire) (603), an Invincible Spirit (Ire) half-sister to the G1 Darley Irish Oaks winner Covert Love (Ire) (Azamour {Ire}). He was knocked down to Brendan Holland's Grove Stud for €240,000.

Excitements Mounts For Muhaarar
Shadwell's Muhaarar (GB) was one of the most successful freshman sires at last year's foal sales and a member of his second crop (lot 730) became the most expensive colt foal sold at Goffs this year when eliciting a final bid of €320,000 from Stephen Collins, representing Shadwell's Irish operation at Derrinstown Stud.

The result was another feather in the cap of his breeders Sonia and Anthony Rogers of Airlie Stud who have tasted Group 1 glory on the track this season with Skitter Scatter (Scat Daddy) and bought the dam of the Muhaarar colt at this sale 12 years ago for €56,000. Now known as Kate The Great (GB) (Xaar {GB}), she was a winner at two herself and has bred five winners, including G3 Bengough S. winner Eastern Impact (Ire) (Bahamian Bounty {GB}) and Group 3 runner-up Miss Katie Mae (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}).

“He has the looks, the walk and the pedigree,” said Collins. “Obviously we have a lot of stock by the sire at Shadwell and next year is a really big year for him but we're really excited.”

Even at this early stage of his stud career, the Shadwell team on both sides of the Irish Sea could be forgiven for feeling further excitement in the case of young Derrinstown resident Awtaad (Ire), whose first foals have been given a notably warm reception this week.

Twenty-one of the 23 offered at Goffs have sold for an average price of €61,286, with a top price of €170,000 coming for a colt (544) bred by Des Leadon and Mariann Klay of Swordlestown Little. The half-brother to dual Hong Kong Group 3 winner Dinozzo (Ire) (Lilbourne Lad {Ire}) was bought by Shadwell, but a range of pinhookers have also been sweet on Awtaad's weanlings, including Mick Fitzpatrick, Charlie Vigors, Tally-Ho Stud, Mags O'Toole and Eddie O'Leary.

Angelic Trio
On the rostrum, he's Nick Nugent, but as breeders the Goffs auctioneer and his wife Alice are listed as Sir Nicholas and Lady Nugent and the couple struck sales-ring gold once again via their ultra dependable broodmare Noyelles (Ire) (Docksider). The 14-year-old's Dark Angel (Ire) filly, a sister to the prolific stakes winner Lily's Angel (Ire) and half-sister to listed victrix Zurigha (Ire) (Cape Cross {Ire}), brought the hammer down at €300,000, but thankfully for Nugent that hammer was in one of his colleague's hands as he watched from the sidelines.

John McCormack was the successful bidder on behalf of an unspecified owner who wishes to race the filly, and the youngster will eventually make a worthy inclusion to any broodmare band. The unraced Noyelles is herself a half-sister to three stakes winners, including In Clover (GB) (Inchinor {GB}), whose broodmare career has been enhanced season after season of late thanks to her Group 1-winning offspring We Are (Ire), With You (GB) and Call The Wind (GB), all of whom have raced for their breeder George Strawbridge.

Commenting on the attributes of lot 545, who will remain in Ireland, John McCormack said, “She's a lovely filly by a proven sire and from a proven mare. Dark Angel just goes from strength to strength. You can't cheat the market. When a stallion keeps moving up it's usually merited.

“This is a very deep, active family. The relations down the page are very appealing.”

Glacken View's Dark Angel half-brother to G3 Silver Flash S. winner Jack Naylor (GB) (Champs Elysees {GB}) (695) was another to make the leader board and sold for €250,000 to  Darley Japan's Harry Sweeney under the name Paca Paca Farm. Sweeney signed for seven foals during the three days for a total of €510,000.

Tom and Alexandra Whitehead of Powerstown Stud, who sell foals under their Altenbach Bloodstock banner, also enjoyed a good result via a Dark Angel weanling (lot 753) late in the session. The couple's homebred first foal out of the G2 Duchess Of Cambridge S. runner-up Magical Fire (Ire) (Dragon Pulse {Ire}), herself a half-sister to G2 German 1000 Guineas winner Hawksmoor (Ire) (Azamour {Ire}), sold to Jamie Railton for €220,000.

The first of two days of breeding stock sessions gets underway at Kildare Paddocks at 10am.