Oaks Sprouts From Orby Roots

A Classic victory is just the kind of endorsement every sales company hopes for ahead of the yearling sales season. When that firm just happens to be offering that Classic winner's full-sibling at its flagship sale, well, the marketing campaigns nearly write themselves.

That's exactly what happened for Goffs on June 1 when Forever Together (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) posted an emphatic score in the G1 Investec Oaks. Eight weeks later, Goffs announced that it would offer her full-sister at its Orby yearling sale, which takes place in Kildare on Oct. 2 and 3.

The placement of the latest yearling out of the blue hen producer Green Room (Theatrical {Ire}) by her breeders Vimal and Gillian Khosla at Orby wouldn't likely have been a complete surprise to many; three of the mare's four yearlings to be offered at public auction in Europe have gone through the Orby ring. At €900,000, Forever Together was the highest-priced filly at Orby two years ago when bought by MV Magnier. Her full-sister, the G1 Fillies' Mile winner Together Forever (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), had cost Magnier €680,000 in 2013. The Sea The Stars (Ire) filly Signe (Ire) had cost Amanda Skiffington €1.1 million on behalf of Fiona and Ian Carmichael-Jennings in 2015.

The fact that Green Room is responsible for a third Group 1 winner-the Prix Jean Prat winner and sire Lord Shanakill (Speightstown)-makes the page all that more appealing. Like Together Forever and Signe, this year's Galileo filly out of Green Room will be offered by Ballylinch Stud, as lot 318.

“It is vital to us that people such as the Khoslas, who are one breeder, have happily done well with us in the past with this very good pedigree and have given their confidence and placed their trust in us again by sending us this beautiful filly,” said Goffs Group Chief Executive Henry Beeby. “And trust me, she's a beautiful filly.”

While the Green Room filly is expected to be the star attraction on day two, day one will have a headliner in its own right in another Galileo full-sister to a Group 1 winner: Glenvale Stud's sister to the triple Group 1 winner Alice Springs (Ire) (lot 165). The dam, Aleagueoftheirown (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}), has also left the stakes-placed Criteria (Ire), Kingston Jamaica (Ire) and Crocodile Rock (Ire), all by Galileo. Alice Springs was herself a 550,000gns yearling, and her 3-year-old full-sister Hence (Ire), the most recent progeny of the mare to be offered for sale in 2016, set an even higher precedent at 2.1 million gns.     Beeby was quick to assure that the physical of each of the Galileo fillies matches up to the pages.

“The own-sisters to Forever Together and Alice Springs, I'd stand behind all day long against any horse, anywhere, being offered this year,” he said. “They are two outstanding yearlings on paper and two Grade 'A' yearlings in terms of physical attributes.”

Just as a sale catalogue isn't about just two horses, neither is a sale's impact measured by one graduate alone. Forever Together's Oaks tour-de-force has been supported this year for the Orby sale by wins by standout juveniles Land Force (Ire) (No Nay Never) and Angel's Hideaway (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) in the G2 Qatar Richmond S. and G3 Princess Margaret Keeneland S., respectively. Land Force was plucked out of the Orby ring last year by MV Magnier and Mayfair Speculators for €350,000, while Angel's Hideaway cost Cheveley Park Stud €390,000. Way up at the top of the leaderboard at that same sale at €1.6 million was Zayat Stables and the Coolmore partners' Old Glory (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), who provided the sale another timely boost last week when breaking his maiden at first-asking in a 'TDN Rising Star' performance.

Last year's Orby sale saw 373 youngsters-from 468 catalogued and 433 offered-change hands for an average of €109,122 and a median of €65,000.

Both of those figures were down just a shade, but when considering the 2016 renewal of the auction had featured yearlings from the coveted Wildenstein dispersal, the numbers hold up well. Furthermore, the clearance rate improved to 86% from 84%.

The talking point upon conclusion of this year's breeze-up season was the over-saturation of the market and the impact that would have on the yearling market as the breeze-up consignors re-evaluate their strategies. Beeby pointed out that Orby is the only major yearling sale to have reduced its numbers-and fairly significantly-this year. Four-hundred eighteen yearlings are in the book this year, down from 468 last year.

“What we felt last year was that, we have a two-day sale that we promote as a world-class sale with pedigrees to match any catalogue in the world, and maybe there were just a few that fell short of that aspiration last year,” Beeby explained. “So we decided we'd set ourselves very stringent targets this year. We ignored the numbers we were accumulating and just said to ourselves, 'go and find the best horses you can find, the horses we can promote as world-class horses.' So we ended up with 418. It's not a round figure, it's significantly less than last year, but it's what we set out to do. We believe we can stand behind every single horse in the catalogue and we provided alternative sales to horses that last year may have got into the Orby. We have the Premier and Silver Sales across at Doncaster and we have the Sportsmans Sale here at Goffs. We tried to, and hope we have, set a very high standard.”

“When we were on the farms talking to the breeders and consignors they very much agreed with that. A certain standard is required. The Orby is a select sale both on pedigree and on the physicals and we are therefore hopeful we've got the balance correct.”

Beeby is mindful of the fact that reverberations from the tricky breeze-up market could be seen at the yearling sales.

“In the middle market in particular, that could have an effect,” he said. “On the one hand, the breeze-up boys are a remarkably resilient bunch of people and I take my hat off to them every year. By the same token, it was a tough breeze-up market this year, everywhere. It has to make them at least review their approach and their spend.”

“The foal crop growing is also a concern,” he added. “For the Orby sale, that's probably one of the reasons we've tightened it up and zoned in on our quality. It seems to be black and white and very little grey. It's either yes or no and very few maybes. Zoning in on quality will hopefully have the desired effect.”

While the state of the market won't be known until the evening of Oct. 3, what is known now is that Orby shoppers won't be short of quality to sift through. Galileo and his heir apparent Frankel have 11 and 5, respectively, catalogued, and they of course carry the quality that befits both this sale and their sires' respective accomplishments. In addition to the aforementioned fillies, Galileo has lot 397, the second foal out of the dual Group 3 winner Maureen (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}), whose first produce, Mary Somerville (GB) (Galileo {Ire}), was second on debut earlier this week; lot 61, a half-brother to G1 Middle Park S. winner Astaire (Ire) (Intense Focus); and lot 43, the second foal out of dual graded winner Quiet Oasis (Ire) (Oasis Dream {GB}).

Frankel's haul includes lot 2, a half-sister to the dual Group 1-winning sprinter Kingsgate Native (Ire) (Mujadil). The upwardly mobile Mastercraftsman (Ire) has eight representing him, including a daughter of the stakes-winning and producing Arosa (Ire) (Sadler's Wells) (lot 179). Galileo's half-brother Sea The Stars (Ire) matches his half-brother Galileo's haul with 11, including lot 388, a half-sister to the dam of Invincible Army (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) and two other stakes producers.

Irish National Stud flagbearer Invincible Spirit (Ire) has 10 catalogued, and those include a full-brother to Cable Bay (Ire) (lot 57) and a half-brother to Group 1 winner Erupt (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) and stakes winner Marie de Medici (Medicean {GB}) (lot 393).

Given his start at stud this year, it is likely the No Nay Nevers will fly off the shelf, and his 21 include a half-sister to Italian Group 1 winner Ventura Storm (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) (lot 69). Buyers also have the chance to get their hands on the second crops of the likes of Kingman (GB) and Australia (GB), and the latter's bunch includes a three-quarter sister to Grade I winner Photo Call (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and a half to Land Force (Ire) (No Nay Never) (lot 127). First-crop sires include champions Muhaarar (GB), who has a half-brother to Group 1-winning sprinter Signs Of Blessing (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) (lot 109); Gleneagles (Ire), with a half-sister to stakes winners Esentepe (Ire) (Oratorio {Ire}) and Mythical Magic (Ire) (Iffraaj {GB}) (lot 418); and Golden Horn (GB), who has a half-sister to G2 Royal Lodge S. winner Steeler (Ire) (Raven's Pass) and three other stakes horses (lot 262).

The ever-popular Dark Angel (Ire) has 18 catalogued, including a half-brother to G1 Dewhurst S. winner Intense Focus (Giant's Causeway) and to the dam of Skitter Scatter (Scat Daddy) (lot 254), while Kodiac's 15 include a full-sister to the G2 Flying Childers S. winner Ardad (Ire) (lot 315). Another proven sire with a handful of strong lots on pedigree is Zoffany, with lot 42, a half-brother to this year's G1 Irish Derby winner Latrobe (Ire) (Camelot {GB}); and lot 46, a half-brother to Oaks winner Dancing Rain (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}) and to the dam of champion Maybe (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), also the dam of Saxon Warrior (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}). A full-sister to a Group 1 winner will still be available towards the end of the sale in the form of lot 398, a sister to G1 Racing Post Trophy victor Marcel (Ire) (Lawman {Fr}).

“I do think we're getting a bigger share of the best horses in Ireland coming to the Orby sale,” Beeby said. The work is never done, we'll never be complete on that and a whole load of other things, but I would say we provide the best service we can. We think it's a very good hands-on service provided by a very passionate and knowledgeable team. When Forever Together won or when Land Force, Angel's Hideaway or Old Glory won, we were shouting as loudly as anybody because it matters to us. We take enormous pride in the work we do.”

The Goffs Orby Sale takes place at Park Paddocks in Kildare on Oct. 2 and 3. The one-day Sportsmans Sale follows on Oct. 4.