Powerhouse Owner Zhang Yuesheng Lands 700k Brother To Ghaiyyath At Goffs

Billed as the star attraction of the Goffs November Foal Sale, the brother to Ghaiyyath (Ire) did not disappoint when selling to powerhouse owner Zhang Yuesheng under the banner of Lucky Vega for €700,000.

Bred and consigned by legendary trainer Dermot Weld's farm Springbank Way Stud, the Dubawi (Ire) colt (lot 767) boasts one of the most coveted pedigrees in the book being a brother to champion older horse and exciting first-season sire Ghaiyyath. He is out of the trainer's own blue hen Nightime (Ire), reported to be happily in foal to Wootton Bassett (GB) at the age of 20. 

Much of the bidding was carried out online, with two buyers going head to head from the outset. Asked if the sales price was in or around what he expected to achieve, Weld commented afterwards, “I thought it was about what he would make. He is a smashing foal and it's been a wonderful family for us. I'm delighted for the farm. The mare is in foal to Wootton Bassett (GB). She's very healthy and very well.”

He added, “It's a wonderful family and a lot of work went into it. I'm very proud of the farm and for my son Mark and all the team, including the stud groom Mark Murphy. I think this is a very good colt, a lovely foal. He's a lovely individual and a great walker.”

Of course, it was at this sale in 2015 when Ghaiyyath was knocked down to John Ferguson on behalf of Godolphin for €1,100,000. He would go on to prove himself a world-class older horse for Charlie Appleby, winning four Group 1s including the Eclipse and the Juddmonte, and his yearlings and foals have proved to be very popular among buyers this year. Weld went on to reveal that he has a couple of Ghaiyyaths to look forward to next year. 

Weld said, “I have a couple of very nice Ghaiyyaths. Not only do we have the dam, but we also have the granddam, Caumshinaun (Ire) (Indian Ridge {Ire}), who naturally is retired. She's a matron and we're very proud to have her.”

Of the 202 foals offered on Wednesday, 172 were sold at a clearance rate of 85%. The aggregate stood at €12,360,500, which represented a 19% drop on last year's figures. The average also fell by 19% to €71,864 while the median dipped 10% to €52,000.

🚨 €700,000 for the own brother to Ghaiyyath @Goffs1866

This colt by Dubawi was consigned by Springbank Way Stud and has been bought by Lucky Vega (@YulongInvest) who were bidding online.

This is the top lot of the November Foal Sale. pic.twitter.com/HK2XHD0mcv

— TDN (@theTDN) November 22, 2023

'Out Of This World' – Breeders Langan And Hickey Reach For The Stars

Jer Hickey and Aaron Langan | Goffs

Breeders Aaron Langan and Jer Hickey, who sold lot 655, a Sea The Stars (Ire) colt to Peter and Ross Doyle, were left flabbergasted by the €310,000 payout. 

The pair purchased the dam Celeste De La Mer (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}), a half-sister to Mojo Star (Ire) (Sea The Stars), Portage (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}) and Cape Magic (Ire) (Cape Cross {Ire}), for just €19,000 at Goffs in 2017 and the pedigree has just gotten better and better ever since. 

Not least with the emergence of Mojo Star, who the Doyles also purchased as a yearling on behalf of Amo Racing and trainer Richard Hannon, but she has also produced a black-type performer in her own right in the shape of the Joseph O'Brien-trained Maritime Wings (Ire) (Gleneagles {Ire}). 

Langan said after the sale, “We're on cloud nine and we have been since we started showing him. To make that sort of money, it's out of this world. Can't believe it.

“The one thing about the progeny of Sea The Stars, their temperament is very good and he's got that from his father. That probably helped a lot.”

He added, “We'll be going around Ireland and England following him in a couple of years if he's good. Part of breeding these foals is the huge kick you get when you see them running. It's like Christmas Day when you see them making it to the track because so much can go wrong in the meantime. To have a horse like this to go forward for the mare is just brilliant.”

The colt was sold under the banner of Carrick Hill Stud, owned by Mark Lawless, and Hickey was keen to acknowledge the abundance of help the breeders have benefited from before netting their major payday with the Sea The Stars colt. 

Hickey said, “We bought the mare here at Goffs and have just been very lucky. A lot of people have given us a lot of help along the way, too. A neighbour of ours, Christy Swords, gave us the use of a stable in the field. Christy passed away this year. Another friend of ours, Mark Lawless, who actually owns Carrick Hill, has been a huge help to us over the years. We're blessed with all the help we've got.”

The Sea The Stars colt came in for high praise by Ross Doyle, who bought him on behalf of an existing client who not only races, but reoffers horses at the yearling markets. 

Doyle said, “An outstanding individual by one of the best sires we have seen for a long time. The dam has also done the job as well. She has produced two black-type horses–one on the Flat and one over hurdles, which is obviously a good sign of toughness in the family. The pedigree goes back to Mojo Star, who we bought as a yearling. I thought he was a standout, very unique and a good mover. 

“He'd a wonderful temperament every time I went down to see him. I haven't seen a foal fill the box like he did for a long time. He has a great presence and took my eye every time I went to see him. He showed great every time.”

⭐️ €310,000 for lot 655 @Goffs1866

This colt by Sea The Stars was consigned by Carrick Hill Stud and has been bought by @Doyle_Racing. pic.twitter.com/k0ep2tKg7K

— TDN (@theTDN) November 22, 2023

Emotional Success For Smullen Family With 250k Blue Point Colt 

One of the stories of the entire sale came when Frances Crowley, wife of the much missed nine-time Irish champion jockey Pat Smullen, recorded a memorable result when the family's Brickfield Stud homebred colt by Blue Point was knocked down to Godolphin for €250,000. 

Crowley had sourced the dam, La Rosetta (GB) (New Approach {Ire}), from Godolphin for just 40,000gns through bloodstock agent Ted Durcan at the Tattersalls December Mares Sale in 2021. 

Less than two years later, things turned full circle when the powerhouse owners snapped up the Ringford Stud-consigned colt (lot 726) by their very own stallion for one of the highest prices recorded at Goffs on the day. 

Wham Bam, Thank You Tham! 

Hanshen Tham | Goffs

Hanshen Tham continues his love affair with Night Of Thunder (Ire) at Goffs on Wednesday by snapping up a colt by the sire for €200,000. 

The popular breeder and pinhooker, who netted himself a cool 500,000gns with a homebred Night Of Thunder filly at Book 1 this year, revealed the colt (lot 574) will be offered for resale. 

Tham said, “He's a proper Book 1 type and will go back to Baroda Stud [who consigned his Night Of Thunder filly back in October].”

'We're Having Amnesia About How Hard It Was To Sell Yearlings This Year!' 

The Gleeson brothers: broke new ground on Wednesday | Goffs

Brothers Michael and Laurence Gleeson of Aughamore Stud have rightly earned a reputation as being one of the shrewdest pinhookers in the business and the pair broke new ground on Wednesday by shelling out €200,000 for a Lope De Vega (Ire) filly who was consigned by Alice Kavanagh.

That made lot 563 the most expensive pinhooking project the Gleeson brothers have ever undertaken and brought the total Aughamore Stud spend at Goffs this week to €287,000 on three foals. 

Laurence Gleeson said, “It's the most money we've ever spent on a foal but the way we viewed it was, the market was a small bit dicey this year and, with what may come next year, well-bred fillies by proven stallions should hold their value. Yes, we were paying a bit more to be playing at the top end of the market, but that's our thinking behind it. Look, she is just a beautiful filly. We looked at her three or four times and it was the same show every time. She's a hell of a first foal.”

Remarkably, this is the first year that the Gleeson brothers didn't encounter altogether smooth waters, with some of their pinhooks failing to make a profit. Nevertheless, Gleeson explained that, in this game, you need to be able to take the rough with the smooth. Either that, or you have to suffer from amnesia!

🥰 “Good boy, my good friend.” The team at Stanley Lodge were happy with their Lope De Vega colt selling for €260,000 @Goffs1866.

A full brother to G3 winner Max Vega this foal has been bought by @camaspark. pic.twitter.com/j5BLTIn9qQ

— TDN (@theTDN) November 22, 2023

He explained, “It's been going so well for six or seven years now and we barely lost on any pinhook up until this year. We had a little bit of a hiccup this year. It's just fine margins. That's the difference between making eighty grand or one-hundred-and-eighty grand. 

“We were keen to buy the horses we liked this week. Whether that's at two hundred or less, I mean, we bought a lovely Kodi Bear (Ire) colt earlier in the day for small money [€22,000] and he'll be an ideal Donny type.”

Gleeson added, “It's funny, us pinhookers, we're a strange bunch as we're having amnesia about how hard it was to sell yearlings this year! And now everyone is going hard again. It's extremely strong in there, especially for the nice ones.”

The Lope De Vega filly in question is the first foal out of Quiet Times (Ger) (Reliable Man {GB}), a listed winner in France. The sale formed part of a strong session for the Ballylinch Stud-based sire with seven foals by Lope De Vega selling for €1,043,000. They included a Stanley Lodge-drafted colt (lot 539) who was knocked down to Camas Park Stud for €260,000 and a filly (lot 593) who fetched the same to Dan Hayden from Donnellys Well.

👍🏻 How it started ➡️ How it went

The Lope de Vega filly we photographed earlier this week has just sold for €260,000 @Goffs1866.

Consigned by John Fielding's Donnellys Well she has been bought by Dan Hayden. pic.twitter.com/LdClJ1KWCe

— TDN (@theTDN) November 22, 2023

'Eddie O'Leary Said He Was The Best Colt He Saw All Week'

Popular bloodstock agent Peter Kelly might only have four mares but 7,000gns purchase Wild Mix (GB) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}) has already proved herself a valuable commodity being the dam of Caught U Looking (Ire) (Harzand {Ire}). 

The Kelly family still own half of the Group 3-winning juvenile, who is in training with Noel Meade, and it was the Classic contender's half-brother by Supremacy (Ire) who caught the imagination on Wednesday when snapped up by Yeomanstown Stud for €180,000.

Kelly commented of lot 620, “He is a belter. A lovely horse who couldn't be faulted–he'd 14 vets. Eddie O'Leary said he was the nicest colt he'd seen all week. Of course, there is a cap on what a horse by a first-season sire can make. I went to Supremacy because Gay [O'Callaghan of Yeomanstown] does a lot of business with me. 

“Anyway, Yeomanstown don't come up with a bad horse too often and they back them all themselves. It's the same with Tony [O'Callaghan of Tally-Ho Stud], they don't buy what they wouldn't use themselves.”

Caught U Looking emerged as one of Meade's stable stars on the Flat this season when building on a brilliant Leopardstown maiden win to land the G3 Weld Park S. at the Curragh.

While she proved no match for Ylang Ylang (GB) (Frankel {GB}) in the G1 Fillies' Mile at Newmarket on her final start of the season, she remains an interesting candidate with a view towards the domestic fillies' Classics, and Kelly is enjoying the ride. 

He said, “Caught U Looking provided the mare with a good update and the family still own half of her with Tony. The Inns Of Court is with Johnny Murtagh and the mare is in foal to Cotai Glory (GB). She's a lovely mare. We've only four mares and my family own this mare. There have been offers for the mare but we've turned them down.”

On the foal market at Goffs, he added, “If you're making the list you're doing well but there's a lot of expensive stud fees in there now as well. Remember, there's a lot of horses making six figures, but what are the stud fees? A lot of them don't make it.”