Orby

Blood, sweat and tears. That is what it took Michael Halford to turn Copper Beech Stables from a green field site into one of the most renowned racing yards in Ireland. One from which Group 1 and Royal Ascot winners were sent out and where the trainer managed the careers of over 100 steeds in his pomp.  Halford has trained more than 1,000 winners in his 41-year career, almost 500 of which were managed from Copper Beech during 16 full seasons there, but dwindling numbers during Covid and the separation...

The catalogue for Goffs Orby Book 1 is now available online and features some exceptionally-bred horses.  A total of 516 lots will be offered on October 1 and 2, while all yearlings at Orby Book 1 and Book 2 are eligible for the Goffs Two Million Series in 2025. Offering a guaranteed minimum prize fund of €2 million, the Two Million Series will be headed once again by Europe's Richest 2YO Race, the seven-furlong Goffs Million worth €1 million with prize-money to tenth place. In addition, the enhanced Goffs One...

The Castlebridge Consignment's Camelot (GB) colt out of Attire (Ire) (Danehill {Ire}) (lot 366) received an excellent update over the weekend when his 2-year-old full-brother Luxembourg (Ire) won the G2 Beresford S. at The Curragh for the Coolmore partners and Westerberg, and it was Coolmore principal MV Magnier who extended to €1.2-million to purchase the yearling at Goffs Orby on Wednesday.

KILDARE, Ireland--Galileo (Ire) may be gone but his influence will loom large for decades to come and, for the next few years, in the sale ring too. With a Galileo filly atop the leader board, bought for €1.5 million by MV Magnier, it felt like business as usual at the Orby Sale, back in its rightful home in Ireland after a Covid-induced move to England last year. It goes without saying that a yearling by Galileo will be out of a decent racemare or producer and lot 152 is the...

By now, the story is well known: after six consecutive years of healthy trade punctuated by six-figure averages and seven-figure leading lots, Goffs is on a recovery mission with its Orby Sale after it was dealt a massive blow in 2020 in the midst of the pandemic. With a 14-day mandatory quarantine steadfastly in place for any visitors to Ireland throughout last year's sale season, Goffs was forced to make some gut-wrenching decisions about its flagship sale that included relocating it to its Goffs UK headquarters in Doncaster. That disruption...

The Goffs Orby Sale will be staged at Kildare Paddocks in Ireland on its originally scheduled dates of Sept. 28 and 29, with Ireland having recently lifted quarantine requirements for most vaccinated visitors entering the country. The Goffs Sportsman's Sale, which had had a contingency plan of Nov. 1 and 2 at Kildare Paddocks, will immediately follow the Orby Sale on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1. Goffs Group Chief Executive Henry Beeby said, "We are delighted and hugely relieved that the Irish Government's latest announcements will allow the Irish National...

Following announcements earlier this week that Goffs would stage its Orby Yearling Sale at Park Paddocks on Sept. 24 to 26 and that the Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale would also be moved to Newmarket but moved up a week to accommodate Orby, Tattersalls moved to clarify the changes on Friday. In an email to clients, it was stated that should travel restrictions into Ireland be lifted "in the coming weeks", the Orby Sale will not take place at Park Paddocks and the Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale will move...

One year on from the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, each and every individual in the racing and bloodstock realms has been faced with decisions they never wanted to, or dreamed they would have to, make. Those sentiments certainly ring true for the board and management team at Goffs. Faced with enduring national lockdowns and quarantine measures far more strict than those experienced by its competitors and clientele across borders, the Irish auction house found itself constantly returning to the drawing board throughout 2020 and into 2021. A measure of...

Goffs will stage its Orby and Sportsman's Sales at its Goffs UK sales complex in Doncaster this year rather than at Kildare Paddocks in Ireland. The dates for the sales have also been slightly adjusted; the Sportsman's Sale has been moved a week earlier to Sept. 24 and 25, while the Orby Sale will take place slightly later than planned on Oct. 1 and 2 to allow buyers who wish to attend Books 1 and 2 of Keeneland September to self-isolate for two weeks before traveling to Doncaster. The location...