A colt foal by Walk In The Park (Ire) (lot 7) and a Nathaniel (Ire) filly (lot 38) each brought a sale-topping price of £70,000 during Friday's Goffs British NH Breeders' Showcase.
The former, consigned by Swanbridge Bloodstock, Ltd., was sold to Gerry Aherne and is a grandson of Grade 1 hurdle winner Quevega (Fr) (Robin Des Champs {Fr}). His dam is a half-sister to Weatherbys Champion Bumper hero Facile Vega (Ire) (Walk In The Park {Ire}).
Aherne, a key member of the Coolmore team, said, “He's a beautiful horse with a great pedigree. He's a very slick horse who'll be kept to race, so let's hope he's good. He's been bred and sold by some great people and he'll come back to Ireland now.”
Another return customer was the Mariga family of Coolmara Stables in County Cork. Last year they purchased a pair of lots for £109,000. Cathal Mariga, who was joined by his father Kieran and sister Katie, returned to pay £70,000 and secure lot 38, a filly by Nathaniel. Presented by Mill House Stud on behalf of breeder Joss Hanbury, the filly is the third foal out of Atlanta Ablaze (GB) (Kayf Tara {GB}) who won three listed races over fences. This filly also claimed first in the Robert Chugg Fillies' Class during Thursday's British NH Breeders Showcase foal show.
Mariga said, “She's a gorgeous filly. She was the pick of the sale for us, and by the sounds of it she was the pick for a lot of other people as well. She's by Nathaniel and out of a good Kayf Tara mare, and there's plenty to happen in the pedigree too. The mare has two sons of Jack Hobbs to run and he's a sire we like. Hopefully those two can do the business and improve the pedigree even more.”
Of the 79 horses offered this year, 48 sold (61%) for an aggregate of £929,500 (-27%). The average stayed fairly steady at £19,365 (-1%) and the median of £15,000 was flat.
Goffs UK managing director Tim Kent said, “Today's sale is still in its infancy, with the first edition of the British NH Breeders Showcase held just last year, and we would like to thank the vendors who trusted us with some of their best foals by the leading stallions and many out of some truly outstanding race mares. The feedback has been incredibly positive since the release of the catalogue and there was plenty of hype in advance of the sale including the excitement of offering the second foal out of the Grade 1 winning mare Put The Kettle On (Ire) (Stowaway {GB}).
“The strength of the catalogue prompted many of the leading buyers to travel to Doncaster and the yards have been busy throughout the day. This resulted in the top of the market remaining incredibly strong with many different purchasers active for the choice lots. Indeed, two foals selling for £70,000 and another for £62,000 are immensely satisfying results whilst the average and median for today are on a par with last year, but it wasn't all plain sailing and today's clearance rate is a graphic illustration of the increased selectivity within this market.
“It is too early to draw any firm conclusions, and we will watch with interest over the coming months before working with vendors to paint an accurate picture about the events of today and how best to navigate the challenges going forward.”
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