A €90,000 daughter of Dandy Man held sway at Part I of the Goffs Sportsman’s Sale, which ended this evening with a set of results that were unable to keep pace with the returns from the corresponding day last year.

From a larger catalogue, Part I of the sale produced an aggregate of just over €4.6m which represented a 6% decrease. The average of €19,568 finished 19 points down on last year while the €15,000 median represented a drop of 17%. The clearance rate for the day came in at 81%, but the expanded catalogue for this year’s Sportsman’s again illustrated that the supply to the market place is stretching demand too thinly.

The session-topping daughter of Dandy Man, who registered his highest-priced yearling to date (€220,000) during the Orby, was bought by Joe Foley for Steve Parkin’s Clipper Logistics. The filly was offered by her breeder Mary Davison, and she is the first foal out of a daughter of the American Grade 3 winner and Grade 1-placed Rosinka.

“She’s a really lovely filly, coming from an excellent breeder and a really good example of what her sire produces,” declared Foley. “I’ve bought her for Clipper Logistics and she’ll came back to Ballyhane to be pre-trained by Jane (Foley’s wife) before Steve (Parkin) decides where she will go into training,” stated Foley.

The early exchanges supplied one of the stars of the day, a Zoffany colt who fell to Hanshen Thom, acting for agent Justin Bahen, for €80,000. The Wardstown Stud-consigned colt is out of an unraced half-sister to the Poule d'Essai des Pouliches (French 1000 Guineas) third Rahiyah. Bahen also made his presence felt during the Orby Sale when his purchases included a €375,000 son of Sea The Stars.

“We felt that he was the standout horse here today,” reported Thom. “We bid on quite a few horses during the Orby but didn’t get them so we are delighted to get this colt. He’s been bought for a group of English owners but he will remain in Ireland to go into training with James Nash.”

Zoffany was also well represented by a filly from Church View Stables, who went to Ross Doyle for €72,000. The €22,000 foal purchase is the second produce out of a winning two-year-old.

“She’s a very nice and we’ve already been very lucky with the stallion. She’s also out of a Teofilo mare who won at two and the pedigree works back to Galileo on the dam’s side, which is another positive. She will be going to Richard Hannon,” commented Doyle.

Another Doyle purchase came when the agent spent €60,000 on a son of Showcasing consigned by Baroda & Colbinstown Studs. He too will be joining Richard Hannon.

“Richard trained his dam and thought that she was very smart but, unfortunately, she fractured her pelvis before she could realise her potential,” reported Doyle.

Bobby O’Ryan’s biggest purchase of the day came when he spent €65,000 on a son of Foxwedge, whose first crop of runners have made a positive impression on the track this year. The 6,500gns foal purchase, whose dam won at two, was bought to join trainer Keith Dalgleish.

Aidan O’Ryan also reached the €65,000 mark when he snapped up a Dandy Man colt, from Ballyhane, who will join Gordon Elliott’s juvenile string for 2017. The colt is a half-brother to four winners.

Trainer Joe Murphy weighed in with a €60,000 purchase when he secured a son of Fast Company from the Irish National Stud. The colt enjoyed a good recent update to his pedigree when his elder half-sister, Sea Coast, registered a stakes race success in America.

A career in the U.K. beckons for a son of Power, from Churchtown House Stud, who cost Salcey Forest Stud’s Daniel Creighton €60,000. The colt has the listed scorer Field Day amongst his siblings.

“He’s a nice, powerful colt and he looks racy too. The siblings are all quite highly-rated, which is encouraging, and he’ll be going into training in the U.K,” stated Creighton.

As the day drew to a close, a colt from the first crop of Lethal Force showed a fine return on the 7,500gns he cost as a foal when selling to Church Farm for €55,000. A date at the breeze-up sales beckons for the Ballincurrig House Stud offering.

---

Sportsman’s Sale

YEAR CAT OFF SOLD AGG AV Med

2015 244 225 203 4,892,700 24,102 18,000

2016 309 293 236 4,618,000 19,568 15,000