Lot 24 (g) Califet – Touched By Angels
Vendor: Ballincurrig House Stud
Purchaser: Gerry Hogan Bloodstock
Price: €65,000
This gelding showed a good return on the €13,000 he cost as a yearling when selling to Gerry Hogan.
This is a family that Hogan is already quite familiar with as this lot is out of a half-sister to the Grade 1 winner Morning Assembly, who Hogan picked up for a mere €15,000 as a three-year-old.
Furthermore, his Irish-based sire Califet has enjoyed notable success both in his native France and also in these parts with his representatives including horses the calibre of Cilaos Emery and Clarcam.
Lot 48 (f) Getaway – Wild Spell
Vendor: Mount Brown Farm
Purchaser: Gerry Hogan Bloodstock
Price: €50,000
This filly’s third visit to the sales ring was by far her most successful. After fetching €4,000 as a foal and then €10,500 as a yearling, she was a much hotter commodity this time.
Her sire’s exploits coupled with an attractive family that includes the likes of Oscar Whisky made her an appealing prospect.
She is an own-sister to the highly promising pointer Sporting John who sold for £160,000 after his winning debut at Borris House in early March.
Lot 93 (f) Kayf Tara – Brookville
Vendor: Brown Island Stables
Purchaser: Margaret O’Toole
Price: €82,000
This granddaughter of Sadler’s Wells emerged as the second highest priced filly at this year’s sale when selling to leading agent Margaret O’Toole, and she provided her connections with a tremendous dividend as she was picked up for a mere £6,000 at Doncaster in January 2017.
The half-sister to a winning point-to-pointer is closely related to a classy mare in Rons Dream and the dam is an own-sister to a talented chaser in Fistral Beach.
Lot 108 (g) Well Chosen – Clooney Eile
Vendor: Mount Brown Farm
Purchaser: Ballymaglassan Stud
Price: €80,000
The 2018/19 National Hunt season was a particularly successful one for the talented sire Well Chosen whose representatives on the track included the likes of Chosen Mate, Carefully Selected, Jury Duty and a number of smart bumper winners.
All this made the only son of the sire on offer through Part 1 of the sale a prized commodity and he showed an excellent return on the €16,500 he cost in this ring as a foal.
This gelding is out of a half-sister to Willie Mullins’ Ebor Handicap heroine Sesenta and this is also the family of the top-class juvenile hurdler Strangely Brown.
Lot 188 (g) Leading Light – Liss Ui Riain
Vendor: Glen Stables
Purchaser: M.V. Magnier
Price: €70,000
A top-class stayer and a St Leger winner of rare quality, Leading Light is being represented by his first crop of three-year-olds at this year’s round of store sales and this gelding became his standout offering this week when selling to M.V. Magnier.
He is the first produce of a placed Definite Article mare from a fine jumping family that has produced the likes of Liss A Paoraigh and the top-class novice hurdler Next Destination.
“I would say that’s it’s probably the best collection of horses that I’ve seen for this sale. There’s a lovely, balanced bunch of horses to suit all levels of the market and I think that has been reflected in the level of trade that we’ve seen throughout the two days” – Margaret O’Toole.
“The middle market is very solid and any time you’ve got a good middle market it makes for a good sale. People are finding it hard to buy in that €40,000 to €60,000 bracket which is a good sign. I think trade has held up very well this week” – Norman Williamson.
“We’ve found it extremely hard to buy which is the sign of a good sale. The sale is a great credit to Goffs and the vendors in terms of the quality that’s here and I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many English people here. We bought a very good horse, Reserve Tank, out of here a couple of years ago and the results of this sale on the track are there for all to see” – Ross Doyle.
“We’ve tried hard on a lot of horses and it’s been very difficult to buy what you want. There’s been an amazing depth of buyers and there’s three men there to buy every nice horse that came into the ring. From start to finish it’s been good” – Aiden Murphy.