THE talented Military Angel stole the show on the concluding session of the Goffs February Sale when selling for €210,000 to eclipse marginally the earlier €200,000 sale of Edith Wharton.
The largest February Sale catalogue since 2008 concluded with a session devoted to fillies and mares and the day produced much the best trade of the week although the overall figures for the February Sale couldn’t match those from 2016.
At its conclusion, the February Sale posted an aggregate of just over €5.1 million, which represented an 18 point-gain for the enlarged catalogue. The average of €13,026 finished down by 13% and the €5,500 median dropped by 31 points. Meanwhile, the clearance rate came in at 64%, a drop of just two points on last year.
The Milltown Stud-consigned Military Angel, who was one of the last lots into the ring on Thursday evening, was bought by Hugo Merry after he outlasted Jimmy Hyland for the former Group 3 and listed-placed daughter of Big Brown.
“She’s been bought for a long standing French client of Marc-Antoine Berghgracht’s who owned a relation to this filly and he was keen to get back into the family,” reported Merry. “She’s a talented racemare and a very good looking daughter of a Kentucky Derby winner from an excellent family, while her dam was a tremendously quick daughter of Darshaan.”
Earlier, Edith Wharton made €200,000 to head the opening instalment of the complete dispersal of Ballymacoll Stud. As a daughter of Dubawi and the brilliant Islington, whose career was headlined by a Breeders' Cup success, this Jockey Hall Stud offering attracted the notable attentions of Peter Brant’s White Birch Farm.
At the Goffs Orby and November Sales, Brant was relentless in his pursuit of the blue-blooded stock from the Wildenstein Dispersal and, acting through Andy Smith, the American was able to buy into another of Europe’s most distinguished families when the price hit €200,000 for this three-year-old. Smith indicated that Edith Wharton could now be sent to France to visit Siyouni.
The popular Godolphin draft supplied a host of the day’s highest priced lots and two of these made €90,000. The first to come the under the hammer was the German listed winner Sarinda who was sold carrying to Dawn Approach. Rabbah Bloodstock, acting through Jeremy MacTaggart, bought the daughter of Dubawi. As the sale neared its conclusion, John Walsh matched this price for Expressly, a winning Street Cry half-sister to the top-class Rio De La Plata. She was bought to go to America.
Godolphin also consigned the stakes-placed runner Permission Slip and the daughter of the Authorized, who came under the hammer carrying to Night Of Thunder, was snapped by agent Cormac McCormack for €80,000. Permission Slip is related to the brilliant two-year-old Bint Allayl.
Another Godolphin offering was Rockadelic and the unraced daughter of Bernardini and the top-class American runner Octave went to Baroda and Colbinstown Studs for €75,000.
This price was closely matched by a busy Eamonn Reilly when he gave €72,000 for the useful three-time winner Rythmic who hails from the family of Urban Sea. Reilly also spent €64,000 on Jockey Hall Stud’s Catchphrase. This daughter of the Irish Oaks second Miss Jean Brodie was showing a fine return on the 11,000gns she cost at Newmarket just over two months ago.
“They’ve both been bought on behalf of Maurice Regan to visit Fascinating Rock. Since he’s retired to stud, Fascinating Rock has been very well received, he’s getting a lot of support and Maurice will be supporting him all the way through,” reported Reilly.
Earlier, English agent Matt Coleman gave €80,000 for Jockey Hall Stud’s La Reveuse who is a placed daughter of Galileo from a successful French family.
“She’s been bought for an Irish breeder and she’ll be covered commercially,” reported Coleman. “Anthony (Stroud) looks after Ballymore Thoroughbreds, who owned this mare, and he told me that this is a very good looking family and that the Teofilo two-year-old and the Sea The Stars yearling out of Louve Rare are very nice types.
"If this mare produces progeny as good looking as herself she should do very well and she’s by Galileo which is a major positive.”
READ RYAN McELLIGOTT'S MARKET COMMENT IN THE IRISH FIELD THIS WEEKEND
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Entire Sale
YEAR CAT OFF SOLD AGG AV Med
2017 750 619 395 €5,145,100 €13,026 €5,500
2016 538 440 291 €4,361,750 €14,989 €8,000
2015 479 409 330 €5,350,500 €16,214 €10,000
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Day 3
YEAR CAT OFF SOLD AGG AV Med
2017 256 216 152 €2,843,900 €18,710 €8,500