FOLLOWING a somewhat shaky yearling sales season, there were genuine concerns that this week’s Goffs November Foal Sale would be a tough marketplace for breeders.
But any fears that pinhookers had run out of money proved completely unfounded as demand stayed strong over the four days, ending with a clearance rate of 82%, up from 77% last year.
And while the median price fell back slightly from €28,000 to €26,000, total spending was up 5% at over €34 million.
Wednesday’s session, devoted to the best blacktype stock, was particularly robust, even if it did not quite match the record levels set last year.
A total of 70 foals sold for €100,000 or more on day three, six more than the number who achieved that figure in 2024. The clearance rate on Wednesday was over 90% and it was noticeable that many of the top lots were bought by end-users rather than traders.
Stauffenberg strikes
Touted as a likely candidate for top spot when the catalogue was published, Mount Coote Stud’s New Bay filly delivered, selling to Stauffenberg Bloodstock’s winning bid of €650,000 on Wednesday.
A daughter of the Teofilo mare Livia’s Dream, a listed winner, the filly is a half-sister to the Group 1 Prix d’Ispahan and Prix du Moulin de Longchamp heroine Dreamloper. That daughter of Lope De Vega raced, as Livia’s Dream did, for Olivia Hoare, and sold for $2.7 million to Katsumi Yoshida three years ago.
Additionally, the New Bay foal is a half-sister to four other winners, the best of them being this year’s Group 2 Park Hill Stakes heroine and Group 1 Prix de Royallieu second, Tony Bloom’s Santorini Star, a daughter of Golden Horn.
A beaming Lillingston spoke in the aftermath of the sale: “It’s been an amazing day, it really has. We came here with big hopes because this was a really special filly. There aren’t many with this sort of pedigree available in the marketplace, certainly at foal sales, but the filly has done her stuff and she has shown beautifully. Needless to say, there was a lot of interest in her and you’ve got to take your hat off, all your hats off, to Philipp Stauffenberg.
“He is the bravest of the brave because he’s stretched right out to buy her. It is always reassuring to buy something with a lot of residual value, but we’re proud of her. She went well over the reserve, and the reserve I thought was sensible and solid, and not in any way silly. You just hope for the best and we’re very happy with the result.
“There is no sale on earth like the Goffs November Foal Sale. From the bottom up, the enthusiasm for buying foals is quite extraordinary. You don’t see that number of people in Kentucky or England. If the enthusiasm for buying foals could be translated into the wider business, we would have a really successful sport.”
”Vibrant atmosphere”
Goffs CEO Henry Beeby repeated Lillingston’s line when summing up the week;’s trade.
“It’s a sentiment that we certainly wouldn’t challenge,” Beeby said, “although it is a view that would be shared by many others after four days of sustained demand at all levels. Rarely have I auctioned in a more vibrant atmosphere, especially on Wednesday, and we can only thank our vendors for entrusting us with the cream of the Irish foal crop, together with the array of purchasers for the confidence they continue to show in Goffs November.”
He added: “Kildare Paddocks has been a hive of activity from the weekend, with the yards crammed each day and vendors reporting record-breaking numbers of shows for their youngsters. The median price is just short of 12 months ago, although the clearance rate is up and the average has held steady.
Normally that would cause a degree of angst but not this time, as we have matched the unprecedented levels that we reached in 2024 when the sale grew by a gargantuan amount, especially at the top when the Wednesday average and median both jumped by over 60%. So, there will be thanks and celebration after a sale that truly leads the market, as we confirmed its status with a trade that was consistent, vibrant and, at times, frenzied to return a level of activity that some thought impossible this time last week.
Not surprised
“We are not surprised as Goffs Orby broke records and set the scene for another good renewal, and we knew we had been sent the lion’s share of the best in the country. We have once again proved our mantra that Goffs will deliver, and then some, when we are given the opportunities, and that has all come together so well over the last four days.”
Beeby concluded: “I want to pay tribute to the amazing horsemen and women. The dedication and care that we see day in, day out from all those who present foals is inspiring every time a foal is shown. These youngsters are obviously reassured by the care and understanding that is exhibited each time they are pulled out.”
NO foal in the sale had a more impressive update than that of Stanley Lodge’s Awtaad colt out of Pearl Diamond. He was the star of a 14-strong draft offered by William Kennedy and John Wall’s farm, and his full-brother stunned the racing world at Del Mar when he added the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Turf to wins at Royal Ascot and in the Ebor at York.
This success resulted in agent Ross Doyle paying €380,000 for the February colt on behalf of Norwegian racehorse owner Magne Jordanger who race under the Stall Perlen banner.
“He’s a beautifully well-balanced horse, and a really good mover with a fabulous mind,” said Kennedy. “Every time he came out of the box, he walked up and down with absolutely no issue. He’s just glorious, and I hope the buyers are successful with him. He’s a credit to the team at home, under Nick Cope’s leadership. They’ve worked all summer with these foals, and all their efforts are clear to see.”
Soon after that, another star emerged from the same draft, a daughter of Lope De Vega selling for €310,000 to Stauffenberg Bloodstock. She is out of the stakes-placed New Bay mare Quickstep Girl, and the dam is a half-sister to Lope De Vega’s multiple Group 3 winner, Max Vega. All four yearling sold by Stanley Lodge on Wednesday made €150,000 or more.
Kennedy added: “The buyers that we need to have for the sorts of horses we are producing are all here. We’re delighted with the prices we’ve received, and absolutely delighted with the service that Henry [Beeby] and Eimear [Mulhern} and the rest of the team give us. We couldn’t be happier. The celebrations could go on until Christmas time!”
Ballylinch stallions
A total of 15 foals sold this week for at least €250,000. Ballylinch stallion New Bay was responsible for two, the sale’s best and a colt sold by Donnelly’s Well for a quarter of a million. After that, one-third of the 15 lots at the higher end were by Lope De Vega, the Ballylinch Stud flagbearer. The five were all from different vendors.
At €320,000, The Castlebridge Consignment sold a half-brother to the stakes-placed Japanese winner Pretty Diva to Rob Speers for Old Mill Stud, owned by Ibrahim Araci who was in attendance. They purchased seven foals for €956,000, some to stay in Britain and others to go to Turkey. The dam of the Lope De Vega colt is the winning Teofilo mare Assurance, and her three prior offspring sold for €460,000 as a foal, 420,000gns as a yearling, and €550,000 last year as a foal.
A little later, and the same team paid the same price, €320,000, for a No Nay Never son of a Wootton Bassett mare. Her first produce is a yearling colt by Camelot who realised €300,000 at the sale last year.
“Mr Araci currently has eight mares at Old Mill Stud,” said Speers. “We have a couple of empty mares this year, four home-bred fillies and two home-bred colts. The plan was to come and try to pick up a nice colt. We did the same last year and bought a Minzaal for €190,000 and a Camelot for €300,000. We are both very pleased with the way they’ve turned out. They will both go to Hugo Palmer.”
JUST two foals by Night Of Thunder were offered on Wednesday, and their sale prices were only bettered by the top lot.
The Irish National Stud had a wonderful week of sales, and none better than the €500,000 value placed on a Night Of Thunder half-sister to pattern winners La Mehana (2025 Grade 2 winner who sold this month for $500,000), and German champion juvenile filly Ocean Fantasy. Ed Sackville secured her. This sale came after the stud topped Tuesday’s session with a Palace Pier filly, sold to the McCartan’s CBS Bloodstock for €220,000.
The Night Of Thunder filly was bought on behalf of TBT Racing, and they have enjoyed a number of big wins this year. “She’s been bought to race and she’ll eventually be trained by Ed Walker,” Sackville said. “I’m delighted to get her as we underbid the New Bay half-sister to Dreamloper.
“TBT Racing’s flagship horse is Ten Bob Tony, who’s by Night Of Thunder, and so she made a lot of sense for us. TBT Racing are investing in nice horses, some fillies with top-class pedigrees, and if they’re successful on the racecourse then hopefully they can develop into smart broodmares in the future.”
Other Irish National Stud highlights were the sale of a Wootton Bassett full-sister to Group 2 Golden Fleece Stakes winner Atomic Jones to M.V. Magnier for €340,000, his only purchase of the week, and a Lope De Vega first foal of a winning juvenile to Peter & Ross Doyle Bloodstock which changed hands for €250,000.
Moyglare Stud
Moyglare Stud sold the second Night Of Thunder, a colt out of the Group 2 Ribblesdale Stakes winner and Group 1 Irish Oaks-third Princess Highway. He is a half-brother now to four winners, and cost Ace Stud €410,000. Ace is home to Shaquille and was recently rebranded, having been Dullingham Park.
Ace Stud made three purchases, including a €25,000 daughter of Shaquille, and they spent €260,000 on Baroda Stud’s Lope De Vega full-brother to Lucky Vega. Moyglare received €290,000 from Niamh and Frannie Woods’ Abbeylands Farm for the second foal out of the Cheshire Oaks winner Thoughts Of June, and he too was a Lope De Vega colt.
THE first lot in this year’s Goffs November Sale was a filly from the Veitch family’s Ringfort Stud, and the half-sister to two winners sold to Longrove Stud for €23,000. The significance was that this represented the first of many sons and daughters of Tally-Ho Stud’s Good Guess to be put up for sale. The Group 1 Prix Jean Prat winner covered some 250 mares on retirement.
By the sale’s end, that purchase price looked to have been good value, ass 44 progeny by Good Guess sold for more than €1.9 million, returning an average of €43,478 and a median of €30,000. This week Tally-Ho issued their fees for 2026, and Good Guess will remain as he was at €12,500, down from his opening price. He had a vast array of good judges investing in his stock, with many hoping that he will be ‘the next Starman’.
Three sons and a filly by Good Guess sold for six-figure sums on Wednesday. A half-brother to French listed winner Zweig (Churchill) was best, realising €150,000 for veterinary surgeon Padhraic Doran selling as Knocktartan House Stud. The same vendor sold another by him, this time a filly, and she made the top 10 prices by the stallion. Chauvigny Global Equine signed for three Good Guess foals. Sebastien Desmontils explained.
He said: “We’re here to support him on behalf of Mr [Hisaaki] Saito. He raced Good Guess and owns a piece of the stallion, and was keen to buy some of his nicer foals. Obviously, the stallion’s progeny has been very popular and so we’ve had to fight hard. Good Guess is a very good-looking horse himself and he’s stamping his stock. They look like him, which is why there’s so much enthusiasm for them. We’ve bought these to race.
“Tally-Ho Stud has done a very good job with the Irish breeders. Mr Saito’s very committed to the game and very passionate about his horses.”
Tally-Ho ended the four days as the leading purchasers with 20 foals bought for €1,443,000. Thirteen of these were by stallions they stand, and they bought two fillies by Good Guess for €58,000 and €52,000.
SELLING the last foal of the four-day sale is a daunting prospect, with fears that most of the buyers might have left, and orders will have been filled by earlier purchases. Such was the bind that the students of CAFRE, the college on the Enniskillen campus, were in. They were offering the very last lot in the sale, and darkness had fallen.
The students on the equine course at CAFRE have real hands-on experience with horses stabled at the college, and last week sold three National Hunt foals at Tattersalls Ireland. They made a total of €24,000 and, while happy to sell, it seemed scant reward for their hard work and dedication. That all changed in three minutes at Goffs.
This time they had a first-crop son of the champion juvenile Native Trail, and the colt was one of the best on the day. Many made attempts to get the colt, but Jimmy Murphy of Redpender Stud’s representative offered €80,000, and the deal was sealed. The result was a dream, as the best they ever received before was €30,000. The college’s Gayle Moane was over the moon.
“We bought the mare in Goffs last year [€26,000] and we had backing from the industry,” she explained. “We asked them for their advice, what mare to buy, and they all liked [Zarak Star]. She came within our budget. Then you hold your breath. We had not been in Goffs since 2019 selling a foal.
“We never dreamed he would make as much as that. It gives the students an opportunity to see what the market can do for the right type of foal. He did more than 200 shows this week, and has been a trooper. The mare is in foal to Gleneagles, so we will keep our fingers crossed.”
ONE of the most mentioned matters over the four days of selling foals was the news that Sands Of Mali is to stand in 2026 at Yeomanstown Stud. His fee is set at €22,500.
At Joe Foley’s Ballyhane Stud since he retired from racing, Group 1-winning sprinter Sands Of Mali has made an outstanding start to his career as a sire, his first crop of three-year-olds including the Royal Ascot Group 1 Commonwealth Cup winner Time For Sandals, Royal Ascot Windsor Castle Stakes hero Ain’t Nobody who was runner-up in the Group 1 Nunthorpe Stakes, and Group 3 winner Copacabana Sands. His second crop is led by the stakes winner Ipanema Queen.
Sands Of Mali’s ability to sire early types that are training on is no surprise. He won the Group 2 Gimcrack Stakes at two, beat Harry Angel at three in the Group 1 British Champions Sprint Stakes, and was second in the Group 1 Commonwealth Cup. His 14 foals sold at Goffs this week, the result of a €5,000 covering fee and from 15 offered, produced an average that was eight times his fee, and a median that was a multiple of five. A son topped the first day at €85,000, and that was bettered twice at the final session, by a filly at €100,000 and a colt at €90,000.
Yeomanstown Stud bought two of the best three, but had to settle for the runner-up spot behind Finn Kent for the filly. That filly was bred by Tony Cosgrave and sold by Pa Doyle’s Galbertstown Stables. She was one of the first lots on Thursday, and took the tally of six-figure lots to 86. Last year’s equivalent was 75. Kent said: “I thought she was the class act of the day. She was a really lovely filly and it was a real upgrade for the mare to go to Sands Of Mali.
Exceptional stallion
“He is an exceptional stallion and Joe Foley did a great job with him at Ballyhane Stud. I think he will go from strength to strength now. He is going to be very well supported.”
Robert O’Callaghan signed for both Yeomanstown purchases, the Thursday lot sold by Ennell Lodge Stud on behalf of Anne Kangley. He is a son of the four-time winner Tullypole Annie, a most versatile racemare.
O’Callaghan said: “Himself and the filly that Finn bought this morning were the best two foals today. Beautiful movers, great outlooks, they are really good advertisements for the stallion. The demand shows that the sire in on an upward trajectory.”