SATURDAY’S Goffs Classic Breeze Up Sale produced nine six-figure lots and a top price of €330,000.
This was just the second year of the sale and both its average and median prices rose this year, though the clearance rate dipped to 70%.
The general feeling among consignors is that there is a place for this sale in the calendar.
That is certainly the view of Norman Williamson who sold the top lot, a colt by Lope De Vega, which he had bought for 150,000gns as a yearling. The buyer was a determined Mark McStay of Avenue Bloodstock.
Williamson said of his colt: “He was entered in Arqana and had a little hold up with a pulled muscle. Straight away I spoke to Nick Nugent, well in advance, and told him we thought he was a very good horse and he has turned up here. He is a beautiful colt. There was three or four people in on him [after €200,000], all the right people. Mark bought Extremely Zain (Hello Youmzain) here last year [for €185,000] and he is going to be a very good horse. Let's hope this fellow is the same. We are thrilled, but we think he is a very nice horse.”
McStay added: "Everybody who buys a top lot says they were the best in the sale but I really did think that. I think he is a lovely colt. Norman Williamson and Katie Walsh recommended this horse very highly and I have had tremendous luck buying off Katie down through the years, including with Extremely Zain at this sale last year.
“This horse is by one of the best sires in the world and it is also one of the best pedigrees, given he's out of a siter to Treve. He posted a pretty quick time for a horse who is bred to get beyond a mile, and he was presented very well and vetted impeccably. He's been bought for an existing owner and training plans are fluid. He's a horse who hopefully has a pretty big future."
Cormac Farrell is no stranger to selling high-priced breezers and he was responsible for the Sea The Stars filly who sold to agent Kerri Radcliffe for €215,000.
Radcliffe was not present and said by phone: “I saw her at the start of March and loved her. I did try and buy out of the yard, but Cormac wanted to see her breeze and see everything she had to do. She jumped through all the hoops and she’s a gorgeous filly.
“She was the second fastest in the breeze and for a Sea The Stars filly in June to be going like that, that’s pretty rockstar times. She has a lovely pedigree. To be honest, I have been hunting since Libertango [No Nay Never] because I was the underbidder on her and then had to watch her win at Royal Ascot, so I didn’t want to be the underbidder on this one. She’s for a new client who has just come into racing.”
Farrell said: “We're over the moon, she's a very smart filly and she breezed fantastic. She showed fantastically and vetted well. She's been very straightforward all the way through. Kerri was absolutely mad for the filly and it's a great result.”
Acting for David Redvers, Peter Molony paid €190,000 for a filly by St Mark’s Basilica consigned by Longways Stables, who had sourced her for €105,000 as a yearling at Arqana.
The filly is a half-sister to this year’s three-year-old Midnight Tango (by Night Of Thunder) who was a close second in a Group 3 race at Ascot in May before finishing down the field in the Commonwealth Cup recently.
Molony said of his purchase: “I saw her last at the yearling sales and really wanted to have a piece of her, but I wasn’t allowed. Then when I saw her breeze on Sunday I absolutely loved her. She’s been bought for a syndicate and David Redvers is involved. She’ll go to Henry de Bromhead. I absolutely love the sire; he’s made a great start.
“I had a homebred filly with Henry a couple of years ago called Wren's Breath (Elzaam) and she won a stakes race for us and earned a lot of money for us. Mick and Sarah Murphy do such a fabulous job and they recommended her highly, despite the fact they didn’t allow me to come in on her last year when they bought her as a yearling!”
Galway businessman Basil Holian bought some nice horses at the recent store sales and he struck again here when, accompanied by Willie Slattery, he paid €180,000 for a son of Practical Joke from Brian Slattery’s Meadowview Stables.
Willie Slattery said: “We knew a good bit about the horse with Brian having breezed him and Andy [Slattery] is going to train him for Basil. Andy likes the horse a lot. I actually think the horse has been unlucky as he got a bit of a knock in France. If he had breezed as well there as he did this week, he might have made a bit more money. We may have got lucky.”
When the sale concluded, Goffs CEO Henry Beeby said: "The sale has built on year one in some style to consolidate its position as the premier sale of its type on these shores with an average and median that is unrivalled which makes us both proud and thankful.
"Interestingly, the debate around the format is not as clear-cut as we initially believed and some notable judges told us that the extra time between the breeze and the sale, whilst perhaps logistically imperfect, can benefit the horses and allow them to show themselves to better advantage. That is certainly something we will consider as we plan for year three whilst the date is now seen as a major selling point as it provides a vibrant outlet for proper horses at the end of the season and several vendors took full advantage reaping the dividend in the sales ring."