THE newly re-branded Goffs Arkle Sale in partnership with Defender posted a very positive set of results after two days of vibrant trade in Kildare Paddocks on Tuesday and Wednesday.

A large delegation of British owners, trainers and agents combined with the home buying team contributed to a robust set of figures that compared very favourably to a sale that was particularly strong in 2022. A clearance rate of 89%, just a point below last year, demonstrates the continued demand for young National Hunt stock while the aggregate of €20,466,500 was a shade up on 2022.

Both the average and median of €52,210 and €48,000 represented gains of 1% and 7% respectively while last year’s top price of €195,000 was comfortably eclipsed when Willie Mullins and Harold Kirk got the better of spirited bidding battle with Tom Malone and Paul Nicholls when paying €250,000 for a son of Galiway offered by Tony Costello.

Further positive outtakes include a total of 24 horses selling for €100,000 or more with the split of roughly half to be trained in Britain and the other half in Ireland.

A notable feature of the sale was the number of French-bred horses catalogued and their popularity, despite many having relatively obscure pedigrees, was highlighted by the fact nine of the top 20 highest prices were for French-breds.

Demand was unsurprisingly strong for stock by the obvious stallions such as Walk In The Park, Doctor Dino, Blue Bresil and No Risk At All while there were a few surprise packages such as Beaumec De Houelle.

Worthy of mention among the Irish stallions is Burgage Stud’s Jukebox Jury who had 19 of his 21 offered stores sell for an average of just under €55,000 with a top price of €150,000 achieved.

TONY Costello’s Treannahow Stables had the distinction of selling the first two horses home in the Goffs Defender Bumper at Punchestown in April.

Both horses, Predator’s Gold and Milo Lises, are trained by Willie Mullins and the champion trainer mentioned how that link with purchasing horses from the Costellos was a factor in himself and Harold Kirk outbidding Tom Malone and Paul Nicholls for the €250,000 sale topper offered as Lot 340, King Rasko Grey.

Not lost on Mullins either was the fact he has enjoyed multiple Grade 1 success with the progeny of the gelding’s sire Galiway through the exploits of Vauban and Gala Marceau.

“This horse was poetry in motion going round the ring and we thought he was the nicest horse in the sale,” Mullins said. “I had valued him a bit less on pedigree but when I saw him beforehand I knew we would have to stretch for him.

“He comes from a great consignor and the Costellos have been selling top class horses for decades so we are very comfortable buying off them. We have had great luck with the stallion also and we put a big ring around the three Galiways in the catalogue and when we saw each one we decided to do our best to get them and we ended up buying all three by him here this week.”

The sale represented a fine piece of business for Tony Costello who bought King Rasko Grey for €18,000 at Osarus in France and while carrying a French suffix, the gelding out of the French winner Imaginary Move, has a predominantly German back pedigree.

Nicholls nicks Rock

Paul Nicholls may have been denied the top lot but, with the assistance of Tom Malone, Britain’s champion trainer came away from Goffs with some lovely horses that will bid to build on the successful record of some of Nicholls’ previous Arkle Sale graduates headlined by Grade 1 Cheltenham Festival winner Stage Star.

The pair’s spending was headed by Krocodile Rock, a son of Jeu St Eloi that set the team back €175,000.

Purchased as a yearling for €60,000 at Tattersalls Ireland by Alan Harte, the son of the listed winning hurdler Joly Nelsa was consigned by Ballyreddin & Busherstown and his prospects were further enhanced by being a half-brother to two stakes performers in France.

Nicholls and Malone also bought the top lot on Tuesday, a son of the previously mentioned stallion Beaumec De Houelle named Zamek for €160,000.

Lot 143 was consigned by Mark Dwyer’s Oaks Farm Stables and is a half-brother to the listed winning French hurdler Zarisk.

Beaumec De Houelle, a son of Martaline, was a Grade 1-winning hurdler himself and his first crop are just three years old. “He is a lovely sharp horse and we’re delighted to get him,” Nicholls said afterwards.

“He actually reminds me a lot of Call Equiname, who was a similar lovely looking grey horse. Hopefully he can be as good as him.

“I think the sire has a good chance, being a son of Martaline and this horse probably would have cost a lot more if he was by one of the more established stallions,” Nicholls added.

Malone and Nicholls also combined on Tuesday to purchase Lot 166 for €130,000. Offered by the Frisby family’s Glenwood Stud, the gelding is by Walk In The Park out of the stakes winning hurdler and chaser Antartica De Thaix, who was also trained by Nicholls.

The gelding had been bought as a foal by Richard Frisby for €64,000.

Nicholls and Malone struck yet again when going to €120,000 to acquire lot 203 from Norman Williamson’s Oak Tree Farm. The Doyen half-brother to two winners was a £34,000 yearling purchase by Mags O’Toole at Goffs UK two years ago.

GORDON Elliott wasbusy adding to his already powerful team and among his purchases was a son of top French jumps stallion Doctor Dino.

Further emphasising the popularity of the French stock, Lot 316 was knocked down to Elliott and Eddie O’Leary for €185,000. Offered by Tom and Alexandra Whitehead’s Altenbach Bloodstock out of the stakes placed mare Gargotiere, the gelding was pursued in the ring by Matt Coleman and Tom Malone but O’Leary was not to be denied and afterwards his future trainer Gordon Elliott said: “He is a lovely sharp type and could be one for the Goffs Bumper next year. He has the pedigree and the physique to be a smart horse and we’re delighted to get him.”

Already named Lacuduv, the gelding was bought as a yearling at the Arqana October Sale for €40,000 by Kilkenny based Whitehead’s Powerstown Stud.

Gordon Elliott will also take charge of a Peter Nolan consigned son of Doyen who was knocked down to Aidan O’Ryan for €135,000. Elliott trained the gelding’s ill-fated half-brother Three Stripe Life to win a Grade 1 Novice Hurdle at Aintree while he is also an own brother to the Grade 2 winning chaser Ballyshannon Rose.

Jukebox Jury

The first six figure horse to go through the ring at Goffs was a son of Jukebox Jury who was knocked down to Paul Holden for €150,000. The grey gelding had excellent credentials on paper being a half-brother to triple Grade 1 winner Appreciate It, but as a physical he matched up too and it took plenty of determination from Holden and his daughter Ellmarie to secure the son of the mare Sainte Baronne.

Offered by Ballincurrig House Stud on behalf of Fiona Magee, the three-year-old is also a half-brother to Paul Nicholls’ useful operator Danny Kirwan.

Team Holden have been rewarded for some brave store pinhooks in the past, multiple Grade 1 winner Jonbon being a case in point. After signing for the good moving grey, Paul Holden said: “He’s got the pedigree, the conformation and he ticks all the boxes. He will go point-to-pointing next year and hopefully he will be lucky. We have a Jukebox Jury left over from last season that we like so we were keen to get this horse.”

The sale represented a good bit of business by Fiona Magee who purchased the horse as a foal in Tattersalls Ireland through Richard Rohan for €70,000.

The Holdens finished up as third leading buyer in the sale, acquiring six horses for a total of €570,000. These also included a gelding by Blue Bresil who was knocked down to the Kilkenny team for €95,000 while Holden also added a son of Authorized offered by John Bleahen’s Lakefield Farm.

Lot 283, named Eternal Angel, cost €140,000 and is out of the Acatenango mare Earth Affair from the family of Supreme Novices’ Hurdle winner Captain Cee Bee. The sale proved a lucrative pinhook for Bleahen who purchased the gelding as a yearling in Arqana two years ago for €34,000.

“I must say I got a bit lucky when I bought him at Arqana as he was the first lot into the ring and a few people missed out on him,” Bleahen said.

“He is a lovely horse though and he has never put a foot wrong since. I’m delighted that the Holdens bought him as they’ve bought some very good horses from me over the years including Feronily here a couple of years ago.

“It’s important for repeat business that these horses go on to do well for their new owners and it’s great he is going to a good home.” Bleahen enjoyed yet another memorable sale with his 10 lots sold yielding €744,000.

Future point-to-pointers

The point-to-point fraternity were unsurprisingly out in force and the Monbeg Stables team headed by brothers Sean and Donnchadh Doyle showed no less appetite for investing than in previous years when buying 31 horses for a total of €1,626,000. This haul included Baroda Stud’s son of Authorized who Donnchadh Doyle was pushed to €145,000 to secure.

Out of the Monsun mare Courseulles who has bred three winners to date including the former Willie Mullins-trained dual winner Runrized. He will be aimed at a point-to-point next spring

“For an Authorized he is a lovely big horse with plenty of power and I think he is the finest one by the sire here. He looks like he will suit our job perfectly so hopefully he will be lucky. Trade is strong here but we’ve been able to get a few so far and will try and add a couple more,” Doyle said.

Another destined for Monbeg Stables is a Blue Bresil gelding from Tally-Ho Stud who cost €100,000. This year’s leading handler Colin Bowe was also busy stocking up and struck early when going to €82,000 for a son of the recently deceased former champion sire Flemensfirth.

Lot 25 from Stone Lodge Stud is out of the Presenting mare Presenting Juno from the family of Cheltenham Bumper winner Relegate and prolific winner Better Times Ahead.

Bowe’s Milestone Stables accounted for eight lots for a total spend of €466,000. Other Wexford bound horses include a No Risk At All filly from Clonmult Farm bought by Denis Murphy’s Ballyboy Stables for €78,000.

This filly, a half-sister to the very smart chaser Dunvegan, is bred on the same cross as the brilliant Allaho, being out of a Turgeon mare. Meanwhile Harley Dunne got in on the action when giving €95,000 for Kotkito Bello, another son of No Risk At All from Kilmoney Cottage Stud, who sold Altior at this sale 10 years ago.

High-end fillies

Before the sale trainer Philip Dempsey had a brief of purchasing some high-end fillies to race and potentially breed from. After picking up a Doctor Dino filly on Tuesday for €100,000 he added a smashing Blue Bresil filly to his stable on Wednesday from the family of Madison Du Berlais for €150,000.

Henry Beeby closing statement:

GOFFS CEO Henry Beeby had every reason to be highly satisfied with proceedings and on Wednesday evening said: “The Arkle Sale may have a new name this year but there was nothing new about the hunger for top class NH prospects at Goffs in June.

“For the last number of years this sale has enjoyed a meteoric rise as so many NH vendors have sent a larger and larger share of their best to us and we cannot thank them enough for we are nothing without their horses.

“Over the last two days trade has matched the outdoor temperatures as both were hot, hot, hot!

“That trade was generated by a simply stunning group of three-year-olds and it was so gratifying to hear judge after judge commend the standard of entry over the two days.

“Last year the sale grew by 25% so we are delighted to have consolidated those results and it is especially pleasing to see an average and median so close as that points to a sale of true consistency with the latter important figure growing by another 7%.

“To have the two champion trainers battling it out is testament to the horse in question and the sale in general, and they were just two of the many significant personalities to play an active part from start to finish.”

Beeby continued: “We have been so pleased to welcome shoals of buyers from the UK, France and USA following a very proactive campaign by the Goffs purchaser attraction team working in tandem with our friends at Irish Thoroughbred Marketing. They have locked horns with every Irish buyer of note including the mighty band of point-to-point handlers who have made such an impact in recent times.

“We would like to extend our thanks to every vendor for the trust they placed in the Goffs service and wish each purchaser the best of luck.”