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THE Grade 2-winning chaser Allegorie De Vassy topped the final day of the Goffs December NH Sale when bought for €150,000 by Justin and Jackie Owens of Mount Armstrong Stud in Donadea, Co Kildare.
Winner of seven races for trainer Willie Mullins and owners Rich and Susannah Ricci, the eight-year-old mare is by No Risk At All and is in foal to the late Jukebox Jury.
Justin Owens said: “We have a relatively small number of National Hunt mares, but we try to buy very good ones when we get the chance."
On a day when just 148 of the 219 horses offered found buyers, Owens added: "I think the market is very polarised, I think the sale today is evidence of that, but if you have a good mare, a good-looking foal with a nice page, you can make money. She’s all of that. She’s a top-class racemare, she’s good looking, she’s lovely and correct, and carrying a good cover.
“Hopefully we get a nice foal that can come back for next year’s sale. All being well, she mightn’t look expensive in 12 months’ time. We had two mares on our list. She was the second, so we left the first one and focused on her. We bought her at the value we’d put on her, so we were happy with that.
“We sold the top-priced filly, and the second-highest priced foal, in the whole sale, and she’s out of a similar type of mare that we actually bought in Goffs.
"It’s been a good day’s work and we’ve had a decent year overall; we can’t complain. I suppose you only see the good things in the sales ring. Lots of work goes in at home and lots of things go wrong as well, but we’re doing the best we can.
"We have around a dozen mares, mainly flat, although we probably have better National Hunt mares at the moment. We can’t afford to buy the really good-quality Flat mares unfortunately, but we try to upgrade as we go. Having good stock, good mares, is the key, and you can’t do it all in one day, so we’re trying to keep improving over the years."
Top foal
Earlier the day Mount Armstrong sold a Walk In The Park filly foal out of Grade 2 winner Scarlet And Dove (by Jeremy) for €105,000. She was bought by Will Kinsey on behalf of Worthen Hall.
Justin and Jackie Owens bought the mare for €200,000 from Gigginstown House Stud.
Richard Burton of Worthen Hall said of the filly: "We loved her and she’s got many options. We’ll get her back to Shropshire, where we’ve got a small syndicate together, and we’ll grow her on the farm and make a plan. We can keep her as a foundation mare or run her and see how she goes. It’s a lovely family.
“Willie Bryan is heavily involved in this filly, as is Adam Wadlow, so there’s a few of us working in partnership. I started buying broodmares around three years ago and we have a few lovely mares now, but we’re trying to keep things tight as possible. We’re not going for quantity but want to get into some really nice families.
“Hopefully we’ll run her. That’ll be Plan A and we’ll see where we end up, but she’s got many options because of her page. We’re fairly new but we have a few youngsters that are getting going, including a Walk In The Park filly in France. Adam, Will and I all raced together as amateur jockeys, so it’s nice to get back into the industry. We’re not trying to buy lots of foals; we’re trying to buy really nice ones.”
Mount Armstrong also sold a Blue Bresil colt foal out of Grade 1 winner Shattered Love for €55,000. He was bought by French agent Nicolas Bertran de Balanda.
Sale statistics
The three-day sale generated just shy of €10 million in turnover, pretty much a 33% increase on the €7.5 million spent here last year. An extra 90 horses were sold this year, which is a 20% jump.
This year's average price of €18,673 is up 9% and the median price of €12,000 represents a 4.3% incease.
At the conclusion of the sale, Goffs CEO Henry Beeby said: “Steady growth and improvement. That is the story of the Goffs December National Hunt Sale over the last 15 years. In that time, we have seen it grow from a one-day, 250-lot, near afterthought, with a turnover of just over half a million, to the clear first choice for National Hunt breeders that now accounts for the majority share of the National Hunt foals and the best National Hunt mares sold each year.
“That evolution is the result of a lot of hard work by the Goffs team, and the trust and support of increasing numbers of major breeders who have pivoted towards Goffs December with more quality and greater numbers.
"Indeed, in a year when several commentators have expressed concern around the foal crop, this catalogue grew in contrast to others in the same category, so underlining the belief that sellers have in the Goffs service. Happily, that belief has been vindicated time after time over the three days.
“When catalogues grow there is always a worry that the clearance rate will drop. Not so this week, when that statistic has improved in each of the three sessions. While there is always room for improvement, and the market can be tough in places, this is another positive to take away from the week, as is the growth in the number of lots that passed the €25,000, €50,000 and €75,000 marks, with the last of those milestones leaping from five to 19, a number that dwarfs any other sale in the category.
"The average and median made yet more progress, and the top was as vibrant as ever, with four six-figure foals versus one last year, and the top priced National Hunt mares of the year once again."
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