BOOK 1 of the Orby Sale was published online yesterday and it is 10% leaner than last year at 466 lots.

The 2024 Orby Sale was deemed very successful, headed by a €2 million top lot, a 5% rise in the average price and an 85% clearance rate. However, subsequent yearling sales last autumn saw the market soar even higher, prompting Goffs to focus more on quality this year.

The big change to the Orby schedule this year is that the two-day Book 1 sale will begin on the last Monday in September, rather than the Tuesday, “following feedback from clients who have commitments later in the week.”

Goffs CEO Henry Beeby said: “Following client feedback, we placed a deliberate emphasis on quality over quantity throughout the Orby inspection process, resulting in a catalogue that, while more selective in size, is even richer in depth and quality so guaranteeing buyers the impeccably high standard for which this sale is renowned.

“Many of Ireland’s best yearlings will be on offer at Orby Book 1, while we are pleased to welcome several UK vendors, including Highclere and Barton Stud, who will bring drafts to Orby for the first time.

“Our client relations team and international agents were out earlier than ever this year, travelling the world to secure major clients for our Orby yearlings, and we look forward to welcoming a stellar cast of buyers to Kildare Paddocks in two months’ time to compete for this top-class catalogue.”

Last year’s top lot was a Frankel colt and there are four by that sire in this year’s catalogue.

They include a colt out of Group 1 winner Madame Chiang , consigned by Kirsten Rausing’s Staffordstown Stud. Another Frankel colt on offer is a three-parts brother to brilliant Derby winner Desert Crown.

Among the 19 Wootton Bassett yearlings are a half-sister to Jan Brueghel and Sovereign, a full-sister to recent listed winner Daytona, and a half-sister to Royal Ascot winner Trinity College.

All lots are eligible to compete for guaranteed prize money of €2 million in next year’s Goffs Two Million Series which includes Europe’s richest two-year-old race, the Goffs Million, as well as €1 million in €50,000 bonuses awarded to winners of designated juvenile races across Ireland and the UK.

The catalogue for Orby Book 2, which takes place on Wednesday and Thursday, October 1st and 2nd, will be published on Monday.

Web: goffs.com