THREE yearlings broke the million euro price tag at Goffs on Tuesday, helping Book 1 of the Orby Sale set new sale records for the average and median price.

The two-day sale had a clearance rate of 89% and the median price ended up at €98,000, significantly up on last year's figure of €80,000.

Two years ago at this sale M.V. Magnier bought the €1.8 million top lot at this sale and that filly turned out to be dual classic winner Minnie Hauk. On Tuesday Magnier again dug deep to buy the sale's most sought-after yearling, paying €1.9 million for a filly by No Nay Never, a full-sister to Group 1 winner and stallion Blackbeard.

The filly's dam Muirin has also produced this year's Norfolk Stakes winner Charles Darwin.

After securing the top lot, consigned by Ciaran Conroy's Glenvale Stud, Magnier said: “She is a lovely filly and Blackbeard too was a very good racehorse. His yearlings are selling very well; they look very promising. He is having a good sale, and apparently, he has a good few good ones coming up in the next couple of weeks. Charles Darwin, Aidan thinks a lot of him; he thinks he is a very good horse. I am not saying that he is Albert Einstein or anything like that – Albert Einstein looks like he is special and Charles Darwin looks like he is going to be very good.

“There is a lot going on in the family, and the mare is in foal to Wootton Bassett. This is a very valuable filly and it is good for Goffs and for everyone. They have done a good job all week and got people here, and good horses too. Every year something good comes out of the sale. To be fair to the mare, she has always had a good looker. Blackbeard was a very nice horse; Charles Darwin looks like he could be a proper job.”

Alexander for Amo

Shortly after the day's top lot had left the ring, Amo Racing spent €1 million on a Night Of Thunder filly out Group 1 winner No Speak Alexander.

The filly was bred and sold by Noel O'Callaghan's Mountarmstrong Stud.

Bloodstock agent Alex Elliott, representing Amo Racing, said: "We don’t need to say too much about Night Of Thunder at this stage – what a year he’s had. She’s out of a Group 1 winner and it’s Noel’s family from top to bottom.

“She’s a very sweet, good-bodied filly. She’s going to have to be early. She’s a January foal, she’s bred to be fast and she looks fast. I’d say we’re going to know our fate early as you’d like to think she’s in that Royal Ascot two-year-old type of mould. The price was at the top end of our range.”

Elliott added a further observation about the market: “There’s been some really good horses here, as always, and I’ve found them quite buyable. I’ve got 11 so far, it’s been solid. Goffs do a great job getting people here. Look at the board downstairs, from Minnie Hauk going back, there’s been a lot of good racehorses come out of here. I’m very pleased that Kia’s come back and hopefully we’ll find him some good ones.”

HRI chairman hits jackpot

Nicky Hartery, chairman of Horse Racing Ireland, had a great result towards the end of the session when he sold a Lope De Vega filly for €1 million to bloodstock agent Hugo Merry, acting on behalf of Imad Al Sagar's Blue Diamond Stud.

The filly is a half-sister to six winners including Grade 1 winner Going Global and Group 2 winner Mitbaahy.

Al Sagar described the filly thus: "Beautiful. More important than the pedigree is her conformation. She’s a very correct, strong, early type. She looks ready to go. In addition, there’s an Argentinian bloodline [the dam, Wrood, is by Invasor] which is very important, and is very important as a turf influence.”

Trainer Paddy Twomey was in the news here on Monday as the nominated trainer of a couple of high-priced purchase by Bond Thoroughbreds. Twomey also bought a handful of yearlings (all fillies) in his own name, including a Havana Grey filly from Peter Kavanagh's Kildaragh Stud who cost €520,000. She is a half-sister to five winners, including the Group 2-placed Primo Bacio.

"Havana Grey needs no introduction," Twomey said. "We bought five yearlings by him last year. It was the first time we had them and this year we had a lot of success. She's for an existing owner. His stock are sound, tough and able. She’s a lovely filly from great consignors.”

Kavanagh added: "We're very pleasantly surprised. Havana Grey's been good to the family; my son [Roderic] has had great luck with him [sold Vandeek for 625,000gns]. Hopefully there’s more to come; we’ve bought a couple of yearlings by him as well. Suvenna had a Chaldean filly foal who’s exceptional, but, unfortunately, we lost the mare. Invariably the good ones are the hardest ones to keep vertical."

He continued: "It’s a good old Citadel Stud family that we’ve been farming for 30 or 40 years. She’s a beautiful mare, and I just thought we’d breed her to something speedy, so we went to Havana Grey. He was standing at £18,500 when we used him. He’s gone from strength to strength and the family keeps developing too.

“I think Primo Bacio has two Frankels, one in Book 1, so there’s a lot to happen in that family and when it appears on the market people have a lot of appreciation for it. She was a nice filly. She wasn’t perfect in front but she used it very well and had a good way of going. Fortunately, horsemen can appraise these things and say it will withstand training.”

Tuthill strikes gold

John Tuthill of Owenstown Stud sold a Mehmas colt for €440,000 to Juddmonte. He is out of Quickstep Lady, a mare by Australia which Tuthill bought from Jeff Smith's Littleton Stud for 100,000gns. She is related to Lochsong.

Tuthill said: "Of course I am delighted. Couldn't have gone to a better home. First living foal, a smasher, and has always been nice, since the moment he was born. One of those foals who just has always been nice.

“I bought the mare - she is a queen. I really wanted her, I was lucky to get her, and I thought this mating would do quite well. It is a great family.

“The stars aligned, selling a Mehmas this week was not the worst thing to be doing! [He sired the Middle Park Stakes winner Wise Approach last weekend.] The dam is in foal to Pinatubo and she has a foal by Sioux Nation. I am stunned, I am delighted, and this makes all the hard work so worthwhile.”

Juddmonte’s Barry Mahon said: “The owners were keen to support the sale. We had a good look around the other day and this colt looked strong, precocious and fast, and he’s by a very good stallion in Mehmas. He’s been bred by an outstanding breeder in John Tuthill. We submitted a list to the owners, they were keen to buy a sharper two-year-old type, and he was the one they honed in on. I think you have to pay attention to the stallion. He’s a very good sire and we saw that again at the weekend in the Middle Park. The colt has a fast pedigree and Australia is doing well as a broodmare sire; (the dam) was quick too, winning over six furlongs. He ticked a lot of boxes.

“We have [bred to Mehmas] and have a couple of two-year-olds by him, including one with Ger Lyons that he likes a lot. He had a little injury and so he hasn’t started yet, but he’s not far off. We have a couple of yearlings by him again this year. We’ve used him extensively over the last couple of years.

“We obviously don’t produce that many fast two-year-old types. We’ve seen that Mehmas is very efficient at producing them, so this colt might be handy when we get to next summer if he’s forward and showing enough to give us some early action.”

Blandford buys

Other significant transactions on Tuesday included Blandford Bloodstock paying €470,000 for a Mehmas colt from Tally-Ho Stud and €400,000 for a Kingman colt from Denis Brosnan's Croom House Stud.

Rory and Tess Mahon's Mountain View Stud sold a filly by first season sire Naval Crown for €320,000 to Kerri Lyons. She will be trained by Ger Lyons for owner John Kirkland, who is an associate of noted owner-breeders Jim and Geraldine Ryan.

Book 2 of the Orby Sale starts on Wednesday.

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