THE strength of the commercial flat yearling market will be tested next week when over 500 yearlings pass through the Goffs sales ring for the Sportsman’s Sale.

This year’s catalogue is more than 25% bigger than last year and it will be interesting to see if last year’s average and median prices of €20,000 and €16,000 respectively can be maintained.

The average price is all you needed to pay to win the €100,000 Sportsman’s Challenge at Naas last week. Felix Natalis, the Tom Dascombe-trained winner, was a €20,000 purchase at last year’s sale, having been bought for €3,500 as a foal at the same venue.

But the undoubted star of last year’s Sportsman’s Sale has turned out to be Lady Hollywood. The Havana Grey filly was a €25,000 buy and, trained by Alice Haynes for Amo Racing, she has won a listed race at Naas and a Group 3 contest at ParisLongchamp, both over five furlongs.

Another Sportsman’s Sale graduate in the news this week is Hard One To Please. This son of Fast Company was sold by his breeder Lodge Park Stud for €8,000 at the 2020 sale, before being sold on for 10 times that amount at the breeze-ups.

Sent to Scandinavia, Hard One To Please won the Stockholm Cup at Bro Park last Sunday, defeating the Archie Watson-trained seven-year-old Outbox by a nose. The winner had already won the Norwegian Derby on turf and the Swedish Derby on dirt this year.

Sires with progeny in this year’s catalogue include Acclamation, Aclaim, Australia, Blue Point, Camelot, Caravaggio, Churchill, Dark Angel, Exceed And Excel, Fastnet Rock, Galileo Gold, Gleneagles, Havana Grey, Invincible Spirit, Kessaar, Kodiac, Lope De Vega, Mehmas, New Bay, Night Of Thunder, Oasis Dream, Saxon Warrior, Sea The Stars, Showcasing, Sioux Nation, Starspangledbanner, Tasleet, Teofilo, Zoffany and Zoustar.

All lots offered are eligible for the €100,000 Goffs Sportsman’s Challenge race over six furlongs at Naas next September.

Catalogue highlights

Lot 549: El Kabeir half-sister to Group 3 winner Star Of Emaraaty.

Lot 598: Phoenix Of Spain half-sister to listed winner and Irish Derby fourth Kilimanjaro.

Lot 599: Caravaggio half-sister to Group 2 Prix Robert Papin winner Ventura Tormenta.

Lot 635: Teofilo own-brother to 2022 Group 3 winner Boundless Ocean.

Lot 646: Magna Grecia filly out of a group-placed and listed-winning dam.

Lot 659: Starspangledbanner colt out of Group 3 winner Ponty Acclaim.

Lot 701: U S Navy Flag half-brother to a Group 3 placed and listed winner.

Lot 714: Oasis Dream filly out of an own-sister to Group 1 winner Creachadoir and half-sister to champion Youmzain.

Lot 727: Awtaad colt out of Shamanova, a Group 2 placed and listed race winner.

Lot 741: Sioux Nation half-sister to Group 3 placed and listed race winner Manhattan Jungle.

Lot 743: Belardo half-brother to Group 2 Queen Mary winner Quick Suzy.

Lot 762: Blue Point colt out of Strathnaver, who was Group 1 placed and a Group 3 winner.

Lot 815: Zoffany half-brother to Sydneyarms Chelsea, a Group 3-winning two-year-old this year.

Lot 822: Dark Angel filly out of a stakes-placed mare.

Lot 851: Invincible Army colt, first foal out of a stakes-winning mare.

Lot 876: Blue Point half-brother to Group 2 winner Bow Creek and out of a Group 3-winning dam.

Lot 877: Tamayuz colt out of Irish 1000 Guineas winner Bethrah.

Lot 970: Sea The Moon filly out of a listed-winning mare.

Lot 982: Calyx colt out of Group 1 placed and Group 3-winning dam.

Lot 999: Profitable colt whose dam is a half-sister to Teofilo.

Lot 1008: Caravaggio colt whose dam is stakes placed.

Lot 1022: Saxon Warrior half-sister to sire Coulsty.

Sale info

Sale: Goffs Sportsman’s Sale at Kill

Date/time: Thursday and Friday, September 29th and 30th (9.30am start each day)

Lots: 524 (11 withdrawals at time of writing)

Tel: 045-886600

Email: winners@goffs.ie

Web: goffs.com