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THE inaugural Goffs Classic Breeze Up Sale yielded a 78% clearance rate on Saturday evening.
Some 36 of the 46 lots offered were sold for a total spend of €2.5 million. The average price was €69,639 and the median price was €51,000.
Topping the session was a Starspangledbanner colt from Roderic Kavanagh's Glending Stables. A €29,000 yearling buy at the Goffs Orby Sale Book 2 last October, he was sold this evening for €330,000 to Meridian Bloodstock, the agency headed by Ghislain Bozo.
The sale-topper is out of the unraced German-bred mare Shebelia, already the dam of five winners including one who finished fourth in the German 2000 Guineas.
Joey Cullen of Goffs took the winning bid over the phone and said afterwards that the colt is likely to remain in Ireland.
Kavanagh said: "I would have taken a lot less at the start of the sale. He breezed very well, and the stallion is doing very well. It just came together."
Mark McStay's Avenue Bloodstock bought the second and third highest-priced lots. McStay paid €185,000 for a Hello Youmzain colt consigned by Katie Walsh and €160,000 for a Sea The Stars filly sold by Cormac Farrell.
Walsh had bought the Hello Youmzain for €75,000 at Arqana.
Mark McStay said: “He is for an existing client and I believe he will go into training in Newmarket. I’ve been very lucky buying horses from Katie. I bought a Sioux Nation filly who ran fifth in the Irish 1000 Guineas this year called City Of Memphis [for €370,000]. I bought Letsbefrankaboutit (Sioux Nation) who won a Gr.3 [cost €240,000]. Katie recommended this fellow strongly. He had a little setback and that’s why he missed Arqana.
“He’s a fine individual and would stand out at any breeze-up sale. He did a very good breeze, and in my opinion the very best breeze here. My client had to dig deep and there was quite a bit of protracted opposition [both online and from Joey Cullen on the telephone]. I am very happy we got him. He is a horse that has the making of a back-end two-year-old and a nice three-year-old. I’m delighted”.
Katie Walsh added: “A lovely horse. Originally, he was brought to Arqana in May and he got a setback over there, so we didn’t actually breeze him. It was nice to have the opportunity to come back here. I have had plenty of success with Mark. He’s been very lucky for me, as I have been for him. Hopefully this fellow will go on. He is a gorgeous colt and by a sire who is very much on fire at the moment. He was always a very straightforward colt.”
The Sea The Stars filly was another €75,000 yearling and she missed her Arqana Breeze-Up slot last month. She will now be trained by Joseph O'Brien.
Other buyers to make two purchases on the evening were Rabbah Bloodstock, OTI Racing (through Hubie de Burgh) and trainer Ken Condon.
After the sale had concluded, Goffs CEO Henry Beeby said: "This new Classic Breeze Up was the result of regular and impassioned pleas from a variety of vendors for another outlet in Ireland and we are proud to have kicked off with a sale that has recorded the highest average and median at any Irish breeze-up sale and a top price of €330,000 that sat at the top of a leader board featuring no fewer than eight six-figure lots. That’s some result for a first attempt.
"As ever we acknowledge that we are nothing without the horses and extend our thanks to every vendor for taking the leap of faith to support the inaugural sale with a proper catalogue of classy breezers, many of which have clearly benefited from the extra time the date afforded them. We are also supremely grateful to our buyers and underbidders who took the time to work a new sale with serious intent. That includes several who did not end up on the buyers’ sheet but attended Naas on Monday to view the breeze up work. "They embraced the idea and reacted so positively to the entreaties of the Goffs Purchaser Attraction team working, as ever, alongside ITM, and it is very pleasing to have sold horses to a truly international group including buyers from Australia, Dubai, France, Italy, Qatar, USA as well as a strong representation from the UK and Ireland.
"On the subject of the breeze up itself, we cannot express enough our appreciation of the team at Naas Racecourse for their enthusiastic partnership. They provided perfect ground on Monday to allow the two-year-olds to show themselves to maximum effect and we have no doubt that has proved a major contributor to this evening’s vibrant sale.
"At the start of this process, we were inundated with opinion and advice; such is the nature of this wonderful game and all of it was well meaning. As a result, and despite some not entirely backing the slightly different approach, we decided to kick on with the format and the date, see how it went and then review. That will now take place in the coming weeks, and we will liaise with key vendors and purchasers to get their feedback before announcing our 2026 plans in advance of the yearling sales season.
One thing is certain though: the Goffs Classic Breeze Up is here to stay and will now be a key part of the annual breeze-up sales calendar."
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