Goffs Rolls Out New November Look

With the top-of-the-market polarisation that has plagued the 2017 yearling sales already apparent at last year's Goffs November Foal Sale, Goffs Group Chief Executive Henry Beeby and his team quickly got to work looking at ways to maximize the potential of every lot in this year's renewal. While last year's market undoubtedly had its highlights–€775,000 and €450,000 fillies from the Wildenstein dispersal and a €320,000 colt from the first crop of Kingman (GB), just to name a few–the lower sectors of the market struggled, as evidenced by a 10% drop in clearance rate and a 15% drop in median.

As such, Goffs has chopped and changed the format for its November Foal Sale and November Breeding Stock Sales with the aim of helping sellers and vendors at all levels. Previously staged over five days and increasing in quality each day, the three best days of the foal sale (what would have been days three through five last year) will be staged on a rising tide basis from Nov. 20 to 22. There will be a break in foal action to host the two-day breeding stock sale on Nov. 23 and 24, followed by part two of the foals on Nov. 25 and 26.

“We did that because the last few years there's been feedback from both vendors and purchasers saying that the best foals, in particular, were too rushed to look at them,” Beeby said. “So we've kind of flipped the sale, and we've done it for two reasons: to help the better-bred horses and to help the lesser lights as well, because the money is more likely to push down. If you look at the Keeneland model they start at the top and work their way down and that's really what we're doing with the foals here. We've got a Part 1 section of foals which is on a rising tide over three days. We've always had our best foals the day before our best breeding stock, so we then put the breeding stock in and then we go to the lesser-bred foals. What was normally at the beginning is now at the end, and we're hopeful that will help those foals as well because money is more likely to push down if someone has an order left over. It also gives people the chance to show those foals when everyone is on the grounds rather than starting with them.”

The five-day foal sale sees 1,110 lots catalogued including three by Galileo (Ire), all offered by The Castlebridge Consignment. Lot 541 will be the third lot through the ring on day three and she is a full-sister to Group 1 winner Johannes Vermeer (Ire) and G2 Kilboy Estate S. winner Elizabeth Browning (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who perhaps provided a sign of things to come for this filly when she topped the opening day of the Tattersalls Autumn Horses-in-Training Sale on Oct. 30 with a record price for that sale of 700,000gns. She will be followed shortly thereafter by lot 569, a Galileo colt out of dual Group 1-winning sprinter Melito (Aus) (Redoute's Choice {Aus}), who has also produced the stakes-placed Campbell Junior (Aus) from two to race. Melito is also a half-sister to the dam of current highly rated 3-year-old Pariah (Aus) (Redoute's Choice {Aus}) in Australia. The final Galileo is lot 732, a filly who is the first foal out of New Zealand Group 2 winner and Classic-placed Fix (NZ) (Iffraaj {GB}). The latter two Galileos were bred by Coolmore and China Horse Club, and lot 732 was bred by Desert Star Phoenix. The dams of all three foals will be offered during the breeding stock sale, all back in foal to Galileo.

Another likely to attract attention on pedigree alone is Castlefarm Stud's full-sister to champion 2-year-old Shalaa (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) (lot 740), while the catalogue also has plenty to offer from enticing first-season sires like Classic winners Golden Horn (GB) and Gleneagles (Ire). The four to be offered by the Derby and Arc winner Golden Horn include lot 691, a colt from the highly productive Moyglare family of Profound Beauty (Ire) and Carla Bianca (Ire); and lot 750, a filly descending from the GI Spinster S. winner Try Something New. Gleneagles's nine include a colt who is the first foal out of G2 Queen Mary S. third One Chance (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) from the Niarchos family of champions Spinning World and Pathfork (lot 593) and a half-sister to Group 2 winner and sire Lilbourne Lad (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}) (lot 633). Other first-crop sires represented at Goffs November include champion sprinter Muhaarar (GB) (three), Guineas winner Night Of Thunder (Ire) (21), G1 Prince of Wales's S. winner Free Eagle (Ire) (25) and French Guineas winner Make Believe (GB) (23).

“At the top of the market we're pretty hopeful of a good, strong trade,” Beeby said. “The top of the market everywhere, none more so than at Orby, was incredibly strong with huge numbers of buyers for the best horses. We're pretty hopeful for that level. The middle market was pretty steady so we're hopeful there as well. We'd have more concerns with the lower end of the market because the polarization that we talked about last year is very evident still. We've just come out of one of our less-select yearling sales, the Open Yearling Sale, and there was a good market for a lot of those horses, but it was harder work. Like the Orby and like the other sales we've seen we see it breaking into three sectors: the top quarter looks pretty strong and robust. The middle half looks ok, and the bottom quarter is certainly the most challenging part of the market at the moment. That would be where the concerns would be, but we have a good and diverse catalogue so we're hopeful.”

Also helping the momentum of the foal sale will be the success of its graduates on the racetrack this year. That honor role is headed by the four-time Group 1-winning miler Ribchester (Ire) (Iffraaj {GB}), who was a €78,000 foal turned €105,000 Orby yearling. G2 Coventry S. winner Rajasinghe (Ire) (Choisir {Aus}) cost €65,000 here two years ago while Ghaiyyath (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), who topped that same sale at €1.1-million, has justified spending at the top end with a five-length maiden win for Godolphin followed by a score in the G3 Autumn S. on Oct. 14.

“He looks a very smart horse for Godolphin,” Beeby said. “He's probably one of the English-trained winter favourites for the Derby next year, so we're pretty hopeful in that respect. There's been lots of graduates coming out regularly, there's been over 175 2-year-old winners that were former Goffs foals and some very smart performers headed by Ribchester.”

The Goffs November Foal Sale is also a proven bedrock of success for pinhookers. Foals pinhooked from last year's sale to this year's Orby sale include a €56,000 Dabirsim filly pinhooked for €500,000, a Pivotal colt that turned €68,000 into €320,000, a €46,000 No Nay Never colt resold for €325,000, and a €100,000 Invincible Spirit colt pinhooked for €300,000.

“It's a rich minefield for pinhookers,” said Beeby. “The Goffs Foal Sale is always dominated by pinhookers, the overwhelming majority of whom are based in Ireland but we have plenty of visitors from Ireland and we hope to have some from the United States.”

The Goffs November Breeding Stock Sale could take a hit in terms of figures, with last year's Wildenstein dispersal and the sale of the €1.6-million Beauty Parlour (GB) helping to boost the average by 67% and more than double the gross. It has not taken a hit in quality, however. Goffs will this year host a few offerings from the Ballymacoll dispersal including Desert Bloom (Ire) (Pilsudski {Ire}) (lot 927), the dam of G1 Melbourne Cup winner Fiorente (Ire) (Monsun {Ger}) and the second dam of the stakes-winning and Group 1-placed Tom Melbourne (Ire) (Dylan Thomas {Ire}).

The catalogue also includes four mares in foal to Galileo: the dams of the aforementioned three Galileo foals as well as Garranlea Stud's Convocate (Exchange Rate) (lot 914). Also pivotal to the sale will be the ever-popular drafts from the likes of Godolphin, the Aga Khan Studs, Moyglare Stud Farm, Kiltinan Castle, Derrinstown Stud, Tinnakill House, Redmondstown Stud and Glebe House Stables. Lot 957, Saxon Princess (Ire) (Dalakhani {Ire}), received a timely update when her half-brother Cracksman (GB) (Frankel {GB}) ran away with the G1 Champion S. last month and elevated himself to the status of highest-rated horse in Europe. She is offered in foal to Darley's first-season covering sire The Last Lion (Ire).

“We get great support,” said Beeby. “There's a really, really solid and interesting bunch of real quality mares. I would hope, as it did last year, that it has global appeal. There isn't a big dispersal to centre around but to be honest I don't think it's necessarily required in that the catalogue has enough depth and quality to stand on its own two feet. Even though the bulk of the Ballymacoll dispersal has gone elsewhere we have four of the Ballymacoll mares as well including the dam of the Melbourne Cup winner. There's a good bunch and we expect global interest, including from the Southern Hemisphere, and closer to home as well.”

“We look forward to rolling out the unique Goffs service to any visitors that come,” Beeby added. “We had a great reaction to our yearling sale in terms of how people were looked after. We hope to be able to do the same again in November. There's been chat about sales procedures in the British press the last little while but we're very confident we look after people as well as is possible to do and everyone has great confidence in the Goffs sales. We stand behind it and it's very important to us and we'll continue to work to the very highest standards at all levels of the market every day and on every single lot we offer.”