Adaay Colt Tops Silver Sale

Following on the heels off a Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale that saw a record high price of £440,000 and ended with figures on par with last year was Thursday's Goffs UK Silver Yearling Sale, where trade dropped to a more workmanlike level. The average and median both suffered sizable drops, down 20% (£8,134) and 33.3% (£5,500), respectively, while the clearance rate of 64.4% reflected the difficult reality of moving along horses at his lower level. At the end of the day 103 were sold from the 160 offered for a gross of £837,800.

Taking top billing on Thursday was Oaks Farm Stable's colt from the first crop of Adaay (Ire) (lot 540) who was unsold at £50,000 in the ring but later bought privately by Gaelic Bloodstock for £45,000. Adaay, a dual Group 2-winning sprinter by Kodiac (GB), stands at Whitsbury Manor Stud for £5,000 and his yearlings were well received during the Premier Sale with three of the 13 offered selling for six figures, headed by a £210,000 colt bought by Shadwell, which raced the sire with William Haggas. Thursday's sale topper is out of Ahwahnee (GB), whose 2-year-old colt by Due Diligence, Streamline (GB), has won twice since the catalogue was published. Ahwahnee is a half-sister to the G1 Prix de l'Abbaye winner and stakes producer Gilt Edge Girl (GB) (Monsieur Bond {Ire}) and the G2 Flying Childers S. winner Godfrey Street (GB) (Compton Place {GB}).

Due Diligence also stands at Whitsbury Manor and the son of War Front has 14 winners from his current first crop of 2-year-olds. He was the sire of the Silver Sale's second-top lot, lot 602 consigned by Whitsbury Manor, who was picked up by trainer Clive Cox for £38,000. Fillies by Dutch Art (GB) (lot 529) and Garswood (GB) (lot 577) each made £27,000.

“The Silver Sale consistently produces stakes winners and 2019 has seen it celebrate black-type winners in four countries thus far,” said Goffs UK Managing Director Tony Williams. “Those results attracted a good number of UK and Irish trainers and agents as well as buyers from France, Italy, Poland and the Middle East. However, as we have witnessed with recent trends at this level, it was a buyer's market and yearlings that did not meet the selective nature of trade struggled. That being said, the more desired lots were the subject of strong demand and sold accordingly.”