Kodiac (Ire) is never far from the action when a sale of young stock is taking place and as the trade began to warm up at Goffs on Tuesday, two of his foals led the day's proceedings with a filly being top of the sale overall at present.
The major transactions throughout the first two sessions all centred on colts but lot 609 bucked that trend when becoming the first foal this week to reach six figures, extracting a winning bid of €105,000 from the Tally-Ho Stud team, which, as ever, has been busy since the sale kicked off on Sunday. The filly's dam Payphone (GB) (Anabaa) has already produced a talented distaffer in the Listed winner Newsletter (Ire) (Sir Percy {GB}), whose four stakes placings include the G2 Queen Mary S. at Royal Ascot, and with Razyana as her fourth dam the allure of her family connections will ensure she has residual value beyond her eventual racing career. Bred by Timmy and Michael Hillman, the filly was offered in the draft from Dermot Dwan's Kellsgrange Stud.
After a couple of trickier days, the market picked up as the third session got underway, with a more promising clearance rate of 68% achieved when 158 of the 233 foals offered found a buyer. Other indicators were still below the levels set last year but not so markedly, with the average of €18,534 being down by 9%, the median down by 6% at €15,000, while the day's turnover of €2,928,000 represented a drop of 17%.
Kodiac was also responsible for the session's most expensive colt, lot 529, a son of the dual-winning Sri Pekan mare Hemaris (Ire) who sold for €70,000 from the Milltown House Stud consignment to Ennistown Stud. The dam, a half-sister to G3 Phoenix Sprint S. winner Snaefell (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}) has been successful in the sales ring with a previous Kodiac mating, with her current unraced 2-year-old Miami Blue (Ire) having sold for €73,000 as a foal and €125,000 at last year's Orby Sale.
Also reaching the €70,000 mark was Beechwood Stud's Teofilo (Ire) grand-daughter of G3 C L Weld Park S. winner and GI Del Mar Oaks runner-up Theoretically (Theatrical) (lot 600), while a Zoffany (Ire) filly out of Meeting In Paris (Ire) (Dutch Art {GB}) was the selection of Matthew Houldsworth at €60,000. Lot 584, offered by Glynn Park, is the second foal of the daughter of classy juvenile Sharplaw Star (GB) (Xaar {GB}), her yearling also being by Zoffany.
The Howson and Houldsworth partnership also snared lot 747, a colt from the first crop of crack juvenile No Nay Never, for €52,000. The Altenbach Bloodstock offering is out of two-mile winner Corking (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}) whose Showcasing (GB) foal fetched €62,000 at this sale last year, while her 2-year-old Zoffany colt Anyhtingtoday (Ire) was placed on debut in September for Hugo Palmer and sold for €80,000 as a yearling at the Orby Sale.
One doesn't expect to find Greek philosophers shopping for foals in Ireland so it was a surprise to see the name Socrates on the buyers' sheet. This transpired to be the nom de vente of Ballyhimikin Stud's James Hanly, who splashed out on the most expensive of the 45 first-crop Alhebayeb foals at Goffs so far when going to €60,000 for lot 735. The March-born colt is the second foal of the unraced Caribbean Ace (Ire), a Red Clubs (Ire) half-sister to Listed Hilary Needler Trophy winner Knavesmire (Ire) (One Cool Cat), who was offered by Rathbarry Stud.
Selling continues at 11am at Goffs today as the penultimate batch of foals takes to the ring.
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