Goffs February Sale

KILDARE, Ireland--"A good, good day," said Goffs group managing director Henry Beeby as he cogitated the results from another solid session of the Goffs February Sale. The all-weanling cast put on a show which resulted in €2,161,800 being added to turnover which has now surpassed that reaped by the previous two-day sale of 2020, while the median remained at a respectable €10,000 and the average was €15,665 for 138 horses sold (76%). In that transitional stage from being overgrown foals to becoming the nascent racehorses that many will appear to...

KILDARE, Ireland--A dreich day may have tried its hardest to dampen the spirits, but there was an altogether warmer feel to proceedings in the ring as the sales season sparked into action in Ireland with a bumper mixed catalogue at Goffs. Extended to three days, with around 600 horses slated to sell, it is tricky to make direct comparisons with smaller and Covid-interrupted sales of previous years, but a healthy median of €10,000, average of €20,235, and turnover of €2,124,700 from 105 horses sold (64%) should be regarded as a...

The delayed Goffs February Sale concluded on Thursday with Part 2, a session of 84 short yearlings. The difficulties presented by offering young stock in an online format were highlighted by a large number of withdrawals from the original catalogue of 228, and a clearance rate of 42%. The 35 horses to have found a buyer returned an average price of €10,311 and median of €8,000, and they added €360,900 to the overall tally for the sale which had to undergo both date and format changes. "Selling weanlings in March...

Holding a Thoroughbred auction during the COVID-19 pandemic has not been without its challenges, and the Goffs February Sale has faced more than most. First, the sale was split into two parts, and the Mar. 2 Part II was re-scheduled for Mar. 11, but as Irish coronavirus restrictions were extended, Goffs had no choice but to move Part II online. Goffs and vendors alike can take heart from the fact that the live online format has achieved some notable results this season, and there are 84 National Hunt and Flat...

It took until the final lot of the Goffs February Sale for the six-figure mark to be reached and it was a round €100,000 for the top lot of the two days, Rubira (Aus), a young southern hemisphere-bred daughter of Lope De Vega (Ire) in foal for the first time to New Bay (GB). The 6-year-old mare was formerly trained in by Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman in New Zealand where she won the listed Diamond Lodge Gt North Champagne S. She was bought from the Baroda Stud draft by...

In 2020, the bloodstock agency Kerr & Co celebrated its 100th anniversary and it has ventured into new territory in its 101st year with a first online purchase at the Goffs February Sale. Bert Kerr, whose uncle of the same name was the founder of the business, bought the top lot of the first day of the online auction, the 3-year-old Drish Venture (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}), for €50,000. Sold through Baroda Stud as lot 92A, the gelding has had a successful winter for his owner/trainer Donal Commins, winning at Dundalk...

A total of 15 horses have been added to the Goffs February Sale Part 1, the sales company announced on Tuesday. The live online sale will take place on Feb. 9-10 at noon each day. The first session offers 2-year-olds, horses-in-training, and older horses, while the second day features breeding stock. Of the eight 2-year-olds that have been added to the sale, one of the highlights is a colt by Starspangledbanner (Aus) (lot 72A) from the family of Group 1 winners Barney Roy (GB) (Excelebration {Ire}) and Gordon Lord Byron...

A further change has been announced to Part 2 of the Goffs February Sale, which will now take place on Thursday, Mar. 11 at Kildare Paddocks. The session of Flat weanlings had originally been rescheduled to Mar. 2 but has now been delayed by a week following the decision of the Irish government to extend lockdown restrictions across the country to March 5. Part 1 of the February Sale, which is comprised of broodmares, older horses in training and 2-year-olds, will go ahead in its original time slot of Feb....

The catalogues for Parts 1 and 2 of the Goffs February Sale are online. Part 1 of the sale will take place as a virtual live auction on Feb. 9 and 10, with 253 lots catalogued. The first day of the sale comprises 89 2-year-olds by the likes of Australia (GB), Belardo (Ire), Churchill (Ire), Dandy Man (Ire), Decorated Knight (GB), Footstepsinthesand (GB), Make Believe (GB), Mehmas (Ire), New Bay (GB), Oasis Dream (GB), Starspangledbanner (Aus), and Zoffany (Ire), followed by a draft of older horses, including entries from the...

Following the latest COVID-19 lockdowns in Ireland and the UK, several changes to the winter sales at Kildare Paddocks and Doncaster were confirmed by Goffs on Tuesday. The Goffs February Sale was divided into a virtual sale for breeding stock, older horses, and juveniles on Feb. 9-10 and a physical sale for weanlings on Mar. 2 at Kildare Paddocks. The Goffs UK Doncaster January Sale had also been separated into two sections as well, with National Hunt mares and horses-in-training to go under the hammer online on Jan. 26. The...

KILDARE, Ireland--The second and final day of the February Sale at Goffs saw a selection of 2-year-olds, horses in training, breeding stock and a pair of stallion prospects come under the hammer and after a tough morning for vendors trade picked up in the early afternoon when a number of attractive broodmare prospects were offered for sale. The Aga Khan Studs can always be relied upon to offer a draft that contains some star quality, and it was one of their select offerings, Sheranda (Ire) (Siyouni {Fr}) (lot 513), that...

KILDARE, Ireland-The Goffs sales year got off to a relatively low key start on Tuesday as the first session of the two day February Sale got underway. Yearlings were the order of the day and it was a handsome son of Coolmore stallion Churchill (Ire) who topped proceedings when selling to leading pin-hooker and breeder Ciaran Conroy of Glenvale Stud for €82,000. This price failed to match the corresponding top price of €120,000 from 2019 but nevertheless trade more or less mirrored last year with 154 of the 237 offered...