Ballybin Stud the toast of Goffs with New York Girl half-sister in its draft

Breeders and vendors are, on the whole, a comradely bunch bound by the common goal of producing top-class athletes and landing a touch in the sale-ring along the way. When one enjoys a stroke of good luck, you can guarantee they will be showered with good wishes and pats on the back by the others.

So it was that Ballybin Stud's Paddy Kelly and son Peter became the talk of the Goffs sales grounds on Sunday, when one of the two Orby Sale yearlings they were showing to prospective buyers became a half-sister to a Group 3 winner midway through the afternoon.

Lot 137 is a homebred filly from the first crop of Awtaad out of the Listed-placed Giant's Causeway mare Annee Lumiere, whose two-year-old by New Approach, New York Girl, is listed as “unraced to date” in the catalogue.

After the pedigree was compiled, the Joseph O'Brien-trained New York Girl ran a promising fourth on debut at Cork and next time out broke her maiden when finishing fast to nail stablemate A New Dawn on the line in the Weld Park Stakes at the Curragh on Sunday, earning high praise from connections in the process.

“A lovely filly with a great attitude,” was the verdict of jockey Shane Crosse, while O'Brien's assistant Brendan Powell said “she could be very useful”.

The race was won last year by dual Guineas heroine Hermosa, and New York Girl was priced up at around 33-1 for the Newmarket Classic.

New York Girl: bred by Paddy and Peter Kelly at Ballybin StudCredit: Patrick McCann

“A lot of people were talking about the result on the sales grounds on Sunday afternoon, there was a lot of good craic,” says Paddy Kelly, a vet who runs Ballybin Stud in Ashbourne, County Meath.

“The yearling was exhausted at the end of the day – she'd been out of her box constantly after the race, everybody wanted to see her. A lovely update like that makes a major difference.”

Kelly describes the filly as “correct, with a good walk and a nice temperament”.

He is particularly fond of her sire, a son of Cape Cross whose finest hour came with a two and a half-length defeat of Galileo Gold in the Irish 2,000 Guineas.

“I've a lot of faith in Awtaad, I really fancy him to make it,” he says. “He's big and tough but a very athletic horse, and from a very good bottom line that isn't really fully appreciated yet.”

The dam entered the Ballybin Stud fold as part of a job lot of mares bought from a stud that was closing down. She is a half-sister to US Graded winners Keep Quiet and Little Treasure and to the dams of smart racemares Elusive Beauty and Rhythm Of Light, while top miler Bigstone and this season's Meld Stakes scorer Mohawk appear further down the page.

The Awtaad filly out of the Giant's Causeway mare Annee LumiereCredit: Goffs

“Annee Lumiere is by Giant's Causeway – who I'm particularly fond of – and she's from from a classy family, with a lot of very tough horses in it,” says Kelly of the mare, who has produced four other winners including the Listed-placed Broadway Duchess.

He is not surprised that New York Girl has turned out to be a good one, even though she was sold to Cathy Grassick for just 32,000gns at the Tattersalls December Foal Sale.

“She was a gorgeous foal who never gave us any problems,” he says. “It looks like she'll train on into a nice filly next year. She has a lot of finishing speed and hasn't been properly tested yet.”

There was plenty of reason to give the Ballybin Stud draft a second look even before the notable update provided by New York Girl. Last year the operation sold unbeaten Listed winner Mohican Heights on behalf of breeder Kevin Molloy at the Orby Sale, while its Sportsman's offerings included Lorelei Rock, a winner at Naas who finished fourth to Albigna in the Group 2 Airlie Stud Stakes.

Ballybin's other Orby yearling this week is a Pride Of Dubai colt out of a winning Galileo three-parts sister to Mohican Heights, who topped the Goffs London Sale in June when sold to Qatar Racing and Sun Bloodstock for £520,000, and fellow stakes winners Eye Of The Storm and Satchem.

“He's a fine, big horse who takes your eye,” says Kelly of lot 337. “He's from a family I think would work well in Hong Kong, I could see someone buying him for racing there.”

GOFFS ORBY SALE

Where Goffs, Kildare Paddocks, Kill, Co Kildare

When Tuesday and Wednesday, followed by Sportsman's Sale on Thursday and Friday; Tuesday's session starts at 11am, all other sessions at 10am

2018 results From 369 offered, 328 sold (89 per cent) for turnover of €43,497,000 (+7%), an average of €132,613 (+22%) and median of €80,000 (+23%)

Notable graduates Channel (sold by Kilcarn Stud to Meridian International for €18,000); Pink Dogwood (Lynn Lodge Stud to Coolmore and Peter and Ross Doyle for €380,000); Roman Turbo (Castletown Stud to McKeever Bloodstock for €55,000)

Ballybin has two lots for the Sportsman's Sale later in the week – a filly by New Bay out of a Teofilo half-sister to the venerable Breton Rock (567) and a Requinto half-brother to Group 3-placed Ball Girl from the fast family of Cadeaux Genereux, Dominica and Ya Malak (759).

The farm is enjoying a fine year with its graduates on the track, not just with Mohican Heights and New York Girl but also with Mythical Magic, a son of Iffraaj who was successful in the Group 2 Zabeel Mile at Meydan in February, and Winston C, a Rip Van Winkle gelding who is a dual Grade 1 scorer over jumps in America.

But Kelly is not getting carried away with wild dreams of spectacular prices at the sales this season.

“Trade at Fairyhouse last week was disappointing and the lower end of the market is gone,” he says. “Gone.”

The best protection against market indifference is presenting well-bred, sound stock at the sales and Ballybin Stud certainly seems to be doing that.

So, despite Kelly's pessimism over the state of bloodstock economics, it would be no surprise to see his fellow horsemen congratulating him again after some good trades in the coming week.

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