Belardo colt provides another six-figure Goffs trade as vibrant week concludes

The final session of the Goffs Sportsman’s Sale continued the trend set at the start of the week, with strong demand driving prices upwards in all key areas.

Such was the insatiable appetite for yearlings that the complex remained full and bidding buoyant until the very last lot.

Over the two days of action, €6,962,500 was spent, an enormous jump of 156 per cent on last year’s aggregate. The average increased by 41 points to €20,722, while the median was up by a margin of 45 per cent to €16,000.

Both of those figures were very similar to those recorded in the headier days of 2017, which was a single-session sale. Once again the clearance rate, which has been consistently high this week, was in excess of 90 per cent, with 336 of the 368 yearlings offered over the two days changing hands.

Belardo was one of the leading first-crop sires of 2020 and Darley’s Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes and Lockinge Stakes-winning son of Lope De Vega was to the fore on Friday, when a colt from his third crop was the only yearling to achieve a six-figure price on the day, with Ben McElroy and Alex Elliott stretching to €100,000.

Offered by his breeder Denis McDonnell’s Parkway Farm, lot 719 is the first foal out of Tough Spirit, who won a Curragh maiden for Johnny Murtagh and is an Iffraaj daughter of the Listed Owenstown Stud Stakes winner One Spirit, by Invincible Spirit.

Third dam Recite is a Forty Niner half-sister to Group 1 Prix Maurice de Gheest and Haydock Sprint Cup winner and sire Diktat, and Tough Spirit is actually inbred to the champion racemare and brilliant broodmare Park Appeal, who is the granddam of Iffraaj and the fourth dam of Tough Spirit.

Elliott said: “Ben and I thought that he would have been amongst the top physicals in the Orby. He’s going to Wesley Ward and the aim will be Royal Ascot, so expect to see him at Keeneland next April."

It is a tried and tested route for Ward and McElroy, who have purchased the likes of dual Royal Ascot winner Campanelle in Europe before triumphantly returning to these shores.

Nolan strikes gold

Galileo Gold has made a scorching start to his stallion career, with the Group 1 Phoenix Stakes winner and National Stakes third Ebro River one of three stakes winners in his first crop.

Vinesgrove Stud’s colt from the second crop of the 2,000 Guineas and Group 1 St James’s Palace Stakes winner was one of the final lots of the sale but his presence at the end of the catalogue kept bidders at the ringside until the death.

A duel between Tony O’Callaghan of Tally-Ho Stud, where Galileo Gold resides, and Peter Nolan and Noel Meade ended with the latter pair victorious at €95,000 for lot 854.

Tony Maher leading lot 854, Vinesgrove Stud's Galileo Gold colt who brought the session to an exciting finishCredit: Peter Mooney

The identity of the opposition helped cement Nolan and Meade’s belief that their assessment of the colt was correct.

“We thought he was the outstanding horse of the day but we didn’t intend giving that for him,” said a smiling Nolan. “We took on Tony O’Callaghan so we knew we were in the right ballpark then! He’s a beautiful horse and the second one by the sire we have bought this year, and we love him.

“This fella reminded us a lot of [Tattersalls Gold Cup winner] Helvic Dream when we saw him, he has a very similar type of head. He’s for an existing owner in Noel’s and hopefully he’ll be lucky.”

The duo previously joined forces to acquire Helvic Dream as a yearling, and the four-year-old son of Power gave Meade his first Group 1 winner on the Flat in the Tattersalls Gold Cup at the Curragh in May.

Meade said of their latest purchase: “He was just a very nice horse and the fact that Tony was on him gives you that little bit of confidence, because he’s a fair judge of a horse.”

The colt is the first foal out of the winning Dutch Art mare Dutch Monarch, who comes from the Cheveley Park Stud family of the triple Group 3 winner and Eclipse third Regal Reality.

Music to Murtagh's ears

Another colt from the third crop of his sire caught the eye of a trainer who also has big plans for their new recruit.

Johnny Murtagh went to €75,000 to secure Ballygallon Stud’s New Bay colt out of the Listed-placed Green Desert mare Crystany. Lot 831 is a grandson of the Group 1 Fillies’ Mile winner Crystal Music and a half-brother to two Listed-placed fillies. He will sport the silks of Tony Smurfit in 2022.

Murtagh, who was assisted by Eddie Linehan, said: “He is a brother to a good horse and we are excited by him. He looks a sharp two-year-old type and he comes from a good farm. We are very happy with the horses we have bought here this week.”

Life's going to be a breeze

The day’s most expensive fillies are headed for the 2022 breeze-up sales, with leading consignors Tally-Ho Stud adding lot 824 to what is certain to be a strong squad for next spring’s sales.

Consigned by Derrinstown Stud on behalf of Hadi al-Tajir, who raced her dam Cool Thunder, this filly was knocked down to Barry Lynch, standing with Tony O’Callaghan, for €70,000.

“She is a lovely filly and looks ideal for the breeze-ups,” remarked Lynch. “The dam was a winner on debut at two and rated 95 at three, when she was fifth in the Irish 1,000 Guineas. It’s a good fast page and she is by Exceed And Excel, so there’s a lot going for her.”

That speed includes her third dam Asfurah, a daughter of Dayjur who was joint champion two-year-old filly in Ireland in 1997. She won the Group 2 Cherry Hinton Stakes and was third in the Group 1 Phoenix Stakes. The family also includes Haatef, Gutaifan and Sayebah.

Siyouni's snapped up

Katie McGivern, who pinhooked the aforementioned Helvic Dream with her mother Joanna Morgan and sold him through Morgan’s Portlester Stud to Nolan and Meade, was also adding to her string for next year’s breeze-up sales and purchased the only filly by Siyouni in the catalogue for €68,000.

This filly, the only yearling by Siyouni in the sale, went the way of Katie McGivernCredit: Peter Mooney

Lot 692 was consigned by the Castlebridge Consignment and is out of the winning mare Stars So Bright, a Sea The Stars mare from the family of Muthmir and her grandson, this season’s Group 1 Prix d’Ispahan third My Oberon, who is also out of a mare by Sea The Stars. Mares by Sea The Stars’ half-brother Galileo have gelled successfully with Siyouni so the match is alive with genetic potential.

McGivern, who operates Derryconnor Stud, said: "She has a nice hip on her and is athletic and light on her feet. It is a nice page, quite a quick page under her second and third dam. Sea The Stars is developing into a good broodmare sire and the combination of him and Siyouni is exciting."

Closing statement

"We are delighted that the Sportsman’s Sale continued the vibrancy and tone of the Orby Sale with two days of strong, vibrant and lively trade," said Goffs group chief executive Henry Beeby.

"Once again we are indebted to our vendors who backed the sale with a really good commercial catalogue and were rewarded by a huge crowd of potential purchasers hungry to buy from start to finish.

"They were attracted by the individuals, the addition of the €100,000 Sportsman’s Challenge and the added bonus of the superb new IRE Incentive Scheme that provided €10,000 vouchers only redeemable at Irish yearling sales to the winners of a bunch of races throughout the season.

"This excellent initiative has made a major impact and encouraged trainers in particular to engage with the Sportsman’s Sale, which is to the benefit of Irish breeders who chose the second part of the sale for their yearlings."

He continued: "Once again this week has clearly demonstrated that Goffs can and will provide a vibrant market for every level of yearling, from the bluebloods at the top across the spectrum to the sharp commercial types often referred to as 'trainers’ yearlings'.

"Of course Orby was headed by the millionaires, but it is equally pleasing to see Sportsman’s topped by a trio of six-figure lots which drove the huge rises in each statistic.

A New Bay colt bought by Johnny Murtagh and Eddie Linehan was one of the session's big attractionsCredit: Peter Mooney

"We are grateful to every vendor and each purchaser and have been so pleased to welcome new faces here for the Sportsman’s Sale to join those who stayed after Orby.

"All of them have been enticed by the purchaser attraction team at Goffs, our network of international agents and the proactive team at Irish Thoroughbred Marketing.

"These three groups combine sale after sale in a way that is quite unique and ensures that our clients are able to conduct their business in the most customer-friendly sales complex whilst enjoying the kind of welcome that can be found only in Ireland."

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