'He's a smashing foal' - Weld's brother to Ghaiyyath tops the charts at €700,000

Bidspotters were on their toes when Springbank Way Stud presented the Dubawi brother to Ghaiyyath shortly before 8pm during Wednesday’s session of the Goffs November Foal Sale. 

However, for every bid in the ring there were twice as many online and when the hammer eventually fell at €700,000 auctioneer Henry Beeby announced the successful party as Lucky Vega, a nom de plume of Yulong Investments. Despite bidding online, the operation’s principal, Zhang Yuesheng, stood among his team on the top deck of the auditorium throughout the bidding.

On the other side of the ring stood the colt’s breeder Dermot Weld, who reflected on the sale by saying: “He's a smashing foal and it’s been a wonderful family for us. I’m delighted for the farm. I thought that price was about what he’d make, he was entitled to make that. 

"A lot of work went into it so I’m very proud of the farm, my son Mark, stud groom Mark Murphy and all the team, they did all the work.” 

The colt is the 13th foal out of Nightime. The dam not only developed into a superb producer for Springbank Way but she also has the distinction of being the first of 99 Group/Grade 1 winners sired by Galileo, having won the Irish 1,000 Guineas in 2006. 

Since retiring from racing Marguerite Weld’s homebred has bred seven winners, including three who achieved black type and two who won at the very highest level. 

Ghaiyyath is undoubtedly her best runner to date having won four Group 1s in the Godolphin blue, namely the Grosser Preis von Baden, the Newmarket renewal of the Coronation Cup, the Coral-Eclipse and Juddmonte International.

Ghaiyyath himself topped the 2015 November Foal Sale when signed for by John Ferguson at €1,100,000, while another brother, Al Nafir, repeated the feat when bought by Godolphin at €1.2 million in 2019.

Nightime also bred Zhukova, winner of the Grade 1 Man o' War Stakes in 2017. The daughter of Fastnet Rock joined the Godolphin broodmare band at a cost of 3,700,000gns later that year. She has bred two winners at paddocks, including the Listed-placed First Ruler. 

The colt by Dubawi out of Nightime in the ring at Kildare Paddocks on WednesdayCredit: Sophie Webber Photography/Goffs

Another of Nightime’s daughters, the Listed-placed Sleeping Beauty, has bred the Grade 3-placed Irish Territory, while another, La Chapelle, is the dam of Listed scorers Mauiewowie and Something Enticing.

Nightime’s youngstock have now generated more than £5,350,000 in sales receipts. Weld revealed she still has more to offer too, adding: “Nightime is in foal to Wootton Bassett, she’s in great form. Not only have we got the dam, but we still have the granddam, Caumshinaun. Naturally she’s retired but she’s in great form as well. 

“She’s the matron of the farm and we’re very proud to have her. It’s a family we’ve had for years. I bought Caumshinaun here from the Irish National Stud and we raced her before she became a very good broodmare for us. Nightime was a very classy filly too.” 

Ghaiyyath’s first two crops of youngstock continue to take the sales by storm, and Weld said he was anticipating training the progeny of the Kildangan Stud sire. 

“I have a couple of very nice Ghaiyyath yearlings and two nice filly foals by him, so I’m looking forward to those,” he said. 

That lot topped a day of trade that generated €12,360,500 in receipts, a 19 per cent reduction compared to the same session 12 months ago. The average was down by the same amount at €71,865, while the median was down by ten points at €52,000. The clearance rate was 85 per cent as 172 sold from 202 offered.

Viva De Vega

The progeny of Ballylinch Stud kingpin Lope De Vega proved in particularly high demand during the first half of the session. The day’s first big lot arrived when Stanley Lodge presented the brother to triple Group 3 winner Max Vega, with the Hyde family of Camas Park Stud striking the winning bid of €260,000. 

Stanley Lodge's Lope De Vega colt gets a pat after selling to Camas Park Stud for €260,000Credit: Sophie Webber Photography/Goffs

The colt is the seventh foal out of Paraphernalia, a Listed-placed daughter of Dalakhani whose four winners include the Group 2 Curragh Cup third Camphor and Listed-placed Quickstep Girl. Plenty has happened in the pedigree since Paraphernalia was bought for 135,000gns in 2013 as champion juvenile Blackbeard now appears beneath the second dam. 

The colt was bred by William Kennedy and John Wall, who trade under the banner of Tullpark Limited. 

“We bought Paraphernalia from Tattersalls after she’d had her first foal and she’s been a terrific mare for us and has produced some really good horses,” said Kennedy. “I’m still involved with Max Vega with Ralph Beckett, he’s such a solid horse and does it every time he goes to the races. This colt is a much bigger model and has a bit more about him, a bit more scope, but if he’s anything like Max then his new owners will do really well with him.” 

He added: “I wish the Hydes all the best with him when they bring him back to the yearling sales next year. In this market and at that level, the spread is very wide and you don’t know who’s going to play. A lot of the bigger players had vetted him though so we were hopeful he’d do reasonably well. A massive thanks has to go to the team who prepped this colt to such a high standard.” 

Lope De Vega was also represented as the sire of the half-sister to Listed winner Inverleigh and Albany Stakes runner-up Setarhe who was consigned by Donnellys Well. The January 2-born filly was knocked down to an online bid from US-based agent Dan Hayden at €260,000. 

A battle for a Lope De Vega filly from Donnellys Well went to €260,000 in favour of Dan HaydenCredit: Sophie Webber Photography/Goffs

Crowley in clover

Another face among the throng of delighted breeders was Frances Crowley of Brickfield Stud in County Offaly, whose Ringfort Stud-consigned Blue Point colt was sold to Godolphin for €250,000. Godolphin already know plenty about the pedigree as the third dam is Firth Of Lorne, meaning the likes of Master Of The Seas, Cascadian and Albahr appear back on the page. 

The Blue Point colt’s dam La Rosetta, a New Approach half-sister to the Australian Group 1 winner Just Fine, was actually sold by Godolphin at the December Mares Sale in 2021. Crowley said: “He was very well received and a nice few vets so we were hopeful, but I didn’t expect that. I’m in a bit of disbelief to be honest! 

“The colt was always lovely, always a great mover, and the way he’s taken all the shows has been amazing. The lads who were working with him said he pulled out for the last show as well as he had the first. He did everything right.” 

Explaining the backstory to the breeding of the youngster, Crowley said: “Ted [Durcan] bought La Rosetta for me at Tatts in 2021 for 40,000gns when she was in foal to Sea The Moon. We actually sold her Sea The Moon colt for 60,000gns [to KCS Bloodstock] last year. She’s a lovely mare and her two-year-old by Shamardal is at Charlie Appleby’s and the word is good about him.

Frances Crowley's Blue Point colt was sold to GodolphinCredit: Sophie Webber Photography/Goffs

“I think it was Ted who suggested Blue Point. We were trying to make a decision between two stallions and she had to be covered within a few hours and Blue Point was available so we agreed a foal share.” 

Crowley, who keeps a six-strong broodmare band at Brickfield, added: “It’s a family run stud and I have Eoghan O’Donoghue helping me in the mornings. It’s mostly just us two and then the kids help whenever they’re home. Derek and Gay Veitch [of Ringfort Stud] are my neighbours and they’re a great source of advice so I’m really grateful to them.”

Kavanagh on the mark with biggest ever draft 

Lope De Vega also featured as the sire of the filly out of French Listed winner Quiet Times who was bred by a syndicate including the dam’s trainer Pia Brant and Sven and Carina Hanson, who race and breed under the banner of Fair Salinia. Alice Kavanagh’s AK Thoroughbreds presented the youngster, who was knocked down to Aughamore Stud at €200,000. 

That wasn’t AK Thoroughbreds’ only big sale on the day, either, as the up-and-coming outfit also sold a Havana Grey colt bred by Whitsbury Manor Stud to Melchior Bloodstock for €190,000. The AK draft contained 14 lots through the first three days of the sale, and all 14 sold for an aggregate of €707,500 and an average of €50,536. 

“It’s been a super day,” said Kavanagh. “I thought coming here that I had a couple of lovely foals by a couple of hot sires, which is very important. I think people realised at this year’s yearling sales that what’s accepted is becoming even more narrow, so when you’re buying a foal people aren’t forgiving as much as they would have in the past. 

“I knew the foals were being received well though, but you never quite know until you’re in the ring. Sometimes you think you’re going well and then it doesn’t work out, but today was a super day so I’m really happy.” 

She continued: “This was my biggest draft so far and when you’ve got the better horses it comes with expectations, so there’s definitely more pressure. If you want to improve you’ve got to deal with that, though. My clients are very happy and I was delighted with the action we had on the foals. They’ve been busy all week, behaved well and showed well, so I was very pleased with the results."

On the association with the Hansons and Whitsbury Manor, Kavanagh added: “It’s great to have clients like that, people who are breeding good horses, buying good mares and sending them to good stallions. It instils a bit of confidence in me that they want to sell their foals with me. Hopefully I can improve year on year and it’ll happen from there.” 

AK Thoroughbreds' filly by Lope De Vega out of Quiet Times who sold for €200,000Credit: Sophie Webber Photography/Goffs

While Kavanagh was toasting a good day’s work on Wednesday evening, she explained she would soon be back at the coalface with five more foals to sell on Thursday followed by her biggest draft of mares later in the week. 

“I have nine mares to sell and a couple of lovely ones among them,” she said. “They’ve just arrived so today’s news will soon be history and we’ll roll it on forward. I’m looking forward to seeing how we get on with them because there’s some exciting mares who are in foal to some nice stallions.” 

Shrewd buy pays off for Fleming

Paddy Fleming’s Awbeg Stud bought the Orpen mare Accolade for just 32,000gns at Tattersalls in December 2021. Her first foal, a colt by Sergei Prokofiev, fetched €52,000 at this sale last year and the mare was pushed even further into the black on Wednesday when Lynn Lodge Stud signed for her Wootton Bassett colt at €200,000. 

Fleming explained he targeted the mare with the Wootton Bassett mating in mind as she is a half-sister to The Summit, a Group 3 winner and dual Group 1 runner-up who was bred while Wootton Bassett stood at Haras d’Etreham at just €6,000. Wootton Bassett now stands at Coolmore, where his fee has reached €200,000 for 2024 on the back of a year in which the son of Iffraaj sired three new Group 1 winners, namely Bucanero Fuerte, King Of Steel and Unquestionable. 

“She was bought for one reason: to go to Wootton Bassett,” said Fleming. “She was lucky straight away and very often when a mare starts off lucky, she continues to be lucky. That’s been the case and obviously the sire had a great year, he’s bound for stardom. Eddie O’Leary bought a No Nay Never from us last year that was lucky for him so it’s great that’s come back again. Hopefully he’ll be just as lucky buying off us this time."

Supremacy of Yeomanstown on show

First-crop sires are always a hot topic of conversation at the foal sales and Yeomanstown Stud made a statement about their representative Supremacy when going to €180,000 for the half-brother to Group 3 Weld Park Stakes winner Caught U Looking. The well-related youngster was bred by Kelly Equine Services and offered through The Castlebridge Consignment. 

“He’ll come back for resale next autumn,” said Yeomanstown’s David O’Callaghan. “He’s a very nice horse, one of the best foals today. The Supremacys are good-bodied foals, very precocious-looking and this colt was particularly nice; a very correct, good-walking colt. The half-sister looks very smart and hopefully she’ll win more races next year.” 

Supremacy won the Group 1 Middle Park Stakes and the Group 2 Richmond Stakes during his time with Clive Cox. The son of Mehmas covered 187 mares at a fee of €12,500 in his debut season at Yeomanstown. 

O’Callaghan continued: “We probably have about 30 by Supremacy at home already. We sent him more mares in year two than in year one because his foals are so good. We like what we have.” 

He also shared his market reflections, saying: “Trade is good. The foal breeders are the most important part of our industry so it’s important that the foal sales are strong. They seem to be holding up well so far so I’m pleased for everybody.”

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