'We stretched our budget but are pleased we did' - Sheila Lavery happy to win bidding battle for sale-topping Pinatubo colt

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." 

The most famous opening line ever written by Charles Dickens is one that could so easily be applied to the current sales circuit as vendors would recognise the inherent paradox as one they are living through.

At the Goffs Autumn Yearling Sale, it wasn't so much a tale of two cities but a tale of parallel universes particularly during the third and final session, which posted the best prices of the three days with four of the top six lots of the entire sale coming on Thursday.

However with an across-the-sale average of just €8,748, which was a four per cent improvement year-on-year, it was plain to see that the average vendor is taking a huge hit on their investment, whether as a breeder or pinhooker.

The median for the three days remained steady at €5,000, while turnover grew by 15 per cent to €3,735,200 on the back of a catalogue that was expanded with ten per cent more horses selling in 2024 than 12 months ago.

Bobby O'Ryan almost single-handedly pushed the clearance rate to an improved level compared to last year. The legendary agent signed for 69 yearlings during the course of the three sessions at an average price of €4,000. His far-flung network of contacts, along with Kishore Mirpuri, the Goffs agent for Eastern Europe, were the beneficiaries of O'Ryan's expertise and knowledge, with his purchases accounting for 16 per cent of the yearlings sold this week.

The contribution of Mirpuri and the extensive list of Goffs agents, along with the Irish Thoroughbred Marketing team, was noted by Goffs chief executive Henry Beeby in his closing statement.

"A marginally improved clearance rate of 77 per cent is acceptable as it demonstrates trade and underlines the depth and breadth of buyers, but it must be noted that although the average has improved and the median held steady, they are hardly a cause for celebration and are at the lower end of the scale," acknowledged Beeby.

"In that context, our overseas buyers have been absolutely vital as a market without them would be unimaginable, so our investment in this sector has been more than justified and we repeat our thanks to each one, as well as our appreciation of every vendor for the trust they have placed in us once again."

Buyers for those horses at the upper end of the market reported grave difficulties in securing the most prized stock within their budgets as the handful of standout lots drew many of the same crowd, but for those whose horses were unwanted by the market, the reality was very different.

Pinatubo with a pedigree

One horse who was greatly in demand was a second-crop Pinatubo colt with a remarkable pedigree. The strong bay, offered by the Castlebridge Consignment, provoked an across-the-ring bidding battle between Sheila Lavery, to the left of Beeby on the dais, and Gerry Hogan, who had his mobile glued to his ear and was on Beeby's right-hand side.

Beeby cajoled bids out of the protagonists at pivotal points when momentum looked as if it would stall, and when he went back to Lavery, who answered affirmatively at €75,000, Hogan was forced to capitulate, turning and walking away.

The popular trainer bought the colt with owner Kevin Flynn, and explained how it was Flynn's friendship with farm manager Simon Magnier that persuaded them to keep pushing to secure the impeccably bred youngster.

Legendary bloodstock agent Bobby O'RyanCredit: Sophie Webber Photography

"He is for a new syndicate that Kevin is setting up, and Simon, who is a friend of Kevin, really highly recommended the colt to us," commented Lavery.

"Simon has been watching him on the farm all summer and thought he was a standout. He has a serious pedigree and he's a lovely horse, so hopefully he can be lucky for Kevin. We stretched our budget to get him but we are pleased we did."

That pedigree demands attention.

The May-born colt is closely related to Golden Lyra, a daughter of Lope De Vega who won the Listed Prix Solitude for William Haggas and owner-breeder Sunderland Holding Inc.

Golden Lyra is one three winners from the first four runners foaled by Sea The Sun, a Sea The Stars full-sister to Deutsches Derby winner and Lanwades sire Sea The Moon. She is also a full-sister to Listed Prix Joubert winner Sea The Sky and will be offered for sale next month by Castlebridge, in foal to Zarak.

Their dam, Sanwa, is an unraced Monsun full-sister to three multiple Group 1 and German Classic winners; the Deutsches Derby heroes of Schiaparelli and Samum, and Salve Regina, victorious in the Preis der Diana.

As if being the sister of three Group 1 winners wasn't enough to recommend her, Sanwa is full-sister to Sahel, who is the dam of Group 1 Premio Lydia Tesio winner Sortilege and second dam of this year's Group 1 Grand Prix de Paris winner and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe fourth Sosie, by Sea The Stars. 

Their Dashing Blade half-sister Sasuela foaled the Group 1 Grosser Preis von Bayern winner and Canadian International third Seismos.

Breeze-up boys buying 

Market forces have pushed breeze-up consignors too, as Tom Whitehead of Powerstown Stud commented after his purchase of a Mehmas colt for €60,000 from Beechlane Stables.

he said: “The market is getting very tough [to buy in]. We are short a few horses for next year.”

Naturally, Whitehead has a particular target in mind for the yearling, who is a half-brother to Kodiac colt Fifty Grand Slater, a winner on several occasions in Qatar this year having been placed on six of his nine starts at two last year for Amy Murphy and Nick Bradley Racing.

"He's a nice horse, straightforward and a good colour and size, and obviously the stallion doesn’t need any introduction," he said. "We will probably breeze him, and he could head to Doncaster. He’s the type of horse who, if he gallops well, should have plenty of buyers on him.” 

The Pinatubo colt in the ring at GoffsCredit: Sophie Webber Photography

It was a successful pinhook for Conor Walsh of Beechlane Stables, who bought the daughter of Exchange Rate mare Natheer for €13,000 last November from Castledillon Stud.

Natheer, a Shadwell homebred, is a half-sister to the Listed Criterium Aretuseo third Motheeba, who is the dam of 2021 Group 3 Leopardstown 1,000 Guineas Trial winner Keeper Of Time, a daughter of Mehmas.

Irish National Stud sires in vogue

The Irish National Stud's venerable sire Invincible Spirit is in the early stages of his well-earned retirement, but the Group 1 winner's presence will be felt for years to come, especially with a growing presence as a broodmare sire, which was perfectly illustrated at the Breeders' Cup by the triumph of Starlust in the Turf Sprint.

That four-year-old is a son of Zoustar, while the chestnut filly Marco Bozzi paid €57,000 for at Goffs on Thursday afternoon is by another Australian favourite in Starspangledbanner. 

She is the first foal out of Sendmylovetoyou, who won twice over six furlongs for Mick Halford and is an Invincible Spirit full-sister to the Group 1 Commonwealth Cup and Group 2 Sandy Lane Stakes third Emblazoned, who was trained by John Gosden for Princess Haya of Jordan.

They are the first two foals out of Sendmylovetorose, a high-class juvenile filly by Bahamian Bounty. Trained by Andy Oliver, purchaser of the Lope De Vega colt from Staffordstown Stud who made €44,000 at Goffs on Wednesday, Sendmylovetorose won the Group 2 Cherry Hinton Stakes and the Group 3 Grangecon Stud Stakes.

Her granddam, Wyndalia, is a daughter of the Canadian champion two and three-year-old filly Northernette, a Northern Dancer full-sister to Storm Bird.

Sendmylovetoyou has a Sioux Nation colt foal and is catalogued as Lot 1064 at the upcoming Goffs November Breeding Stock Sale, in foal to Lucky Vega.

The early pace was set by a colt whose sire is at the opposite end of his career at the Irish National Stud from Invincible Spirit. Lewinstown Stud's colt by shock Coventry Stakes winner Nando Parrado was knocked down to trainer David Barron, who was delighted to secure the half-brother to Lord Roxby, winner of a two-year-old Beverley maiden in August on just his second start.

Marco Bozzi bought this Starspangledbanner filly who is a granddaughter of SendmylovetoroseCredit: Sophie Webber Photography

Barron, who is based in Yorkshire, said of the €52,000 purchase: "He is a nice horse, and the sale has been a lucky one for us. Looking through the day, he was our standout, and probably a standout for others too.”

Offered as lot 610, he features Invincible Spirit and his half-brother Kodiac, sire of Nando Parrado, close up in his pedigree and is inbred 3x4 to their dam Rafha.

His dam Miami Breeze is an unraced daughter of Born To Sea and is a half-sister to the Group 2 Beresford Stakes runner-up Mawaakef and Eddie Jock, who filled the same position in the Listed Stonehenge Stakes.

Another of her half-siblings is the dam of Letters Of Note, successful in the Listed Sweet Mimosa Stakes at Naas for Michael O'Callaghan with the great Pat Smullen in the saddle.

Second dam Al Euro is a Mujtahid half-sister to the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, Mehl-Muhlens Rennen and Premio Parioli winner and sire Air Express.

A double helping of Galileo

John Bourke's Hyde Park Stud was listed as the purchaser of a Teofilo filly with an interesting pedigree. Offered by Boherguy Stud, she featured Galileo as her grandfather on both sides of her pedigree.

Born on April 1, the bay is a half-sister to Sometimesadiamond, another Sweet Mimosa Stakes winner to feature in the pedigree of one of the session's more expensive lots.

That Vocalised filly is the best of the six runners out of Something Graceful, a winning daughter of Que Puntual, the Argentinian-bred Nassau Stakes winner. Sometimesadiamond was bred and trained by Jim Bolger, who also trained her dam, twice a winner.

Something Graceful shares her sire Galileo with Teofilo, sire of this filly who was knocked down to Hyde Park Stud with Bourke standing alongside trainer John McConnell during the bidding.

Que Puntual has a top-class Argentine pedigree and is the dam of dual Grade 3 Seagram Cup winner Mr Ritz and of Oceanographer, who won the Group 3 Lexus Stakes at Flemington for Charlie Appleby and Godolphin.

Bred and raced by Earle Mack, Que Puntual is out of Group 1 winner Repartija, who is a half-sister to the Group 1 Gran Premio Ciudad de la Plata Internacional winner Comisariato.

Johnny Murtagh was relieved to land the Sioux Nation colt towards the end of trade on ThursdayCredit: Sophie Webber Photography

Leading trainer Johnny Murtagh concurred with the opinion expressed by Whitehead, that it was tough going for buyers looking to spend in the upper reaches of the market over the three days.

"A nice horse comes in, it gets packed in there, and they are all on him," he remarked.

The Group 1-winning trainer was speaking after completing the purchase of a Sioux Nation colt from Poulmaleen Stables at €40,000.

"This was nearly the last hurrah," Murtagh said of his attempts to replenish his team for the 2025 season. 

"We were trying to buy and we have been underbidder there for the last few days. He was nearly one of the last on the list. Sioux Nation seems to be hot at the moment, he has a good back pedigree and he is a lovely individual. We don’t have anyone for him at the minute, but we’ll just get him home."

That back pedigree is replete with top-class performers.

The chestnut is a late May foal and a half-brother to two winners out of the Duke Of Marmalade mare Sakarya. She is half-sister to the Arc winner Sagamix, the Group 1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud winner Sagacity, who was third in the Arc, and the Group 2 winner Sage Et Jolie, who is the dam of Group 1 Prix d'Ispahan winner and Prix du Moulin third Sageburg.

Sakarya is a three-parts sister to the Listed Pontefract Castle Stakes runner-up Shastye, more famous as the dam of Group 1 winners and full-brothers Japan and Mogul and the Group 2 Midleton Stakes winner and Oaks runner-up Secret Gesture, dam of this season's star-crossed Chester Vase winner Hidden Law.

The 14-year-old, who has two winners from six runners, is also a half-sister to Saga D'Ouilly, third dam of the Commonwealth Cup, Middle Park Stakes and Prix Morny winner Perfect Power.

It was a second appearance in the Goffs sale ring for the chestnut colt, who was purchased as a foal for €7,000 by Ghulam Abbas from Mount Richard Stud.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder

A host of opportunities are open to the Toronado colt bought by bloodstock agent Hamish Macauley on Thursday morning for €38,000. 

Kevin Ross bought the Elzaam filly on behalf of trainer Gavin Cromwell for €36,000Credit: Sophie Webber Photography

Offered by Pa Doyle's Galbertstown Stables, the half-brother to two winners was bought for just €5,000 by Tark Racing from Alpha Play Bloodstock at the Goffs November Foal Sale, but failed to find a buyer at the Goffs Premier Yearling Sale back in August, being bought back for £18,000 by Mark Dwyer's Oaks Farm Stables.

Given time, on his third trip to the sales, he attained his best price, with Macauley considering Hong Kong as one option for his latest acquisition, who is from the final Haras de Boquetot crop of Toronado, who is resident at Swettenham Stud in Victoria's Goulburn Valley and commands a fee of A$88,000 (£45,000/€54,000).

Macauley said: “He was a really good colt, and has been bought for resale at some point. Toronado has done well in Hong Kong, and that’s somewhere he could go if he shows enough ability. He passed the vet and is just a lovely horse.”

His sire has six individual Group 1 winners so far, including Victor The Winner, successful in the HKJC Centenary Sprint Cup.

This colt is also related to a talented National Hunt performer who made a return to the winner's enclosure for Henry de Bromhead at Punchestown last month.

His dam, Miss Avonbridge, was second in the Listed Lanwades Stud Stakes and is an Avonbridge half-sister to Aspire Tower, a Grade 2 winner over hurdles who was third in the Triumph Hurdle and the Christmas Hurdle and lines up in the Grade 2 Elite Hurdle at Wincanton on Saturday. 

Toronado wasn't the only sire represented in the session's top lots to have swapped countries since these yearlings were born. Elzaam, sire of Murtagh's Group 1 Matron Stakes winner Champers Elysees, moved last winter from Ballyhane Stud in Carlow to the Spanish farm of Marqués de Miraflores de San Antonio, but there remains a market for progeny by the son of Redoute's Choice, particularly his fillies.

Tom Foley sold his homebred Elzaam filly from the family of Zoustar's Group 1 Cheveley Park Stakes winner Lezoo to Kevin Ross and Gavin Cromwell for €36,000.

Ross said: “She’s a lovely, strong filly and a great walker. The mother was rated 84, and the granddam was decent as well. It is a good family, and Elzaam has done well with his fillies.”

Her dam is the Showcasing mare Picture Frame, who cost 190,000gns as a yearling and won at two for Godolphin and Saeed bin Suroor – she earned that official rating of 84 for that Newbury win.

Purchased for just 5,000gns by Foley, the daughter of Lowther Stakes third Hello Glory has more than recouped that outlay with her first foal, a Sands Of Mali gelding named Sandwedge, selling for 9,000gns and this filly eclipsing that.

More from the Goffs Autumn Sale

The Tally-Ho band plays on as Starman and Kodiac top the early charts at Goffs 

Mohaather filly the star attraction as six-figure offering sparks Goffs ring alight 

Aga Khan draft ignites the Goffs Autumn Horses In Training Sale as Ridhaz leads the way at €220,000