'He's a global commodity' - Frankel fever at Goffs as three lots fetch €440,000

Frankel lit up the Goffs November Sale ring on Sunday when a quartet of the world champion's sons and daughters became the four most expensive foals sold in Ireland in 2020.

The day had begun with a 12th individual Group/Grade 1 winner for Juddmonte Farms’ homebred superstar when his two-year-old son Grenadier Guards won the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes at Hanshin in a track record for breeders Northern Racing.

It got even better when, during an extraordinary 45 minutes at Kildare Paddocks, the four Frankel foals in the catalogue sold in quick succession for six-figure sums, with three of them making €440,000 apiece.

First into the ring was the supplementary entry from The Castlebridge Consignment, a colt out of the Group 3 Chartwell Stakes winner and Group 1 Matron Stakes second Lily’s Angel.

Frankel colt out of Lily's Angel in the Goffs ringCredit: Goffs

Bred by Phillistown Stud, he is a half-brother to three winners and the good-walking bay colt drew a host of admirers, which in turn saw the price increase steadily to €440,000. He was bought by Harry Sweeney of Paca Paca Farm and will travel to Japan where his sire had his first top-flight winner, Soul Stirring.

Sweeney said of his purchase: “Frankel has done very well in Japan where he is the sire of two Group 1 winners there this year, including a two-year-old colt this morning who won impressively in a course-record time.

"They are big, strong horses who do well in Japan and he’s a proven sire. I thought that was plenty of money for this colt but hopefully he will be lucky for us.”

Frankel's dual Grade 1-winning son Mozu Ascot has been added to the Japanese stallion ranks, standing at Arrow Stud, while Frankel’s Group 1 winning full-brother Noble Mission, sire of Code Of Honor, has transferred to Shizunai Stallion Station from Lane’s End Farm for 2021.

Oneliner have the last laugh

A close relation to the colt out of Lily's Angel was also offered and the Neilstown Stud-consigned youngster duly made €360,000 to the Lowry family’s Oneliner Stables.

Bred by Nick and Alice Nugent, the colt is in fact a half-brother to Lily’s Angel, who was also bred by the Goffs auctioneer and his wife, and to the Listed Rosemary Stakes winner and Group 2 Cape Verdi Stakes second Zurigha.

An elegant bay in the mould of his sire and grandsire, he was a standout in every way. His dam Noyelles is an unraced half-sister to the Group 3 Prix de Flore winner In Clover, who in turn is the dam of three Group 1 winners including Frankel’s Group 1 Prix du Cadran scorer Call The Wind.

Oneliner Stables' €360,000 Frankel colt out of NoyellesCredit: Goffs

The Oneliner team, who had been forced to quickly regroup having underbid Juddmonte on the preceding lot into the ring, secured the final Frankel foal to be offered this year.

"We are delighted to get him, we were underbidder on the previous lot and they were our two picks of the day,” said a relieved Gerard Lowry.

"They are two lovely foals by an amazing racehorse and champion. Frankel is a global commodity and he has worked with the family in the past. He has an exciting bunch of two-year-olds this year with eight black type horses and for a son of Galileo to get that many black type horses at two is excellent.

"This is a proven cross and the mare is a proven producer already and is from a Group 1 family."

Juddmonte join the fray

Two of the four Frankel foals were consigned by Mariann Klay and Des Leadon’s Swordlestown Little Stud, with Juddmonte Farms going to €440,000 for the colt out of Nisriyna.

He is a half-brother to Group 3 Centenary Vase winner and Group 1 Hong Kong Gold Cup third Dinozzo, one of four runners and winners out of the Intikhab mare. Perseverance paid off for Barry Mahon as Juddmonte's Irish stud director had been underbidder to Harry Sweeney on the colt out of Lily’s Angel.

"Prince Khalid was very keen on this colt and he fits in very well with Prince Khalid's programme," said Mahon on the latest addition to Juddmonte’s high-powered string of bluebloods.

Lot 684: the Frankel colt bought by Juddmonte Farms for €440,000Credit: Goffs

"Frankel is a truly international sire as we saw again in the last few hours with his latest Grade 1 winner in Japan and he has a great bunch of foals here who are a great credit to the Irish breeders who used him. This colt was beautifully prepared by top breeders and we were delighted to get him."

It was the third attempt for the Juddmonte team to buy a foal on Saturday, proving the old adage of third time luck true. Mahon added:

"We also underbid the Frankel out of Lily's Angel and an Expert Eye filly who earlier made €180,000 [Lot 660 from Ballylinch Stud, a half-sister to Group 3 winners Burnt Sugar and Brown Sugar, bought by Yeomanstown Stud]. She was very nice and we have some lovely foals at home by the sire."

Lot 673: the Frankel filly out of Marvada bought by Blackstar Bloodstock for €440,000Credit: Goffs

Swordlestown Little also offered the only filly in the sale by Frankel and she boasted a pedigree that befitted her lofty price tag of €440,000. The February foal is a half-sister to Terebellum by Sea The Stars, who won this year’s Group 2 Dahlia Stakes and Prix de la Nonette and pushed Circus Maximus all the way to the line in the Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot.

Their dam Marvada won the Group 3 Brownstown Stakes and is a half-sister to Paint It Green, a Listed-placed daughter of Invincible Spirit who is also the dam of Group 1 Premio Lydia Tesio hero Sound Of Freedom. The blue-blooded filly was bought on an online bid from Blackstar Bloodstock.

Lucky Vega sibling stars

Lucky Vega, successful in the Group 1 Phoenix Stakes this year for Jessica Harrington, was a Goffs Orby graduate from Baroda Stud and his Footstepsinthesand half-brother was a standout when the catalogue for this sale was released.

Consigned like his older sibling by David Cox’s nursery, the colt had far more to recommend him than just the exploits of Lucky Vega, who was also placed in the Group 1 Middle Park Stakes.

A good-looking colt by the 2,000 Guineas-winning son of the brilliant Giant’s Causeway and out of a Cape Cross daughter of Group 1 Prix de l’Opera winner Satwa Queen, the athletic bay was an excellent mover and an impressive advert for his sire.

He will be coming back to Goffs for the Orby Sale where expectations will be heightened considerably by the €300,000 paid for him by the JC Organisation, clients of Goffs’ Scandinavia representative Filip Zwicky.

"He's a beautiful foal and we loved him even without the update," said Zwicky. "He's for very good clients of mine and Goffs and they will bring him back here for the Orby Sale next year.

"It’s their first time to pinhook a foal, they have bought broodmares and horses to race at Goffs before. They bought two horses at the Orby Sale in 2018, which was their first time to buy horses here.

"One was by No Nay Never and the other was a colt by Tapizar who they named Bullof Wall Street and he won the Swedish Derby this year, so they have been very lucky and successful with their Goffs purchases and hopefully this colt will continue that."

Auctioneer Henry Beeby gets in the Christmas spiritCredit: Goffs

Trade stepped up several notches on the previous two days with a session that was high on quality.

The appetite for the best of the 2020 foal crop on offer was reflected in a clearance rate of 82 per cent and an average price of €76,844. The median was at €52,000 and total sales for the session came in at €10,374,000.

Overall the three days were a success, with 75 per cent of foals offered selling, the average was down 12 points on 2019 to €36,743 while the median of €20,000 dropped nine per cent on last year’s sale.

Turnover for the three days was €17,489,600, which was a decline of 33 points on last year’s sale. However the 2019 renewal of the November Foal Sale was a record-breaking event and when placed against the 2018 version, this year’s sale held up very well in the unusual circumstances.

The Goffs November Sale concludes on Monday with a session of fillies and broodmare beginning at 10am.

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