Ladies Church in the spotlight at €970,000 at Goffs November Breeding Stock Sale

Ladies Church was an obvious contender for top lot honours at the Goffs November Breeding Stock Sale on Friday and the Group 2 winner lived up to her headline billing when the hammer fell in Dermot Farrington’s favour at €970,000.

Less clear was whose silks the high-class filly would be seen sporting next, as the agent was unable to reveal the identity of the client for whom he was acting on behalf, simply saying: “She’ll stay in training, more than likely with the same trainer.”

That trainer is Johnny Murtagh, whose Fox Covert Stables consigned the filly on behalf of owner Mark Dobbin. Murtagh won three races with Ladies Church, including a Tipperary maiden and the Listed Marwell Stakes at two before she took the step up to Group 2 company at three when landing the Sapphire Stakes at the Curragh. She was last seen finishing 17th in the Group 1 Flying Five Stakes.

The three-year-old daughter of Churchill was bred by Dukes Stud and Overbury Stallions from the Rio De La Plata mare Rioticism, whose own racing days included success in the Listed Prix des Reves d'Or.

Dermot Farrington signs the docket for Ladies ChurchCredit: Sarah Farnsworth

Ladies Church was making her third appearance at public auction having pinhooked as a foal by Mags O’Toole at 62,000gns before Murtagh and Peter Nolan went to £160,000 for the youngster at the 2020 Goffs Orby Sale, which was held in Doncaster. She also appeared at the Goffs London Sale back in June but was unsold at £700,000.

The session saw 201 fillies and mares sell for a clearance rate of 83 per cent. That brought turnover of €16,525,500, which was up 19 per cent year on year, an average of €82,216, a 16 per cent rise, and a median of €42,100, which was an increase of 40 per cent.

Yulong get lucky for Vega syndicate

There have been some historic bidding battles at past editions of the November Breeding Stock Sale but the marathon duel that saw Aspiring bring €790,000 midway through Friday’s session was very much one for the digital age.

The unraced four-year-old, a Galileo half-sister to the champion Danedream, caught the attention of Mark McStay, sitting against the back wall to the right of the rostrum, and BBA Ireland’s Michael Donohoe, who was bidding online from his table in the Balcony Restaurant just beyond the auditorium.

Auctioneer Henry Beeby received an opening bid of €100,000 but from there on the price merely inched upwards, with increases coming in €5,000 and €10,000 increments deep into six-figure territory.

At €580,000 McStay tried to up the ante by signalling a raise to €600,000, but the brakes were soon applied by his online opponent. McStay tried the same tactic at €680,000 but was met with the same response, and it was around this point in the protracted bidding battle that Beeby quipped: “We’re going to break a record here, but not the one I want.”

Aspiring: Galileo half-sister to Danedream takes her turn around the ringCredit: Sarah Farnsworth

It wasn’t until Donohoe struck the final €10,000 raise to push the price to €790,000 that the deal was done. “Isn’t technology wonderful?” Beeby remarked shortly after bringing the gavel down.

The Baroda Stud-consigned Aspiring was bred by Coolmore and offered in foal to the operation’s resident Wootton Bassett. She is set to form part of the blue-chip book bound for Lucky Vega in 2023 having been sourced on behalf of Yuesheng Zhang of Yulong Investments.

It was in Zhang’s familiar green and white colours that Lucky Vega won the Group 1 Phoenix Stakes before retiring to the Irish National Stud for the 2022 season, where he covered a debut book consisting of 152 mares.

“I thought she was a lovely physical, she has a great cover and she’s from a fantastic family,” said Donohoe. “She’s going to go to Lucky Vega. Mr Zhang is doubling down on his support this year by buying some select mares. He sent 30 mares to him last season and he’ll probably send the same number next year but is going to up the quality on the strength of what he’s seen from his foals on the ground in Australia.”

As well as her five-time Group 1-winning half-sister Danedream, Aspiring is also a sister to Group 3 scorers Broadway and Venice Beach, winners of the Lavarack and Lanwades Stud Stakes and the Chester Vase respectively.

Donohoe and Yulong made 19 purchases totalling €5,625,000, with Aspiring joined by the €530,000 Bocca Baciata, the €520,000 Surely and the €500,000 Albula. The haul accounted for 34 per cent of turnover and nine per cent of sold lots.

Bocca Baciata’s racing career was capped by victory in the Group 2 Kilboy Estate Stakes, while her third foal since retiring to the paddocks is the promising two-year-old Foniska, who was last seen winning a Thurles maiden by two lengths. Bocca Baciata, a daughter of Big Bad Bob, was bought by the Niarchos family for €230,000 in 2013.

Michael Donohoe: 'Jessie is high on the two-year-old sister that she trains too'Credit: Peter Mooney

“Bocca Baciata is another for Lucky Vega,” said Donohoe. “Obviously Mr Zhang has horses in training with Jessie [Harrington] and she trained her so she recommended the mare to him. Jessie is high on the two-year-old sister that she trains too. He actually bought Lucky Vega’s sister as well [Lucky Sister, €110,000]. It’s undecided where she’ll go next year but she’ll go to stud in Ireland.”

The four-year-old Surely failed to cut much ice on her sole racecourse start but she is backed up by a deep pedigree as she is out of Irish 1,000 Guineas and Moyglare Stud Stakes heroine Again, which makes her a sibling to the Listed-winning Delphinia and Indian Maharaja. Like Aspiring, she was offered in foal to Wootton Bassett. She was presented by The Castlebridge Consignment.

The three-year-old Albula is another by Galileo and is out of the Australian-bred Dawn Wall, winner of the Group 3 Kembla Grange Classic. There is no shortage of black type throughout the page as Dawn Wall is a sibling to fellow Group 3 winners Obama Rule and Osaila, while the trio are out of a daughter of the champion Detroit, who not only won the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe but bred a winner of the race in Carnegie.

Albula ran four times for Joseph O’Brien and owners the Niarchos family’s Flaxman Stables Ireland, Demi O’Byrne and Sue Magnier. The filly won a Naas maiden on her debut before finishing second to subsequent Irish Oaks heroine Magical Lagoon in the Group 3 Flame Of Tara Stakes.

Pleasant Dreams: sold for €630,000 carrying to StarspangledbannerCredit: Sarah Farnsworth

The spree continued late into the evening when Grenane House Stud’s Pleasant Dreams sold for €630,000 carrying to Starspangledbanner and Eaves, another in foal to Wootton Bassett, brought €600,000.

Reflecting on his online bidding spree, Donohoe said: “Obviously Mr Zhang is quite familiar with the online bidding in Australia, the online bidding format there has a couple of years head start on Europe, so he feels comfortable bidding that way. That’s the way they do it in Australia and that’s the way it’s going here because you can bid in a nice relaxed atmosphere.

“We can nip down and look at the horses in the parade ring and do our final checks, then go up and have lunch and bid in comfort. We value the horses and we bid to what we think their value is, so it doesn’t really matter who’s bidding against us.

"Sometimes when you’re bidding in the ring you can maybe go one or two bids that you might regret afterwards when you’ve been wrapped up in the theatre of it. It’s all a bit more composed doing it this way.”

Barronstown get behind No Nay Never

Another lot to break the half a million barrier was the Derrinstown Stud-consigned Yasmeen who was signed for by Barronstown Stud at €520,000. The ten-year-old daughter of Sea The Stars was Listed-placed during her time on the track and has since bred two winners, headed by Listed John Musker Stakes scorer Shaara. She was offered in foal to Night Of Thunder.

When asked about mating plans for his latest acquisition, Barronstown’s David Nagle consulted with Coolmore’s Paul Shanahan before saying: “No Nay Never. With the help of God we'll send her to No Nay Never. He's the sire of the moment, isn't he? This is a great pedigree and it goes back a long way. All we need now is a bit of luck."

Yasmeen: daughter of Sea The Stars is responsible for Listed John Musker Stakes scorer ShaaraCredit: Sarah Farnsworth

Yasmeen is a sibling to four black-type performers, with the Listed winners Ethaara, Mudaaraah and Sudoor joined by Jersey Stakes runner-up Muwaary. The quintet are out of Wissal, an unraced sister to Bahri and Bahhare.

Nicoll lands Nictate

Another BBA Ireland agent in action was Adrian Nicoll, who went to €450,000 for Nictate from Limekiln Stud. The daughter of Teofilo has bred two winners, most notably her three-year-old Caravaggio colt Maljoom, whose three victories include the Group 2 German 2,000 Guineas.

“She’s for an Irish partnership so she’ll stay here,” said Nicoll. “She’s bred a good horse, she’s a nice mare but I don’t know which stallion she’ll go to next. She’s top of the range and when you’re buying the dam of a black-type winner you’ve got to expect to pay that sort of figure.”

The 11-year-old made her fifth sales ring appearance her most productive, having previously gone for as little as 35,000gns when signed for by Blandford Bloodstock at the 2014 Tattersalls December Mares Sale.

More news from the Goffs November Sale:

Turnover up by 15 per cent to €29.5m as Havana Grey tops final foal session

'He was a no-brainer' - punchy pinhook sees Kingman colt top trade at €550,000

The €2,000 mare whose foals have fetched €1.268 million stars at Goffs

Ghaiyyath colt goes clear at €185,000 as Dubawi's sire sons dominate at Goffs