'With any luck we’ll be buying' - major players in position at Goffs Orby Sale

Shortly before 9.30am on Tuesday, lot one, Knocklong House Stud’s Sea The Stars filly out of Jane’s Memory, will descend the ramp from the parade ring into the Kildare Paddocks auditorium and bring the curtain up on this year’s Goffs Orby Sale.

With less than 24 hours to go, a powerful and international cast of prospective purchasers were busy working their way through a weighty catalogue, which numbered 511 yearlings prior to withdrawals.

Representatives from major operations such as Coolmore, complete with Aidan O’Brien among their number, Godolphin and Juddmonte were all working the grounds, as was Shadwell’s long-serving racing manager Angus Gold.

View full Goffs Orby Sale catalogue

Shadwell have not bought publicly in Europe since the Goffs November Foal Sale in 2020, but recently figured among the purchasers at the Keeneland September Sale with four fillies acquired for a combined $2.5 million.

Gold said no firm plans had been put in place for the Orby Sale, but went on to say he was hopeful that the operation would mirror their American activities on the opposite side of the Atlantic.

“With any luck we’ll be buying in Europe,” he said. “We’ve been looking at fillies here. Whether we’ll buy or not we’ve still got to discuss, but we’re certainly looking and hope to be competitive in the market in due course.

“I think Sheikha Hissa’s idea is to concentrate on the stud’s long-term future. We’ve had a couple of stakes-winning fillies this year who’ll be retiring to stud and I think she would like to try to build that back up in years to come.

"I haven’t spoken to her to confirm it yet but I’m sure the idea will be to look at fillies [at the sales] to start with and maybe in years to come we may buy some colts.”

Gold also gave his predictions for trade ahead of the two-session sale, and said the standard of stock and the identities of the buyers putting in the hard yards all pointed to strong business over the coming days.

“I’ve looked at a lot of the yearlings here and there’s some very good stock on the ground and there are certainly fillies to be discussed before Sheikha Hissa decides what she’d like to do,” he said.

“There are so many Americans here that I can’t see that it won’t be a strong sale. Everybody you would expect to see appears to be on the ground, and the market has been strong in Europe as well as worldwide.

“The good thing is it’s not just the price of horses, but the percentage of horses being sold too. There seems to be a good demand for horses at all levels, which is the most important thing for the industry.”

Sire power has an important role to play in attracting big buyers, and the Orby catalogue is duly headlined by 11 lots from the penultimate crop of the late 12-time champion sire Galileo, including a half-brother to Tiggy Wiggy (Lot 20 from Castlehyde Stud), a filly out of Queen Mary Stakes heroine Signora Cabello (215, The Castlebridge Consignment) and a colt out of the Listed-winning Terror (265, The Castlebridge Consignment).

Aidan O'Brien: among those combing the sales grounds on MondayCredit: Sarah Farnsworth/Goffs

Baroda Stud offers three lots by Galileo, including a filly out of the Grade 1 Frizette Stakes winner Nickname (111), whose full-sibling topped last year’s Orby at €1.5m. Since named Starry Eyed, the youngster made a promising debut when third at Dundalk on Friday in the colours of Westerberg and the Coolmore partners.

Reflecting on the mood on the sales ground, Baroda’s David Cox said: “It’s been busy here over the last couple of days. We’ve had a lot more people here on Saturday than usual and then Sunday was busy too when the Americans arrived.

"There seems to be plenty of them around too so Goffs have done a good job at getting the internationals in. The Americans bought and underbid a good few of our horses last year so hopefully it’ll be the same this time around.”

He added: “We’ve brought a strong draft and they’ve been well received so hopefully they sell well. There are horses there by some very good sires like Galileo, Kingman, No Nay Never, Night Of Thunder and Siyouni.”

The sire profile is complemented by some significant female pedigrees too, with full- or half-siblings to Group 1 winners such as Pretty Gorgeous (30), Channel (50), Mother Earth (58) and No Speak Alexander (164) due to come under the hammer during the first session alone.

There is also something of a wildcard entry in Coole House Farm's Mastercraftsman colt out of Monte Solaro (86), whose siblings are headed by top-class two-mile chaser Altior.

Day one also hosts the lot with arguably the biggest update in the book, as Glenvale Stud’s No Nay Never filly out of Muirin (93) is a sister to none other than Blackbeard, winner of two Group 1s since the catalogue’s publication, namely the Prix Morny and Middle Park Stakes.

There is more of the same on day two, when the offering includes siblings to Taghrooda (452), Time Warp (490) and Blond Me (493). Also on offer on Wednesday is the brother to Sun Chariot and Prix Rothschild heroine Saffron Beach (453), who is being consigned by Ballylinch Stud.

John O'Connor: reported the Ballylinch team to have had a busy day of showingsCredit: Sarah Farnsworth/Goffs

"The day before a sale is always a moment when you’re uncertain about how things will go, but we’ve been extremely busy, there’s a lot of footfall and a lot of international buyers around, so I think one can expect that it could be a strong sale,” said the operation’s managing director John O’Connor.

“We’ve got a good strong draft so we’re quietly optimistic.”

On the New Bay colt out of Falling Petals, O’Connor said: “He’s a very nice, elegant, athletic horse. He seems to be going down well and there are a lot of similarities between him and Saffron Beach, not least the colour but also how strong and athletic they are.”

He added: “New Bay has really emerged as a top-flight sire so there are lots of people looking for his progeny, and we’re very pleased with what we’ve seen from the first crop of Waldgeist; they’re nice, athletic horses and seem to have great temperaments so we’re really optimistic.”

The yearling market on both sides of the Atlantic has proved remarkably resilient in 2022, with unprecedented levels reached at Fasig-Tipton, Arqana, Tattersalls, Tattersalls Ireland and Keeneland already this year.

Only time will tell whether the yearling market’s bull run can be maintained for another sale, but, on the evidence available at Goffs on Monday, everything appears to be in place for a memorable renewal of the event billed as the Irish National Yearling Sale.

Goffs Orby Sale factfile

Where Goffs sales complex, Kildare
When Two-day sale starts on Tuesday at 9.30am
Last year’s stats From 409 offered, 372 lots sold (91 per cent) for turnover of €40,581,500 (up 74 per cent year-on-year), an average of €109,090 (up 46 per cent) and a median of €75,000 (up 44 per cent)
Notable graduates Eldar Eldarov (sold by Straffordstown, bought by Mags O’Toole for €110,000); Mother Earth (sold by Whitehall Stud, bought by MV Magnier for €150,000); Romantic Proposal (sold by Horse Park Stud, bought by Joe Foley for €55,000); Winter Power (sold by Newlands House Stud, bought by Sackville Donald for €90,000)

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